The First Look: John Deere Classic

There were plenty of reasons to believe Ludvig Aberg was going to make an immediate impact on the PGA TOUR, but through his first three weeks as a PGA TOUR member, his body of work is starting to take shape – and this young star is doing all the right things.

At both the RBC Canadian Open (his first start as a pro) and the Travelers Championship, Aberg finished inside the top 25. Through 36 holes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he was just a shot back of the lead. And his audience for the first two rounds in Detroit? European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green for the first two days at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Aberg will head to TPC Deere Run with lots of momentum, and another opportunity for a TOUR title.

And, of note, five of the last 11 winners of the John Deere Classic were first-time TOUR winners.

FIELD NOTES: J.T. Poston will attempt to successfully defend his title from 2022. Poston has had an up-and-down season with three top-10s (including back-to-back weeks in March) but 10 missed cuts in 22 starts… Nick Taylor returns after his stunning home-country triumph at the RBC Canadian Open. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open but returned home for a Canadian celebration and some time off before getting back in action… U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, who's from Iowa, is set to tee it up… Eight past champs at TPC Deere Run are looking to rekindle some magic, including Michael Kim, whose four-round 257 in 2018 remains the scoring record at this event… Zac Blair is back after his runner-up result at the Travelers Championship. Blair is just 26 FedExCup points away from fulfilling his major medical extension. He sat out most of the 2021 and 2022 seasons after shoulder surgery.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: William Mouw will tee it up on the PGA TOUR for the first time since turning pro. Mouw, who finished sixth in the PGA TOUR University rankings, has played three Korn Ferry Tour events so far this season, making all three cuts. He was a three-time All-American while at Pepperdine, playing alongside the likes of Sahith Theegala… Ross Steelman, who finished No. 4 in the PGA TOUR University rankings, is back on the PGA TOUR after making his TOUR debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Individual effort at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship earlier this year helped him jump from No. 6 to No. 4 in PGA TOUR U when the dust settled… Tommy Kuhl, who was a finalist for the Fred Haskins Award in 2023 as a fifth-year golfer at the University of Illinois and was an NCAA All-American, will make his PGA TOUR debut. Kuhl has played twice on PGA TOUR Canada so far this season with results of T15 and T27… Gordon Sargent, the world’s top-ranked amateur, will tee it up for the second straight week. He missed the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Sargent, who's inching closer to earning PGA TOUR membership via the new PGA TOUR University Accelerated, was low amateur at the U.S. Open. So far, the Vanderbilt junior has earned 16 of 20 points needed to earn TOUR membership next May… Michael Thorbjornsen is back in action for the fourth time on the PGA TOUR this season. The Stanford junior was the Pac-12 Golfer of the Year in 2023… Marcus Byrd earned a spot in the field thanks to winning the APGA at TPC Deere Run. It was his third victory in four starts on the 2023 APGA Tour.

STORYLINES:

1) Cameron Young hoping for a late-season spark

Last year’s PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Cameron Young is the highest-ranked golfer in the field at the John Deere Classic, and he's hoping to find a spark just a few weeks before the FedExCup Playoffs. While Young has missed just two cuts all year, he’s notched zero top-10 finishes since the Masters. He was tied for seventh at the first major of the year and that followed a runner-up at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He currently sits 48th in the FedExCup standings.

2) Top-ranked golfers head to TPC Deere Run

While young stars like Aberg, Sargent and more are making noise at the John Deere Classic, nine golfers ranked in the top 50 in the world are descending on TPC Deere Run. The last time the John Deere Classic had this many ranked in the top 50 in the world was 2012.

3) Unique time on the schedule

The next two weeks on the PGA TOUR will see lots of golf played all over the world. The John Deere Classic marks the final event before the TOUR heads across the Atlantic for the Genesis Scottish Open and then The Open Championship, while the Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship, respectively, will be played alternate to those two events. The John Deere Classic, meanwhile, provides an opportunity to once again earn valuable FedExCup points as the PGA TOUR sprints to its regular season conclusion.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: TPC Deere Run, par 71, 7,289 yards. D.A. Weibring, a three-time winner of the John Deere Classic, pulled out the best of the mid-Mississippi River Valley landscape for TPC Deere Run. There’s an old-time feel with the course, established in 1999, with plenty of birdie opportunities but risk-reward scenarios as well. There’s lots of dramatic elevation on the course, which used to be an Arabian horse farm.

72-HOLE RECORD: 257, Michael Kim (2018)

18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Paul Goydos (1st round, 2010)

LAST TIME: J.T. Poston became the first golfer in 30 years to go wire-to-wire at the John Deere Classic and won for the second time on the PGA TOUR. Poston shot a 2-under 69 in the final round and won by three over Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Emiliano Grillo. Poston was the third wire-to-wire winner in tournament history following Scott Hoch in 1980 and David Frost in 1992. Poston birdied his first three holes Sunday and despite making bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6, he held on for the remainder of the day. Scott Stallings and Chris Gotterup – in the field on a sponsor invite – tied for fourth.

Five things to know: TPC Deere Run

HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET):

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