SILVIS, Ill. — The John Deere Classic has a history and reputation for offering up-and-coming PGA Tour talent a chance to showcase their abilities on the game’s biggest stage.
When you think about the PGA Tour’s annual stop in the Quad Cities, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind – aside from the tractor tee markers, of course – is a 19-year-old Jordan Spieth in the 2013 John Deere Classic, right? If you don’t remember, Spieth holed out from a greenside bunker on the 72nd hole to make a three-way playoff against local fan-favorite Zach Johnson and David Hearn. Spieth went on to win for the first time in his career on the fifth playoff hole to become the fourth-youngest winner in Tour history and the first teenager to claim victory since 1931.
A decade later, Spieth’s win still resonates with the next crop of rising stars who will step into the spotlight and continue the trend this week at TPC Deere Run. Ludvig Aberg, who became the first college player to earn his Tour card after finishing atop the PGA Tour University rankings, leads the list of potential future stars in the field that includes fellow rookies Tommy Kuhl (an Illinois grad), William Mouw and Ross Steelman, as well as amateurs Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford) and Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt).
“It definitely gives you a lot of confidence knowing there are players who jump-started their careers here,” said Sargent, a rising junior and 2021 NCAA individual champion for the Commodores. “It’s going to be a fun week.”
“I think it’s an awesome opportunity,” said defending champion J.T. Poston. “This time of year some of the guys are coming out of college and getting exemptions, and this is a tournament that does a great job of giving those guys chances to prove themselves. They’re obviously doing a good job of that.”
“I think these guys coming out of college are so good, and they’re ready to win right away. I don’t think that’s always been the case, but it’s pretty cool,” he added. “And for them, like you said, they don’t really have anything to lose, but they have a lot to gain. So it’s a great position to be in.”
Aberg himself will tell you how fortunate he was to have played in five Tour events before he turned pro and made his official debut earlier this summer at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open. A little experience can go a long way at this level.
“I think that’s why all these tournaments, especially John Deere, Travelers that do such a good job of giving sponsors invites to younger players,” said Aberg, who has made the cut in all three of his pro starts, including a pair of top 25s. “I know Michael and Gordon are here this week, and I think it’s so valuable.”
More and more players have entered the professional ranks ready to compete over the last few years, and those who are already on Tour have taken notice.
“I feel like they think they can compete out here, and they absolutely can. They hit it a mile. They’re just polished,” said Adam Schenk. “Those guys see people before them have success straight out of college, and then they know they can do that, and they work that much harder and just feel like — since I’ve been out here, it’s gotten a lot harder to keep your card out here. It’s gotten harder to win. It’s gotten harder to top 10.”
“I think these young kids have started to see the people before them have success, and they just strive to get a little better, and they work really hard,” Schenk continued. “They crush it when they come out here, a lot of guys.”
Recent example would be Chris Gotterup, the 2022 Haskins Award winner as the male college player of the year from Oklahoma who finished fourth at TPC Deere Run last year. Aberg has been in the mix this summer, and just last week Peter Kuest finished T-4 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic after Monday qualifying and nearly earned special temporary Tour status for the rest of the season.
“I think through late junior golf and college and amateur golf, I think you’re just very aware of what people are doing. With social media and all that stuff, there’s so much coverage of how guys practice and how they want to get better,” explained Cameron Young, the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2022. “I think it just makes people more aware of what it takes to be really good at this. Any time you have a talented 17-year-old at golf and give him ideas, I feel like that’s just going to add up to somebody that’s more thoughtful and more prepared to play at this level early.”
That knowledge then leads to better competition at the college level, which in turn creates a cycle of improvement where players are improving, learning and developing at a higher rate.
“I kind of benefited from some of that. We had a very good team when I was at Wake Forest,” said Young, who learned a lot from watching teammate and good friend Will Zalatoris. “I think it’s really just a combination of those things. It’s guys aware of what professionals are doing and what the best players in the world are doing and having exposure to that younger is just making people better really early.”
That said, the John Deere Classic isn’t just a playground for future household names on Tour, it’s also a feeding ground for those players who are looking to take the next step in their careers. Five players have won the John Deere Classic before the age of 24 dating back to 1995, and 23 players have seen their first win on Tour come at the event. Over the last 11 years, the tournament has produced five first-time winners.
Young enters the week as the top-ranked player in the field at No. 19 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and one of nine players in the field who find themselves in the top 50. Does that add any pressure given the fact he’s still yet to win? Not quite.
“Honestly, the top-ranked player in the field thing doesn’t really register in my mind just because I feel like every week it doesn’t really matter as much,” said Young. “It’s whoever plays well is going to have a chance to win.”