NEWS

E-Notes -- Week of July 10, 2007
 
Jul. 10, 2007
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PGA TOUR Staff

  • J.P. Hayes has played in the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run five times and has a win and a second. In 16 rounds on the course, Hayes has shot 67 or better eight times including a course-record 61 back in 2002.

  • It's been a fine year for rookies with three of them inside the Top 30 on the FedExCup points list. Brandt Snedeker leads the way in 27th place followed closely by Jeff Quinney in 28th and Anthony Kim in 30th.

  • Steve Stricker's second-place finish last week at the AT&T National moved him up seven spots to eighth place in The Presidents Cup standings. Winner K.J. Choi moved up three spots and is sixth on the International team list.

  • Mike Weir's T8 at the AT&T National was his best finish since he was sixth at the 2006 PGA Championship. He moved up 17 spots on the FedExCup list to 96th and improved one place on The Presidents Cup list to 18th.

  • Here's an oddity. Robert Allenby, Jim Furyk, David Toms and Tiger Woods are tied for the TOUR lead in Top-10 finishes with seven each. Only Tiger has a victory, though.

    • First-Time Winners at the John Deere Classic
    Year Player
    2006 John Senden
    2005 Sean O'Hair
    2004 Mark Hensby
    2001 David Gossett
    2000 Michael Clark II
    1999 J.L. Lewis
    1997 David Toms
    1989 Curt Byrum
    1988 Blaine McCallister
    1985 Dan Forsman
    1982 Payne Stewart
    1981 Dave Barr
    1980 Scott Hoch
    1979 D.A. Weibring
    1977 Mike Morley
    1976 John Lister
    1975 Roger Maltbie
    1973 Sam Adams

  • First-time winners have abounded at the John Deere Classic in recent years. Six of the last 10 (and the last three) winners of the event claimed their initial TOUR titles at the John Deere Classic and 18 have done so over time.

  • If you like long drivers, this week's John Deere Classic may be for you. Nine of the top 10 leaders in Driving Distance are entered. On the other hand, since moving to the TPC Deere Run in 2000, only one player who finished the year in the Top 20 in Driving Distance has won. That was Vijay Singh in 2003.

  • In claiming the 2006 John Deere Classic title, Australia's John Senden became the seventh international player to win the event, joining fellow Aussie Mark Hensby (2005), Fiji's Vijay Singh (2003), South Africa's David Frost (1992-93), Canada's Dave Barr (1981), Mexico's Victor Regalado and New Zealand's John Lister (1976).

  • John Senden owes much of his 2006 John Deere Classic title to his play on the first two holes at TPC Deere Run. Senden recorded seven birdies and one par in his eight combined trips through the par-4 first and the par-5 second holes. Runner-up J.P. Hayes, who fell one shot shy of Senden, played those same holes in 2-under par.

  • In the history of the John Deere Classic, four players over age 40 have won: Vijay Singh (2003), Ed Fiori (1996), D.A. Weibring (1995), and Mark McCumber (1994).

  • Zach Johnson, this year's Masters Tournament champion, will be the first Masters winner to compete in the John Deere Classic in the same year as his win. Johnson has played the last five John Deere Classics, with his best finish a tie for 20th in 2004.

  • Six players have earned victories via sudden-death playoffs at the John Deere Classic: Dave Barr (1981), Danny Edwards (1983), Joey Sindelar (1990), J.L. Lewis (1999), Michael Clark II (2000) and Mark Hensby (2004).

  • The highest top-10 finisher at this week's John Deere Classic, not otherwise exempt, will gain a playing spot in next week's British Open. Ties will be decided by the better final-round score, and if players are still tied the better third-round score and better second-round score will be the determining factors. If players are still tied, a hole-by-hole scorecard playoff will take place beginning with scores at the 18th hole of the final round and working backward. John Senden, the 2006 John Deere Classic champ, earned a spot in the 2006 British Open field and went on to a tie-for-35th finish.