Just two weeks remain until The Open’s return to the Old Course at historic St. Andrew’s (July 14-17), paving the way for the 2022 John Deere Classic to take center stage.
The 51st edition of the annual Quad Cities tournament tees off Thursday, June 30.
The PGA Tour event is held yearly at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, IL, just a hair outside of the Quad Cities on the Iowa-Illinois border.
Lucas Glover, the 2021 John Deere champion, fired an impressive 7-under 64 in the final round to capture a two-shot victory last summer. He’s back in the field this year hoping to defend his title amongst a large swath of experienced competitors.
Iowa’s hopefuls
An Iowa champion seems like a longshot as the tournament nears its start.
Zach Johnson (pictured), remains Iowa’s favorite golfer and Drake University’s most famous athlete. He is once again in the John Deere field.
The Open and Masters champion prevailed at the John Deere Classic in 2012, marking 2022 as the 10th anniversary of his victory. He triumphed in a two-hole, sudden-death playoff against Troy Matteson in the Quad Cities.
Now 46, Johnson has struggled as of late and is ranked 263rd in the world. He’s yet to record a top 10 finish this year, with his best performance a T-13 at the Valero Texas Open in April.
Johnson has missed the cut 11 times in 19 appearances in 2022 including missing the cut in each of his last three tournament appearances. The Iowa native’s last PGA Tour win came at the 2015 British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrew’s, a span of almost seven years.
The pride of Cedar Rapids has a first-round tee time of 1:05 p.m. Thursday at the first tee. He is joined by two more Iowans in the field:
- Sean McCarty of Solon is in the 8:46 a.m. grouping at the first tee.
- Charles Jahn of Sperry is in a group that has an 8:57 a.m. start at the 10th tee.
The favorites
Daniel Berger entered the week as the favorite to win the John Deere Classic before withdrawing from the field on Monday. He’s been dealing with a back injury since last year, saying he still isn’t 100 percent.
That leaves Webb Simpson next in line as the tournament favorite (+1100), followed by Adam Hadwin (+1800). Simpson is ranked 58th in the world, highlighted by one top 10 finish in 2022. The veteran was last victorious in 2020 when he won the RBC Heritage Open as well as the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The John Deere Classic features a 156-player field, so picking the eventual champion is a longshot regardless of who is in the field. Sportsbooks have a lot of different ways to bet on golf in Iowa, however.
Denny McCarthy is one of the top four favorites (+2800) coming off a competitive appearance at the US Open in Boston, where he finished in a tie for seventh.
Glover, as the defending champion, is way down the line at +5000 while local Iowan Zach Johnson has drawn odds of just +10000.
A total of $7.1 million will be handed out during this week’s tournament.
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How to attend the 2022 John Deere Classic
Tickets are still available for this weekend’s tournament. It’s the closest PGA Tour event for Iowa sports fans each year, which makes it an intriguing spectacle.
Ground pass tickets are available for $40 per day and give spectators access to the TPC Deere Run grounds, which includes free parking. A flex pass for $55 gets spectators admission in addition to open concession areas and special public access areas. Tickets are also available for various private hospitality areas as well as private seating.
A TPC to be proud of
D.A. Weibring, an Illinois native and fellow golfer, designed the Tournament Players Club of Deere Run. The course emphasizes the natural beauty of the Mississippi River Valley, punctuated with rolling hills and tightly-wooded fairways and luscious green grass.
Originally, the John Deere Classic began as the Quad Cities Classic in 1971, which Weibring won three times. TPC Deere Run plays as a par 71, totaling 7,066 yards in length from the black tees. The course boasts three par 5s and four par 3s.
How to watch the 2022 John Deere Classic
- Golf Channel will televise the John Deere Classic from 2-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday as well as noon to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
- The tournament is on network TV from 2-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on CBS.
- PGA Tour Live via an ESPN+ subscription will stream the pairings as well.
- Tee-times begin at 6:45 a.m. Thursday and Friday morning.
Notable pairings
The 2022 John Deere Classic boasts a varied field of PGA Tour winners and well-seasoned veterans as well as several up-and-comers.
- Former PGA Championship winner Simpson and Jason Day join Lanto Griffin in the 12:43 time slot Thursday. The trio is one of the most notable pairings of the tournament.
- Cameron Champ, long-time Tour pro Steve Stricker and Cam Davis make up the 7:18 a.m. tee time Thursday morning.
- Defending champion Glover will join Johnson and Dylan Frittelli in the 1:05 p.m. tee time we mentioned.
- Charles Howell II and Brandt Snedeker are paired with Sahith Theegala at 12:54 p.m.
The summer classic does boast several notable winners in the past, including two-time champ Jordan Spieth (2013, 2015) and Bryson DeChambeau in 2017. Vijay Singh won the John Deere Classic title in 2003.
