{"id":15267,"date":"2025-06-30T14:06:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T14:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/?post_type=article&p=15267"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:16:12","slug":"2025-john-deere-classic-at-tpc-deere-run-preview","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/article\/2025-john-deere-classic-at-tpc-deere-run-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run \u2013 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The PGA Tour stays in the Midwest this week, shifting from Detroit in the city to a rural setting on the banks of the Rock River along the Illinois-Iowa border for the John Deere Classic. First held in 1971 as the Quad Cities Open, the tournament found a permanent home in 2000 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, where it has remained a steady fixture on the PGA Tour schedule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Coming off a “birdie-fest” in Detroit, this week will present more of the same. Often turning into a putting contest and low-scoring shootout, TPC Deere Run features wide fairways, tight doglegs, receptive greens, and relatively straightforward putting surfaces. It is very scoreable for players who excel at managing their way strategically around the course, rather than trying to overpower it. It\u2019s no surprise that each of the last 15 winners has finished at 18-under or better, including last year\u2019s champion Davis Thompson<\/span>, who set a tournament record at 28-under par.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While all playing styles can have success at TPC Deere Run, this course has favored fairway finders and accurate wedge players who can get streaky hot with their putter. Past winners such as J.T. Poston<\/span>, Steve Stricker<\/span>, Jordan Spieth<\/span>, and Brian Harman<\/span> exemplify these traits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Field<\/h2>\r\n

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Due to its spot on the calendar, the John Deere Classic typically features one of the weaker fields on the PGA Tour schedule. This year, the tournament falls two weeks before the Open Championship, with most of the elite players choosing to rest for a second consecutive week before heading across the pond to play in next week’s Scottish Open. The field is headlined by world No. 17, Ben Griffin<\/a>, who will be playing his 10th event in the last 11 weeks. Other players of note include last year’s winner, Davis Thompson<\/span>, Sungjae Im<\/span>, J.T. Poston<\/span>, Denny McCarthy<\/span>, Jason Day<\/span>, Lucas Glover<\/span>, and Stephan Jaeger<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

TPC Deere Run – History<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When descendants of the John Deere family donated the land to serve as the annual host of the John Deere Classic, course designer D.A. Weibring was the perfect architect for building the course. As an Illinois native and three-time PGA Tour champion of the Quad Cities Open, Weibring left the natural environment undisturbed as much as possible and at the same time incorporated a great mix of challenge and playability to all 18 holes. Looking back on the course he created, Weibring remarked, “It has all the things I think you\u2019d like to have in a golf course. There are elevation changes, great views and scenery, and hardwood trees. You have the Rock River complemented with small ponds and deep ravines\u2026 and best of all, there\u2019s no real estate.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It wasn’t until 2020’s small renovation that any changes were made to TPC Deere Run. The course underwent a comprehensive bunker renovation and competitive enhancement project. Bunkers were completely rebuilt with new grass surrounds, drainage, liners, and sand, including reducing overall square footage by 30% and repositioning as needed to increase course strategy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cWe moved some of the bunkers into a more competitive aspect as to where we wanted them,\u201d said Mark Peterson, the PGA Tour advance man who has been helping in preparing the course over the past month. “They made changes using statistics from recent tournaments as a guide to what needed to be adapted. They also tightened up some fairways.<\/span>“<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Additional changes completed in 2021 included tightening several fairways near key landing zones, adding difficulty for longer hitters. Greenside areas also saw numerous updates, including significant bunker renovations.\u00a0\u201cWe recaptured a couple of greens in order to have some different hole locations,\u201d noted Peterson.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finish Position and Strokes Gained History at TPC Deere Run (2016-2024)<\/h2>\r\n

This includes the average finish position and Strokes Gained per round since 2019 for each of the categories. Players are sorted by SG: Total. TPC Deere Run is the 14th least predictive annual course on Tour.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Course Features<\/h2>\r\n

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Located in the “Quad Cities” region of Silvis, Illinois, TPC Deere Run is a public par-71 course that measures 7,289 yards. Once home to an Arabian horse farm, the 385-acre property that now hosts TPC Deere Run is rich in American history. The land’s past includes Native American settlements, coal mining, cattle breeding, and farming. Located in one of the most rural settings on the Tour, the course is full of natural beauty, featuring rolling terrain along the Rock River, elevation changes, and perfectly framed oak trees, all highlighted by numerous ponds and ravines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Despite receiving consistent praise from players and insiders, TPC Deere Run might be the most underrated annual stop on Tour. It hasn\u2019t cracked any national top-100 public course rankings and lacks the cachet of a marquee location. TPC Deere Run thrives in its playability and fairness, making it a course that players enjoy but critics often overlook because it doesn\u2019t emphasize \u201cdifficulty\u201d or architectural boldness. The Iowa\/Illinois border might not evoke images of beautiful hilly landscapes, but this course has fantastic routing and movement throughout the property as the holes switch directions back and forth. Like all TPC courses, it is gorgeously maintained with bentgrass fairways, Kentucky bluegrass rough, and bentgrass greens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While TPC Deere Run is not a challenging course, the sloping fairways, the elevation changes, and the tight dogleg holes will ask players to use their entire bag of clubs. Over the past five events, it has averaged -1.57 per round, making it the ninth easiest course played in the Tour’s annual rotation.<\/p>\r\n