TOUR Insider: Byrd hopes for more good memories

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Jonathan Byrd flew home to St. Simons Island, Ga., after last year's John Deere Classic feeling a bit frantic. He didn't have his passport, which was sort of important, since he was on his way to Carnoustie, Scotland, for his first appearance in the British Open.

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Jonathan Byrd had to make some quick travel arrangements to make it to the British Open.

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Byrd didn't have his passport because he wasn't expecting to journey abroad. His confidence was lacking heading to TPC Deere Run after missing the cut in his previous four starts. But a late birdie flourish pushed him past Tim Clark and third-round leader Nathan Green, and Byrd captured his third PGA TOUR title and the automatic exemption into the Open Championship that goes to the highest finisher not already in the field.

"I really didn't think I had any chance to win at that point. My confidence was kind of low," recalled Byrd, who shot a final-round 5-under 66 and won by a stroke with an 18-under 266 total. "But I came in working hard and figured a couple of things out and got in contention and won. So it was a good problem to have, to have to go home and get your passport and go to the British Open."

It's a great story, and don't be surprised if another develops this week in Silvis, Ill., where the John Deere Classic returns to TPC Deere Run for the ninth time and where the PGA TOUR tournament that began in 1972 as the Quad Cities Open is contested for the 37th time.

A full field of 156 players tees it up this week at one of the more strategically challenging sites on the TOUR. The TPC Deere Run is a sylvan par-71 layout of 7,268 yards that like many other TPC layouts tends to reward precision more than power.

Byrd, 30, wasn't among the driving leaders last year, but he played steadily. He was one of five players to shoot all four rounds in the 60s and his final round was without a bogey. He hopes to feed off those good memories to become the first back-to-back winner since David Frost in 1992-93.

"This is extra special," said Byrd, who has two top-10s this year and is coming off a tie for 54th at the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods. "I don't know how Tiger, I don't know how he deals with all the good things that happen on a golf course, how he scrolls through them in his mind. I feel like I try to feed off the tournaments I win and the good golf I play. And this is obviously one that I think about all the time to motivate myself. I'm going to enjoy (going back)."

John Deere, like all TOUR partners, is a tremendous sponsor, and the company continues to show its strong support for the players while doing all it can do maximize the product for the local fans in a tricky scheduling slot. To that end, the tournament for the first time is offering jet service to the British Open with a chartered 767 that flies into Manchester, England. "It's a big deal," said tournament director Clair Peterson. "Obviously our date and our location have made it difficult for players to get to the British Open. We had eight players last year that played here and made the trip over. Our expectation is that we'll at least double that this year."

FEDEXCUP POINTERS

• After the four major championships, the John Deere Classic is the next most important event on Zach Johnson's schedule. The 2007 Masters champion, who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, recently called this week's event his "fifth major." Unfortunately, he's not 100 percent; he hasn't played since the U.S. Open because of wrist tendinitis. And it seems like he wants to win the Deere too badly because his best finish is a tie for 20th.

• This is a bad time for Shigeki Maruyama to be injured. He withdrew from the AT&T National with a left thumb injury, and who knows if he'll be 100 percent this week, or, more importantly, next week at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, which is opposite the British Open. Brown Deer Park is where Maruyama won his first TOUR title.

• Another player to watch to see if he's physically able to go is Kevin Na, who withdrew from the Buick Open because of chest pains and was hospitalized briefly, and then left the AT&T National before it began.

• Steve Marino, who finished tied for 24th after holding the first-round lead at the AT&T National, employed new CG Tour irons from Cleveland, replacing his CG1 Micro Mill blades. "They look exactly the same," Marino said. "They are a little bit smaller and a little bit more off set. All I care about is they are going better."

• Mark Calcavecchia is making his first appearance in the John Deere Classic since 1994 and his fourth overall. He has one top-10 to his credit, and that came when the event was held at Oakwood Country Club. Calcavecchia withdrew from the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines with a knee injury, and will be playing this week with new inserts in his shoes as he gets one start in before the British Open, which he won in 1989.

• Other notable veterans who are returning after absences of four years or more include Rich Beem, Chad Campbell, Tom Lehman and Jerry Kelly. Of those four, Lehman has come closest to winning, finishing runner-up in 1992. Kelly has the only top-10 finish at TPC Deere Run.

• On the flipside of the coin, Jay Delsing is scheduled to make his 19th straight appearance in the tournament, while Robert Gamez is set for his 18th start in a row. Delsing twice has finished third. Gamez finished second in 2002.

• He's not playing this week, but watch out when he does enter his next event, because Fredrik Jacobson has been surging since he put a new 8.5-degree Callaway FT-5 driver in his bag at the Buick Open. He tied for ninth there and then finished second at the AT&T National.

• Kirk Triplett hasn't missed the John Deere Classic since 1997, and two of one of his eight career runner-up finishes came at TPC Deere Run in 2000. His 10th consecutive appearance this week will mark his first start of the 2008 season as Triplett is on the recovery road from a torn labrum.

• Camilo Villegas hasn't played particularly well at TPC Deere Run, but he's motivated to give it another go this year. Villegas made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2004 edition, and tied for 59th for his first TOUR paycheck, which he still has, by the way.