John Deere Classic canceled due to coronavirus concerns, restrictions
The PGA Tour was hoping to welcome fans back to tournaments in early July amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
That plan will now have to wait.
The John Deere Classic, the fifth tournament on the Tour’s revised schedule this summer, canceled the tournament on Thursday due to coronavirus concerns and local restrictions. It will return next year for its 50th anniversary.
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The John Deere Classic — which was scheduled for July 9-12 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois — said that local and state-wide restrictions in the state made planning to hold the tournament difficult.
“Because of the ongoing health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic, the difficult decision was made to cancel the 2020 John Deere Classic,” tournament director Clair Peterson said in a statement, via the PGA Tour “While we considered several alternatives for the Classic, this was the choice that made the most sense for our guests, the players and the Quad City community at large.”
The John Deere Classic is traditionally the final event each season before the British Open. Dylan Frittelli is the reigning champion after posting a final-round 64 last year. He recorded just one bogey the entire week.
The Tour is set to resume play on June 11 with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. At least the first four events will be held without fans in attendance. The Tour also has several safety measures in place, including chartered flights, health screenings and testings, a central hotel and more.
The Tour will fill the empty week on its schedule with a new tournament, it said in a statement, though did not provide details on where that tournament will be. According to ESPN’s Bob Harig, The Tour is considering holding a tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Florida near its headquarters — which also plays host to The Players Championship each year.
There were more than 1.7 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States as of Thursday afternoon, according to The New York Times, and more than 101,000 deaths attributed to it. Illinois had more than 114,600 confirmed cases, the third most in the country behind both New York and New Jersey, though a majority of those were in the Chicago area.
“For us, we just couldn't make it all work,” Peterson said, via ESPN. “Illinois has very serious — and rightly so — restrictions. We respect those. It says no gatherings of more than 50 people through the summer. That's a tough one.
“We have a small clubhouse, small parking lot. It's very difficult to get everything established from a social distancing standpoint, including locker rooms and everything else. [John Deere] has been incredibly supportive, and during this pandemic they have been very cautious with their employees. So when all those things come into play, whatever version of the tournament we put on, we wouldn't be able to pull off with fans part of it. And that's a money losing proposition. How much money can we afford to lose? How does our reserve fund look?”
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