2017 John Deere Classic

http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/john-deere-classic.html

TPC Deere Run, Quad Cities, Illinois

Purse: US$ 5.6 million

Notable players:

• Americans: Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner, Brian Harman, Charley Hoffman, Wesley Bryan, Ryan Moore, Bubba Watson, William McGirt, Charles Howell III, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Na, Sean O'Hair, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker, Jamie Lovemark, Daniel Summerhays, Lucas Glover, Bud Cauley, Ryan Palmer, Kevin Streelman, Roberto Castro, Chris Kirk, Bryson DeChambeau, Nick Watney, Davis Love III, Hunter Mahan, Matt Every.
  
• Latin Americans: Fabián Gómez, Andrés Romero, Ángel Cabrera, Julián Etulain, Miguel Angel Carballo, Sebastián Muñoz, Camilo Villegas.
  
• Aus / NZ:, Danny Lee, Geoff Ogilvy, Matt Jones, Curtis Luck, Greg Chalmers, Cameron Percy, Stuart Appleby, Tim Wilkinson, Steven Alker, Brett Drewitt, Steven Bowditch.
  
• Other notable players: Alex Cejka, Seamus Power, Greg Owen, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Nick Taylor, David Hearn, Brad Fritsch, Tyrone van Aswegen, Rory Sabbatini, Brendon de Jonge, Ryo Ishikawa, K.J. Choi, Y.E. Yang, Hiroshi Iwata.
  

I'll take Harman @ 11 under and Lovemark to finish in the top ten .... again lol

Strange Romero would fly back for this event from Europe then return for the open next week, be interesting to see if he can take his form to the US.

I'll take Harman @ 11 under and Lovemark to finish in the top ten .... again lol

Harman's my guy this week. Liking him more and more. Also, you have to think it's just a matter of time before both Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson get it together. This tournament could really use some star power at the top of the leaderboard.

Seems like a good time for Summerhays to break through. I'm looking forward to watching the tournament on TV having now played the course before. Might even try and make the trip to watch in person on Saturday.

I wonder if Spieth will ever come back to this event...

Charley Hoffman is due to win.

Dylan Meyer over Nick Hardy in a playoff.

It's more realistic than thinking Illinois could win the Rose Bowl.

Sneaky good field.

Maybe Lovemark? I got this Kyle Stanley feeling about his state now. Have built up enough courage now maybe to win on this level. Obviously not a Tiger, an Alex or a Spieth who got it inherently.

Hoffman or Lee will take home the hardware this week. I'm guessing at -15

Summerhays seems to be up there each and every tournament now.

I want Na or 3 Sticks to take it.

Hoffman or Lee will take home the hardware this week. I'm guessing at -15

HEY CGM NICE CALL ON THE DANNY LEE WITHDRAW!

This is one of my favorite courses on tour! Of all the courses that might sound strange but it is. Something about it pleases my eyes.

Pulling for Kurt Slattery (assistant pro who Monday qualified with back to back eagles to finish) to make the cut. Shot an Even par 71 yesterday with bookend double bogeys, yikes. Go Kurt!

Today is Illini Day! Good luck to all 5 Illini playing, Stricker and Points have some work to do to make the cut. Very surprising to see Steve over par yesterday.

Another Monday qualifier, Sam Horsfield, is on a birdie tear. Currently tied for the lead at -8.

Chesson Hadley could be setting himself up well for very good back-to-back weeks.

I went to the JDC yesterday. I've never seen a course more set up for scoring than TPC Deere Run. It's under 7200 yards but if tee shots run out, players could find trouble in the fairway bunkers. Solution: overwater the fairways. Tee shots were leaking out no more than 2-3 feet and plenty were hitting and stopping. The rough is really thick but the fairways are extremely wide and I really only saw a handful of players go in the rough off the tee. Greens were exceptionally smooth (it is a tour event, after all) but pins were very accessible. The tees were even playing up on some of the longish par threes, to the point that guys were hitting 8 iron on the 7th hole (a 226-yard hole that was playing 175-180) and PW or GW on 16. I think a final score over -20 wins, which is often the case there. I think Ollie picks up his first tour win at the JDC this year.

A few other reflections:

The course is awesome and I can't believe I've never played it. I'll be fixing that shortly after the tournament ends because it's a great layout that anyone can play it.

Greens were running a bit faster than usual (looked to be about 12)

Davis Love III was hanging with guys 25 years younger than him off the tee. He needed to hit driver to Hoffman and Merritt's hybrid/3 wood, but he's still plenty long.

Lots of Titleist guys were bagging 718 MB/T-MB sets.

