John Deere Classic history chronicles its perseverence to succeed

As a young Illinoisan who honed his golf-writing skills covering the rabid golf scene in the central Illinois area surrounding Bloomington-Normal before getting to golf-writer’s nirvana with Golf Digest, the occasional forays I made around the state covering pro events were both intimidating and welcome. The Western Open in Chicago, before it started losing its identity as an annual Windy City must stop due to being shuffled around in the FedEx Cup playoffs, was, of course, the state’s prestigious stop.

But being from a small-town environment myself, I always set my heart on what the Shriner’s Open in Robinson, Illinois, in the early 1970s and the Quad Cities Open could pull off as far as its field and survival. They began as satellite events, an odd name for an event that takes place on green grass, but in the case of the QCO, it was an indicator of a tournament that would reach for the stars and achieve full-fledged PGA Tour orbit.

I did my best to publicize the event while golf columnist with the Bloomington-based Daily Pantagraph, and even got a page into Golf Digest after I became an editor there in 1985. Publicity plugs were desperately needed for the small-market tournament that sought to overcome the many obstacles that arise when both dollars and spectators are scarce. When the event seemed on the verge of dying, there was an entity to breathe life into it. Ed McMahon, host, comedian and actor, put his name in the tournament title and infused the event with a celebrity element, supported by the Jaycees. Then Miller High Life and Hardee’s had four- and nine-year runs, respectively, as sponsors to keep the tournament going. Five years after Hardee’s left, when the event was needing a huge stabilizing force, it got one from an obvious source in its own backyard: John Deere. The farm and landscaping behemoth headquartered in Moline has been title sponsor since 1999 and given the tournament its steadiest and most secure presence ever on the PGA Tour schedule.

The JDC provided me with one of my most enjoyable nonplaying experiences in golf when I marshaled at the event three years ago, arranged by my wife’s uncle, Robert VanDeVoorde, a lauded hole captain and marshal for nearly 40 years. He had me as part of his 17th-hole team and I wrote about the experience on my website. Take a look at www.cliffschrock.com/golf-writers-from-the-heart and scroll to the July 2018 entries. Bob is now 84 and still marshaling! How amazing is that? Congrats, Bob.

Also amazing, especially for anyone old enough to have been around at the first playing in 1971, the John Deere Classic was in its 50th playing this weekend. It would have been the 50th last year if not for the Covid pandemic. It was through Bob and my mother-in-law, Mary Ellen Hynd, that I was tipped off to a major component of this year’s observation of the JDC’s half century of growth and maturity into a solid tour stop. They provided me with a copy of the new book by sports writer Craig DeVrieze called, “Magic Happened: Celebrating 50 Years of the John Deere Classic” ($19.99, published by the Quad Cities Golf Classic Charitable Foundation, available through the John Deere Classic website).

DeVrieze first covered the tournament pre-JDC in 1984, working for the Dispatch-Argus and Quad City Times. I recall a contact with him a time or two while I was full time at Golf Digest, and remember his fervent love of the tournament. He was a good pick to do a retrospective appreciation of the tournament, tracing the event from 1971 through Crow Valley and Coal Valley to TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Well illustrated with images dating back to the beginning, the 158-page book chronicles how magical the tournament’s history really is, not the least of which is the amazing diligence of the community that supports it every year unfailingly. Elements to relish include the regional heroes D.A. Weibring, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker; Deane Beman, pre-commissioner days, winning twice; Ed Fiori holding off young hotshot Tiger Woods in 1996; Michelle Wie’s sponsor exemptions; Sam Snead’s age-shooting records; Jordan Spieth winning his first tour event in 2013 just shy of 20 years old; and the tournament making the best of a tough spot on the schedule the week before The Open Championship by offering to fly contestants overseas after the tournament ends on Sunday evening.

Undoubtedly, without the Quad Cities Open pioneers, without the Ed McMahons and Jaycees, without Hardees, without Miller High Life, without community leaders, there would be no John Deere Classic. If you appreciate success stories of the little guy who makes it big, or of PGA Tour history in general, get the book and feel inspired.