Winless since last year at this time, 37 year-old Zach Johnson will defend his 2012 John Deere Classic title against a somewhat easy field at the TPC Deere Run Golf Course in Silvis Illinois when action starts on Thursday morning. With most of the top ranked players in Europe, or resting up ahead of next week’s Open Championship, players needing to make up ground on the FedEx Cup points list will be teeing it up at the course near Des Moines Iowa.
The top two players in the field, are Louis Oosthuizen at number 10, and Keegan Bradley at 11. Oosthuizen has struggled for most of the 2013 season, and is in danger of missing the FedEx playoffs which begin after the PGA Championships next month. This is a shortened season due to the re-alignment of the points schedule and the new format.
TPC Deer Run is 7268 yards long, and plays to a par of 71 for the professionals. The winner will pocket $828,000 dollars of the $4.6 Million dollar purse, and 500 FedEx Points.
Johnson broke up a three year run last year for Steve Stricker , who won in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Stricker finished in a tie for eighth place, and began a slump with his usually very solid putting game that lasted through the Ryder Cup at Medinah.
Zach Johnson beat Troy Matteson in a two hole playoff by hitting one of the best shots struck in 2012 by anyone, when he punched a six iron out of a fairway bunker that landed at gimme distance. The 2007 Masters Champ denied Matteson his first PGA victory with the shot, and picked up his last PGA victory.
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