Ben Crane's wife was pissed that Carl Petersson withdrew.

Jordan Spieth will likely never play the JDC again, but his image is plastered all over that place. It was his first tour win and the event organizers will keep using those pictures 15 years from now.

Everybody loves Steve Stricker and he's got a great swing, but he was a club short on a bunch of holes.

Bubba Watson doesn't look skinny, he looks gaunt. It's less like a guy who lost weight and now looks healthy and more like a guy who lost weight by not eating but doesn't exercise that much.

The Quad Cities are a terror threat level 0. A friend of mine and I would be walking on the path and go right past a bunch of tour players who were just out there by themselves. At first I wondered why guys that well off would bother with making the trip there unless they were fighting to keep their tour card or were young and needed to pick up a win or top 5. However, there's a lot to be said for being able to just walk the course with no worries about extra attention.

Ben Crane's wife was pissed that Carl Petersson withdrew.

Elaborate if you can. :)

Ben Crane's wife was pissed that Carl Petersson withdrew.

 

Elaborate if you can. :)

Ben Crane's wife was pissed that Carl Petersson withdrew.

 

Elaborate if you can. :)

We walked up to the 2nd green (they started on the back) and saw that he had withdrawn. I asked what happened and Crane's wife said through gritted teeth that he was 8 over. I asked what went wrong and she said, "a lot more than just a bad putter." Crane was -4 at the time but I'm guessing when Peterrson dropped out he lost his rhythm.

I'd love to see either Bryson or Patrick Rodgers get their first win, then hop a flight to The Open.

Today is Illini Day! Good luck to all 5 Illini playing, Stricker and Points have some work to do to make the cut. Very surprising to see Steve over par yesterday.

60% of the Illini will play the weekend. Nice showing today by rising senior Nick Hardy.

So 14 players need to buy michael Kim dinner for his three putt bogey on 18 that moved the cut line from -3 to -2 .

Today is Illini Day! Good luck to all 5 Illini playing, Stricker and Points have some work to do to make the cut. Very surprising to see Steve over par yesterday.

 

60% of the Illini will play the weekend. Nice showing today by rising senior Nick Hardy.

Brian Campbell at -6 could really use a big weekend.

Jordan Spieth will likely never play the JDC again, but his image is plastered all over that place. It was his first tour win and the event organizers will keep using those pictures 15 years from now.

I went to the JDC yesterday. I've never seen a course more set up for scoring than TPC Deere Run. It's under 7200 yards but if tee shots run out, players could find trouble in the fairway bunkers. Solution: overwater the fairways. Tee shots were leaking out no more than 2-3 feet and plenty were hitting and stopping. The rough is really thick but the fairways are extremely wide and I really only saw a handful of players go in the rough off the tee. Greens were exceptionally smooth (it is a tour event, after all) but pins were very accessible. The tees were even playing up on some of the longish par threes, to the point that guys were hitting 8 iron on the 7th hole (a 226-yard hole that was playing 175-180) and PW or GW on 16. I think a final score over -20 wins, which is often the case there. I think Ollie picks up his first tour win at the JDC this year.

 

A few other reflections:

The course is awesome and I can't believe I've never played it. I'll be fixing that shortly after the tournament ends because it's a great layout that anyone can play it.

Greens were running a bit faster than usual (looked to be about 12)

Davis Love III was hanging with guys 25 years younger than him off the tee. He needed to hit driver to Hoffman and Merritt's hybrid/3 wood, but he's still plenty long.

Lots of Titleist guys were bagging 718 MB/T-MB sets.

Ben Crane's wife was pissed that Carl Petersson withdrew.

Jordan Spieth will likely never play the JDC again, but his image is plastered all over that place. It was his first tour win and the event organizers will keep using those pictures 15 years from now.

Everybody loves Steve Stricker and he's got a great swing, but he was a club short on a bunch of holes.

Bubba Watson doesn't look skinny, he looks gaunt. It's less like a guy who lost weight and now looks healthy and more like a guy who lost weight by not eating but doesn't exercise that much.

The Quad Cities are a terror threat level 0. A friend of mine and I would be walking on the path and go right past a bunch of tour players who were just out there by themselves. At first I wondered why guys that well off would bother with making the trip there unless they were fighting to keep their tour card or were young and needed to pick up a win or top 5. However, there's a lot to be said for being able to just walk the course with no worries about extra attention.

Deere Run is a very nice course and a ball to play. Not sure if they still do it but it used to be if you waited until Labor day and after you could play for $70 with a cart.

DeChambeau is hard for me to watch...good player and nothing against him personally , but I just don't like watching him.