John Deere Classic

Golf tournament held in Silvis, Illinois, United States

The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois.

The tournament began as the Quad Cities Open in 1971 and was a "satellite event" on the PGA Tour. It became an official tour event in 1972. Ed McMahon served as tournament host from 1975 to 1979. Title sponsors have included Miller Brewing Company (1982–85), Hardee's (1986–94) and John Deere (since 1999). From the event's inception in 1971 through 1974, it was played at Crow Valley Country Club in Davenport, Iowa. It then moved to Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Illinois from 1975 to 1999. Beginning in 2000, the event has been at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis. In 2005 and 2006, the tournament generated more media coverage because of the sponsor's exemptions given to teenager Michelle Wie. The 2013 edition saw Jordan Spieth, two weeks shy of his 20th birthday, become the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since 1931. Since the introduction of the Open Qualifying Series, the John Deere Classic is a final chance for a player not already exempt to earn entry into The Open if he finished in the top five. In order to help attract players who will compete in the following week's Open Championship, since 2008 the John Deere Classic has sponsored a charter flight that leaves the Quad Cities on Sunday night and arrives in Britain the next morning.

1971: Future PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman wins the inaugural tournament by two strokes over Dow Finsterwald. 1972: Deane Beman successfully defends his championship in the tournament's first year as an official event. 1979: Sam Snead becomes the first golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot his age in the second round with a 67. He then shot a 66 in the final round. 2000: Michael Clark II wins the first John Deere Classic played at TPC Deere Run. 2005: Michelle Wie, then a teenager, plays for the first time on a sponsor's exemption. 2012: Steve Stricker becomes the first to win the John Deere Classic in three consecutive years. 2013: 19 year old Jordan Spieth becomes the youngest to win a PGA Tour event when he wins the John Deere Classic for the first time.