This Week The John Deere Classic

Held at TPC Deere Run

7257 Yards  Par 71

Silvis, Illinois

The Defending Champion is Sepp Straka

In the TH we don’t know who won last year because my laptop died!

The John Deere goes back to 1971 when future PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman won the Quad Cities Invitational and $5000.  The next year the first place check went up to $20,000 and Deane repeated as Champion . . . four times the money for the same amount of work.  There will be a few big names in the field this week including Jordan Spieth who won in 2013 becoming the youngest person to win on the PGA Tour.

We like to complain about the state of professional golf . . . and there is a lot to complain about.  But last year this event, not a major, not a premium event . . . in Illinois . . . raised over $14 million dollars for charity.  And that was a record.  There is good news out there.

                                 John Deere Classic Birdies for Charity

FUN FACT:  In 1979, at what was then the “Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open” . . . Sam Snead became the first person in Tour history to shoot his age . . .  67 in the second round.   He made the cut and shot a 66 on Sunday.

Four and an Alt

When Mick Jagger insisted that his wrinkles were actually laugh lines, 

jazz singer George Melly replied, “Surely nothing could be that funny.”