2023 John Deere Classic: The Rundown
By Derek Helm
The birdie fests continue as we head to Silvis, Illinois, for the 2023 John Deere Classic.
At last year’s John Deere Classic, J.T. Poston gained over 13 strokes from tee to green. He shot an opening round 62 to go wire to wire and win by three strokes over Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
In 2021 Lucas Glover shot a final round 64 and edged out Kevin Na and Ryan Moore to win by two strokes.
This field is generally one of the weakest of the year with many golfers taking the week off to prepare to go overseas. This year is no different.
The John Deere Classic is held at TPC Deere Run.
Located in Silvis, Illinois, Deere Run is a 7,268 yard par 71 with Bentgrass greens.
As we’ve seen the past couple weeks, the par fives are the easiest holes on the course and golfers will have to take advantage of them to score well. The 561 yard 2nd hole is the easiest and boasts a 50% birdie rate. The ninth hole and the 18th hole, both of which are par fours, are the two most difficult holes on the course which will make for interesting finishes whether starting on the front or back nine.
Driving accuracy is higher than tour average here with almost 72% of fairways hit. Driving distance is also higher than tour average coming in at 285 yards. Bombing it off the tee could be a preferred strategy.
Greens are much easier to hit as well coming in at 71% greens in regulation. Approach shot ranges are fairly even with around 20% coming from 125-150, 150-175, and over 200 yards respectively. Obviously, with 40% coming from 125-175 yards golfers will rely on their wedges often.
This is an absolute birdie fest and basically a glorified Korn Ferry event. Ball strikers who can ride a hot putter make their way up the leaderboard each year.
John Deere Classic: The Key Stats
- Approach
- Par 5 Scoring
- Opportunities Gained
- Birdies or Better
John Deere Classic: Historical Cut Line
- 2022: -2
- 2021: -3
- 2019: -2
- 2018: -2
- 2017: -1
Next. Rickie Wins Rocket Mortgage; Golf World Elated. dark
John Deere Classic: Previous Winners
- 2022: J.T. Poston -21
- 2021: Lucas Glover -19
- 2019: Dylan Frittelli -21
- 2018: Michael Kim -27
- 2017: Bryson DeChambeau -18