Fantasy Golf: John Deere Classic Primer

July 7, 2008 1:00pm CDT

The 2008 John Deere Classic
TPC Deere Run @ Silvis, IL
- Dates: Thursday, July 10 – Sunday, July 13
- FedEx Cup Points: 25,000
- 2008 Purse: $4,200,000 ($756,000 Winning Share)

TV Schedule
First Round – Thursday, July 10 – Golf Channel 4-6pm EST
Second Round - Friday, July 11 – Golf Channel 4-6pm EST
Third Round – Saturday, July 12 – CBS, 3-6pm EST
Final Round – Sunday, July 13 – CBS, 3-6pm EST


The Course

TPC Deere Run
Course Par Value: 71
Course Yardage: 7,257

TPC Deere Run opened in 2000, built specifically to draw the game's best to this particular tourney each and every season. The desire to draw the PGA to the great Midwest required a supreme challenge and a course that would make the game's fans yearn to hit their own course of choice was the vision. TPC Deere Run does just that, presenting a course that will be glowing with local features and conditions any golf aficionado can appreciate.

The bunkers rule the day and are never the same, presenting various locations, depths, and sizes that will challenge the best duffers on the Tour should they end up on the beach. The course covers 170 acres, but only 60 were disturbed during construction of this track. The rest is in the same condition it was in when the dozers first pulled on site, and that is as impressive as any fact you'll find about Deere Run.

The course is also littered with small ponds, elevation changes, and those trademark oak trees that dot this portion of the country. The TPC site may sum it up best, at least when you turn the discussion to the true nature of playing golf on this course: "TPC Deere Run is not a target-oriented layout. It requires shot making and maneuverability, plus imagination with the short game."

By the way, as a former inhabitant of this area, I can give the following information with full confidence it will come to fruition. (1) It will be ungodly hot and humid. (2) There is little chance of strong wind or rain. (3) It will be exciting golf on one of the more underrated PGA stops on the schedule.

Also, as is true with all TPC venues, this course is open to the public to play during any other week of the season, and details on such an entertaining experience can be found here:

https://book.golfswitch.com/webpro/search.asp?CUSTID=DEE&COURSEID=FOR1268&CID=H-www.tpc.comQ-keywords

Hole 4 (Par 4, 454 yds): A sizeable oak tree awaits in the middle of the landing area, creating a two-sided fairway. Bunkers guard the left side while trees guard the right. The green sits at one of the highest points on the course and can't been seen in full from the approach. If you miss the green left, right or long, you are in for a tough chip to a small putting surface. Misjudge long and you can add a stroke to the scorecard.

Hole 9 (Par 4, 485 yds): The longest par 4 on the course offers a stellar test of strategy and ball placement. More than a few of the short hitters will lay up and hope for the one-putt on this hole this week. A level landing area for the drive leaves a longer approach shot through the tight set of trees and over a rolling fairway to a narrow green guarded by trees, slightly elevated with bunkers on both sides. Most people will play this with three shots (not necessarily by choice).

Hole 14 (Par 4, 361 yds): The PGA describes #14 as, "The ultimate risk/reward hole," and they are on point. John Deere Classic tournament director Kym Hougham recently spoke on this hole with the TOUR, noting players will probably try to drive this par 4, which is downhill and drivable for long hitters. However, the risk of consequence for missing can be severe enough to produce double bogey. Go for it and miss left and you are in the "Valley of Sin," a mowed sunken area leaving a blind shot to a small, well-protected green. Go long and you will be lost down a 60-foot bluff. This may be the most challenging putt on the course, so the work doesn't end when you get on the floor.

Hole 17 (Par 5, 557 yds): If you can go long, you can reach this green in two, but you had better be accurate or your dreams of a birdie will turn into a double. The fairway presents a slight dogleg left, forcing those drives to come off the draw (a trait most PGA professionals enjoy). The landing area is thin and lined with tall oaks, followed by a green lined along the front with sand (including two bunkers left well short of the green, a trait that will play tricks on the uninitiated). The green is slightly elevated and can be slick if dry.


2007 Review

~ 2007 Results
PLACE PLAYER FINAL
1 Jonathan Byrd -18 (266)
2 Tim Clark -17 (267)
T3 Troy Matteson -15 (269)
T3 Nathan Green -15 (269)
5 Carl Pettersson -14 (270)
T6 Heath Slocum -13 (271)
T6 Kevin Sutherland -13 (271)
T6 Jason Dufner -13 (271)
T6 Jeff Gove -13 (271)
T6 Neal Lancaster -13 (271)
T11 Lucas Glover -12 (272)
T11 Michael Sim -12 (272)
T11 Kenny Perry -12 (272)
T11 Billy Mayfair -12 (272)


2006 Review

~ 2006 Results
PLACE PLAYER FINAL
1 John Senden -19 (265)
2 JP Hayes -18 (265)
T3 Heath Slocum -16 (267)
T3 Alex Cejka -16 (267)
T5 John Riegger -15 (268)
T5 BJ Staten -15 (268)
T7 Billy Mayfair -14 (269)
T7 Kent Jones -14 (269)
T7 Patrick Sheehan -14 (269)
T10 Jason Gore -13 (270)
T10 Joe Ogilvie -13 (270)
T10 Daniel Chopra -13 (270)
T10 Jeff Overton -13 (270)
T10 Bubba Dickerson -13 (270)


The Field

We are at an awkward moment in time for the PGA. Just one tourney stands between this and the Open Championship, and while many of the Tour's top golfers might normally use such positioning to hit the links and prepare for a major, this one major is different. There is a long trek overseas to get to the venue of choice, and the European Tour offers a much more convenient waystop for such an experience. Golfers can make the trip now, get acclimated to the schedule and conditions, and still spend a week off before two (and hopefully four) of the more meaningful rounds of the season.

This is why, if you travel to the European Tour website, you'll find names like Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, and Andres Romero listed in the field for the Barclays Scottish Open.

Then hit the PGA Tour's listed field for the John Deere and you'll struggle to find names that will match the allure of the one listed in Scotland.

Other golfers are simply resting for the major, but a list of worthy young combatants is still in the mix for the week. There are some that lack qualifying status for the major, others that simply want to play two weeks before the Open Championship and then take the week off.

This field includes JB Holmes, Vaughn Taylor, Arron Oberholser (who appears to be getting back in the mix despite his injury concerns this season), Zach Johnson, Chad Campbell, Mark Calcavecchia, Carl Pettersson, DJ Trahan, Ben Crane, Aaron Baddeley (watch this one, for Baddeley has withdrawn early in each of the last two weeks), JP Hayes, Pat Perez, Ryan Moore, Brian Gay, Camilo Villegas (Villegas has withdrawn a couple of times in recent memory a well, so track his status), Bubba Watson, Ryan Moore, Nick Watney, and Sean O'Hair.

Enjoy.

To view the entire field:
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r030/field.html