Zach Johnson has turned back the clock over the first two rounds of the John Deere Classic—to the delight of locals appreciative that the Iowa native was back playing in the Quad Cities. With an opening round of 64 followed by a 70 on Friday at TPC Deere Run, he shared the clubhouse lead at eight under as the afternoon wave was playing.
Johnson’s ties to John Deere run deep. It’s the PGA Tour stop that’s closest where he grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And he won the 2012 edition of the event, one of 12 PGA Tour wins in his career.
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“I just love being here, you know, and I’m comfortable obviously, so my score card … I know that’s an ingredient this week, but it’s not everything,” Johnson said on Thursday. “A lot of affinity, a lot of affection, and you know what, it really starts and ends with the people. So I’m very honored and grateful.”
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But Johnson turned 50 in February and his choosing to play JDC has had a domino effect on his schedule. Loyalty won out in the decision to play here rather than in the U.S. Senior Open, which is also going on this week at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio., where Johnson would have been considered among the favorites. In eight starts on the PGA Tour Champions, he’s already won twice and recorded seven top-five finishes.
Johnson is scheduled to play in next week’s Senior PGA Championship, another senior circuit major, at Firestone Country Club. And he’ll play in the Senior British Open later this month at the King’s Course at Gleneagles in Scotland. But the combination of playing these three weeks led him to also decide to skip competing in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, only the second time he’s missing the event since his victory in it at St. Andrews in 2015.
“I can’t play four weeks in a row,” Johnson said in explaining why he’s not playing at Birkdale. “I’ve already missed … I missed Birmingham [The Tradition], which was a major. When was that? March? April? I forget. We had a wedding. I’m missing the U.S. Senior Open this week. Next week is a major, and then the Senior Open is a major, obviously the very next week after the Open, so I’m not going to play four in a row.”
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Johnson’s loyalty to the John Deere Classic comes from it being the closest PGA Tour stop where he grew up in Iowa, as well as a victory in the event in 2012.
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Dylan Buell
Part of Johnson’s thought process might be his recent performances at the Open; he has made the cut in the event just once since 2019 (a T-55 in 2022). And before the John Deere, he had played in only three PGA Tour events in 2026 but finished no better than T-61.
Johnson wasn’t sure what to expect at TPC Deere Run given the onerous forecast for the week: high 90s with high humidity putting the heat index into triple digits.
“I have a protocol [for dealing with the heat] that I have to stick to before the week starts, in the evenings and obviously during the course of the round, honestly, just to survive,” Johnson said. “Just to have the energy to compete for 18 holes was a feat for me.”
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So can Johnson remain a factor throughout the week at Deere Run? Yes, but he’s making sure not to get too far ahead of himself.
“My expectation is looking at the forecast for left foot, right foot, stay cool, let’s see if we can get better this week for next week. I mean, that kind of sounds mundane, but it’s the truth.
“I’ve got another big tournament next week, but the more I focus on kind of right where my feet are, shot to shot, day to day, week to week, usually I bode pretty well. Again, it’s just one day, but I feel comfortable. I feel comfortable with the process with which we’re doing about each hole and each shot. You know, excited for tomorrow.”
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