John Deere Classic Winners and History
The John Deere Classic began life in 1971 as the Quad Cities Open. For its first four years, it was played at the Crow Valley Country Club in Davenport, Iowa. (The other members of the Quad Cities are Moline and Rock Island Illinois, and Bettendorf and East Moline, Iowa. Yes, there are five in the quad). The winner the first two years was Deane Beman, who later would serve as PGA Commissioner from 1974 to 1994.
In 1975, the event was renamed the Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open, and moved to Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Illinois. It stayed there until 1999, under various names, including the Miller High LIfe Quad Cities Open, the Lite Quad Cities Open, the Hardees Golf Classic, and the Quad City Classic.
John Deere became the sponsor in 1999, and in 2000, the event moved to the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.
The tournament has for years been played in July, the week before the British Open, and this has at times made it difficult for the event to attract a strong field. However, the (British) Open Championship grants an exemption to a player who finishes in the top five at the Deere, who is not already otherwise qualified. That sort of qualifying has produced some good results in the past. Open Champion Ben Curtis got into the tournament by virtue of a 13th place finish at the Western Open, played two weeks before the Open.
In what was seen as largely as a publicity stunt, the John Deere gave Michelle Wie a sponsor’s exemption in 2005. Wie shot a -1, missing the cut by two strokes. She got another exemption in 2006, and finished six over par on the first day, then withdrew after the ninth on the second, citing heat exhaustion.
Steve Stricker and DA Weibring have each won the event three times.
- D. A. Weibring: 1979, 1991, 1995
- Steve Stricker: 2009, 2010, 2011Steve Stricker holds the tournament record at -26 (2010)
A list of past John Deere Classic winners follows:
| Year | Player | Score | To par | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Deere Classic | ||||
| 2024 | Davis Thompson | 256 | -28 | 4 strokes |
| 2023 | Sepp Straka | 263 | -21 | 2 strokes |
| 2022 | JT Poston | 263 | -21 | 3 strokes |
| 2021 | Lucas Glover | 265 | -19 | 2 strokes |
| 2020 | COVID | |||
| 2019 | Dylan Frittelli | 263 | -21 | 2 strokes |
| 2018 | Michael Kim | 257 | -27 | 8 strokes |
| 2017 | Bryson DeChambeau | 266 | -18 | 1 stroke |
| 2016 | Ryan Moore | 262 | -22 | 2 Strokes |
| 2015 | Jordan Spieth (2) | 264 | −20 | Playoff |
| 2014 | Brian Harman | 262 | −22 | 1 stroke |
| 2013 | Jordan Spieth | 265 | −19 | Playoff |
| 2012 | Zach Johnson | 264 | −20 | Playoff |
| 2011 | Steve Stricker (3) | 262 | −22 | 1 stroke |
| 2010 | Steve Stricker (2) | 258 | −26 | 2 strokes |
| 2009 | Steve Stricker | 264 | −20 | 3 strokes |
| 2008 | Kenny Perry | 268 | −16 | Playoff |
| 2007 | Jonathan Byrd | 266 | −18 | 1 stroke |
| 2006 | John Senden | 265 | −19 | 1 stroke |
| 2005 | Sean O’Hair | 268 | −16 | 1 stroke |
| 2004 | Mark Hensby | 268 | −16 | Playoff |
| 2003 | Vijay Singh | 268 | −16 | 4 strokes |
| 2002 | J. P. Hayes | 262 | −22 | 4 strokes |
| 2001 | David Gossett | 265 | −19 | 1 stroke |
| 2000 | Michael Clark II | 265 | −19 | Playoff |
| 1999 | J. L. Lewis | 261 | −19 | Playoff |
| Quad City Classic | ||||
| 1998 | Steve Jones | 263 | −17 | 1 stroke |
| 1997 | David Toms | 265 | −15 | 3 strokes |
| 1996 | Ed Fiori | 268 | −12 | 2 strokes |
| 1995 | D. A. Weibring (3) | 197^ | −13 | 1 stroke |
| Hardee’s Golf Classic | ||||
| 1994 | Mark McCumber | 265 | −15 | 1 stroke |
| 1993 | David Frost (2) | 259 | −21 | 7 strokes |
| 1992 | David Frost | 266 | −14 | 3 strokes |
| 1991 | D. A. Weibring (2) | 267 | −13 | 1 stroke |
| 1990 | Joey Sindelar | 268 | −12 | Playoff |
| 1989 | Curt Byrum | 268 | −12 | 1 stroke |
| 1988 | Blaine McCallister | 261 | −19 | 3 strokes |
| 1987 | Kenny Knox | 265 | −15 | 1 stroke |
| 1986 | Mark Wiebe | 268 | −12 | 1 stroke |
| Lite Quad Cities Open | ||||
| 1985 | Dan Forsman | 267 | −13 | 1 stroke |
| Miller High Life QCO | ||||
| 1984 | Scott Hoch (2) | 266 | −14 | 5 strokes |
| 1983 | Danny Edwards | 266 | −14 | Playoff |
| 1982 | Payne Stewart | 268 | −12 | 2 strokes |
| Quad Cities Open | ||||
| 1981 | Dave Barr | 270 | −10 | Playoff |
| 1980 | Scott Hoch | 266 | −14 | 3 strokes |
| Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open | ||||
| 1979 | D. A. Weibring | 266 | −14 | 2 strokes |
| 1978 | Victor Regalado | 269 | −15 | 1 stroke |
| 1977 | Mike Morley | 267 | −17 | 1 stroke |
| 1976 | John Lister | 268 | −16 | 2 strokes |
| 1975 | Roger Maltbie | 275 | −9 | 1 stroke |
| Quad Cities Open | ||||
| 1974 | Dave Stockton | 271 | −13 | 1 stroke |
| 1973 | Sam Adams | 268 | −16 | 3 strokes |
| 1972 | Deane Beman (2) | 279 | −5 | 1 stroke |
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The term “Quad cities” does not indicate four. It is short for Quadrant of Cities.
Beth McGriff-Leaf
Sorry, but you are incorrect. First, a “quadrant” is a region divided into FOUR. Second, from the Quad Cities website:
“The Quad Cities actually consists of five neighboring cities flanking the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois in the Midwestern United States. The July 1, 2007, population of the four-county metropolitan area is estimated at 376,160. The Quad Cities, in order of descending population, are:
Davenport, Iowa
Moline, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Bettendorf, Iowa
East Moline, Illinois
Before World War II, the area was known as the “Tri-Cities“, and included only Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline. With the growth of Rock Island County, East Moline was eventually given “equal status,” and the region became known as the “Quad Cities” during the early 1960s.
By the 1970s, Bettendorf had grown such that many people in the community openly discussed the adoption of the name “Quint Cities“. However, by this time, the name “Quad Cities” had become known well beyond the area, and Quint Cities never caught on. As Bettendorf passed East Moline in size, it became one of the Quad Cities—a name that is now technically a misnomer, as the area includes five cities each with a population of over 20,000.”
https://www.quadcities.com/about/