Tournament: John Deere Classic, July 3-6, 2025
Course: TPC Deere Run, par 71, 7,289 yards. Silvis, IL just a couple hours west of Chicago and a stones throw from the Mississippi River.
Purse: $8.4 million in total for the 156 man field, with the winner taking $1,512,000.
Defending Champ: UGA’s own Davis Thompson. He was well positioned after opening 63-67, but grabbed the lead Saturday after a scorching 62. But no lead is safe at the John Deere, as the course gives up birdies in bunches. Thompson showed no fear Sunday, turning in 29 and holding off Michael Thorbjornsen and Luke Clanton for a 4 stroke victory and a record-setting 28 under par total.
Fun Fact: Due to the nature of traveling across the country, some pros will share a rental house for the week. In this particular instance, the same AirBnB property has produced the tournament winner 3 straight years (JT Poston 2022, Sepp Straka 2023, and Thompson 2024). No word on if another Bulldog might be bunking there this week.
TV Times: Thursday and Friday 4-7 pm ET on Golf Channel. Saturday and Sunday 1-3 pm ET Golf Channel, then 3-6 on CBS and Paramount+. And per usual, almost all day streaming on PGA Tour Live available on ESPN+.
‘Dawgs in the Field: 6. Kevin Kisner, Keith Mitchell, Chris Kirk, Greyson Sigg, Will Chandler, and Davis Thompson. Two former ‘Dawgs not playing this year are Brian Harman and Sepp Straka, both winners of the John Deere. Harman notched his first Tour victory here in 2014, Straka did the same in 2023. They are both likely skipping in order to prep for the British Open at Portrush in 2 weeks (one or both might be entered in the Scottish Open next week as well).
You may have seen that Chris Kirk made a playoff and ultimately tied for 2nd last week, so he’s showing some late season form. I can’t say any of the others are showing much promise, but golf is a fickle game and any given week can make a season. So here’s to watching former Bulldogs fight for millions on a private golf course on Independence Day. You can’t get more Americana than that. And as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!