SILVIS, Ill. — The team at TPC Deere Run is hard at work, putting the finishing touches on the course for the John Deere Classic. But just how much work does it take to put on the event?
"I really call it kind of making a small city in about two and a half months," Manager of Tournament Operations Marshall Lamb said.
It takes eight year-round employees, 37 board members, and roughly 2,000 volunteers to make the John Deere Classic happen every year. This time around, they are expecting about 13,000 fans a day, which would be a full house.
"It's amazing how fast 12 months goes," Tournament Director Andrew Lehman said. "Seems like we were just post-tournament last year, but here we are ready to go again."
2023 was the first year a concert was held after the tournament, and the team is confident that any issues will be fixed this year.
"That's more restrooms, that's more security, that's adding more busses for logistics out of here during those hot period of times for us," Lamb said.
Lehman says the golf course is in fantastic condition for what he believes is the best field of golfers in tournament history.
"Ticket sales were already on a great trajectory, Jordan Spieth really took it to another level," Lehman said.
Last year, the tournament raised $14.1 million for charity. That brings the total to more than $173 million.