Jordan Spieth is back at the John Deere Classic.
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Jordan Spieth has fond memories of time spent in Silvis, Ill.
After all, his first PGA Tour victory came at the John Deere Classic in 2013, when he holed a shot to force a playoff and, in winning that playoff, became the first PGA Tour junior champion since 1931. He doubled it. years later, again, by winning the 2015 edition in another playoff.
But he never came back.
Until this year, of course.
On paper this is a tough spot on the John Deere Classic calendar. We're just a week removed from the Memorial Signature Event-US Open-Travelers Championship sandwich. The Genesis Scottish Open is next week, and will serve as the UK's host Open Championship the week after that. Top golfers don't like to play all of them event, meaning last week's Rocket Mortgage Classic and this week's John Deere Classic were obvious skips.
So why are the top players from the Quad Cities? The answer is an interesting look at the results of the new PGA Tour program and the benefits and rewards that come with it.
Spieth is the best player this year, but he is not the only talented player. Patrick Cantlay was a top contender for Deere until he withdrew due to injury earlier this week; even without him, this field still includes World No. 24 Sepp Straka, World No. 28 Jason Day, World No. 29 Sungjae Im, World No. 34 Denny McCarthy and other in-form pros like Maverick McNealy, Aaron Rai, and Mark Hubbard.
I hear you: that list doesn't knock your socks off with star power. And it's worth adding the usual caveat that the PGA Tour still lacks star power in the form of LIV bullies. But still, even with a few late WDs there are 15 players from last year's FedEx Cup top 50 in this Deere field. Last year there were only 10 of those players. There is also an increase in experts from the top 125 from last year to this year.
And if you compare this year's field with 2022's the difference is stark: there wasn't a single top 50 player in the world in that field. (World No. 58 Webb Simpson was a 10-1 betting favorite followed by No. 80 Adam Hadwin.) This year there are seven.
That is contradictory and interesting.
The conventional wisdom about the structure of the Signature Event – where the top 50 players from the 2023 season will be released, and more in-form players from the 2024 season, to eight limited-field, big-money events – were those big events. it will become stronger while smaller events become weaker. That's been true of the eight Signature Events, which have totaled 48 of the 49 eligible players showing up (the 50th, Tyrrell Hatton, was moved behind Sentry, when he joined LIV). But the opposite effect was not seen throughout the PGA Tour program; “full field events” have become stronger, too. Measured by the participation of the top 50 and top 125 players from last year's FedEx Cup standings, this year's full field events are 29 percent stronger than the same events in 2023.
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Go back to the first question, then: Why?
That's no knock on Deere, which boasts the Tour's second-longest title sponsorship, raised more than $14 million for charity last year and has some of the sweetest tags in golf. Tuesday night marked the “Big Dig,” with Spieth saying Michael Greller's kids “came out driving tractors.” He said he's had the event on his radar since spring, and there are many attractions in the Quad Cities.
But tee markers and tractors aside, three factors seem more likely.
The No. 1 freshman season, made more official by last fall's skating split from the rest of the season, allowed players to rest rather than add events here and there to maintain their FedEx Cup ranking. The FedEx Cup season used to run from one September to the next August; now it's January to August. That makes a big difference and the players are willing to play a very full schedule in that short time.
Number 2 is the urgency of the 50 list at the end of the year. Those who are not in that top 50 release category are desperate to get there and those who have it this year are desperate to keep it. Take a look at a few of this year's top 50 players who will be playing this week: Denny McCarthy is No. 43 in the current FedEx Cup rankings and Patrick Rodgers is No. 49 and Eric Cole is No. 55 and Jordan Spieth is No. 59 and Seamus Power. he is No. 64 and Adam Schenk is No. 67 and Andrew Putnam is No. 72; all of the above are registered this week. Of course, there is a strong incentive to play Signature Events, where the money is big and the points are big. But if players don't do well in those events, there's an incentive to play these full field events, too, because they can continue to accumulate points in an effort to get into those big events next year.
Number 3 is the rush for the other top 125 to get into the top 70, the new FedEx Cup Playoffs. It used to be that, once you were outside the top 30 of the Tour Championship, there wasn't much difference between No. 31 and No. 125; everyone kept their card and could play more events the following season. That's not the case anymore. Many of those players in the 51-70 and 71-125 categories have not yet qualified for Signature Events this season; combine that with the shortened season and their playoff plans are all predetermined. Gone are the days of every PGA Tour player choosing his schedule at will. If you are not in the top 50 you are playing every chance you can get.
There are still details to be worked out. Is this the tourism promotion structure we want? Are junior pros, Korn Ferry Tour graduates and top college players getting enough opportunities to play? Should Signature Event fields be expanded? Should there be any difference between a universal event and a Signature Event? But if it feels like things are getting tougher, maybe that's the point.
Overall, what this means is that someone like Scottie Scheffler (No. 1 in the FedEx Cup) or Xander Schauffele (No. 2) can pick and choose their schedule. Play well enough to guarantee a berth in next year's top 50? Feel free to pick and choose your events. That's the benefit you can get along with the $20 mil purse: weeks off.
But for many other experts it is pedal to the medal time. Including this week there are only three “full field” events left, the 3M Open and the Wyndham Championship being the others. The Genesis Scottish Open has limited access, as does the Open Championship. The ISCO and Barracuda Championships are field events with reduced points.
At the start of the year the Tour rated 18 players from outside the top 50 who would make the cut each year. They featured about 31 new players in the top 125. So far, without any additions from top experts, those numbers are tentative. You can play a lot, but if you don't play better it doesn't matter much. So there is a certain urgency in the air this week in Silvis, Illinois.
Welcome to John Deere.
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