
Founded in 1971, the tournament now known as the John Deere Classic never has been as big-time as several other stops on the PGA Tour, whether the Players Championship or signature events such as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Genesis Invitational and Bay Hill.
And there have been times when organizers of the event, which is held in the Quad Cities region on the Iowa-Illinois border of the Mississippi River, wondered whether the competition, which had been sponsored by Hardee’s and Miller High Life and for a spell boasted Ed McMahon of “The Tonight Show” as the tournament host, was going to survive.
But along came Deere & Company, and in 1998 the massive agricultural-machinery and heavy-equipment maker based in Moline, Illinois, became title sponsor. The next year, the tournament was renamed the John Deere Classic.
The move provided Deere a way to give back to the community by saving its only big-league professional sports event and something that last year produced more than $14 million for local charities while pumping roughly $70 million into the local economy.
In taking on that role, Deere also became the official golf course equipment supplier of the TPC Network of courses. That enabled the company, which had just entered the golf and turf business, to promote its presence in that realm and to entertain and thank major customers from all over the world at a PGA Tour event.
Twenty-five years on, the Deere is thriving, having found a happy place on the schedule: two weeks after a signature event (the Travelers) and two weeks before a major (the Open Championship). It also has nurtured a sort of laidback Midwestern vibe that charms spectators and competitors alike.
“It’s a community event,” said tournament director Andrew Lehman, adding that only the AT&T Pebble Beach has had a longer run among current PGA Tour title sponsors. “And the Quad Cities community, which is made up of some 400,000 people, loves it.”
Fans relish the family-friendly atmosphere and the chance to see some very good golf. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has won the event, as have major championship winners Zach Johnson, Payne Stewart, Brian Harman and Vijay Singh. Steve Stricker captured the Deere three times in a row (2009-11), and Jordan Spieth took it twice, the first of those coming in 2013 when he was only 19 years old.
Then, there is the annual Big Dig Tuesday night. Held every Tuesday of tournament week, it is a way for the title sponsors to say thanks to that constituency by putting on a barbecue for 500 at the John Deere test facility in nearby Coal Valley.
And spectators seem to enjoy amenities such as the Concerts on the Course series, which this year will feature Counting Crows on a stage by the 18th hole at the end of play Saturday and country music star Lainey Wilson after the tournament ends on Sunday.
“We did that last year for the first time, with Blake Shelton and Darius Rucker, and people loved it,” Lehman said. “So, we are doing it again, and expect some 13,000 spectators to be there each evening.”

As for the players, caddies and their families, they seem to like the golf course. Called TPC Deere Run and situated in Silvis, just down the road from Deere & Company headquarters, it was designed in 2000 by D.A. Weibring, a three-time tournament winner and Illinois native, and laid out on 385 acres of land once owned by company founder John Deere’s great-great granddaughter.
“It’s a beautiful piece of property and a fair test that will ask golfers to hit a lot of different shots,” said Todd Hajduk, general manager at TPC Deere Run. “The greens are big and the fairways generous. But if you miss, you will likely be in trouble.”
Then, there is the annual Big Dig Tuesday night. Held every Tuesday of tournament week, it is a way for the title sponsors to say thanks to that constituency by putting on a barbecue for 500 at the John Deere test facility in nearby Coal Valley. In addition, the company gives participants the chance to channel the little boy that still lives within by operating some of the company’s equipment. For those not inclined to indulge in such a hands-on experience, they can watch exhibitions of how the latest and greatest machinery from that iconic manufacturer, whose founder created the first polished steel plow in 1837, perform.
In addition to the usual FedEx Cup and Official World Golf Ranking points that come with a PGA Tour event, the $8 million event will offer $1.44 million to the winner. Also, the top two finishers not already exempt will make it into the Open Championship, which will be contested in two weeks at Royal Troon in Scotland.

Another perk is the plane that tournament organizers charter to take golfers who have played in the Deere and are then competing in the Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA and DP World tours, in the following week.
“We want to make it easier for those who are going to the Scottish Open,” Lehman said. “We have a jet that has 96 business-class, lie-flat seats that takes off from Quad Cities International Airport on Sunday night and arrives at 10 a.m. local time in Scotland, so they are in pretty good shape to play in that event and the Open Championship after it.”
Deere & Company, which produced more than $60 billion in revenue in 2023, also sees the entertainment value in the tournament for its biggest customers, which is why the company brings in as many as 900 of those from around the world each year. It is also a good time to build relationships with those all-important folks as Deere also says thank you.
“We’ll have them play in one of the two pro-ams we put on,” said Mara Downing, vice president of global brand management and corporate communications at Deere, which also happens to be the largest employer in the Quad Cities region, with more than 9,000 employees. “There are the concerts on the weekend, the chance to relax in one of the hospitality suites around the 18th green and the opportunity to watch the best golfers in the world compete. Then on the Monday after play concludes, we’ll bring out to headquarters and other company facilities to provide tours that show the products we are developing and the technology we are adding to them.”
The tournament seems to offer a lot, which is a big reason why the golfers and the gallery members keep coming back – and why Deere, which is in the first year of a three-year contract extension with the PGA Tour, keeps investing in the event that bears the company name.