Zach Johnson turned back the clock in the first two rounds of the John Deere Classic, much to the delight of locals grateful to have the Iowa native back playing in the Quad-Cities. He posted an opening round 64 at TPC Dear Run on Friday, followed by a 70 to share the clubhouse lead at 8 under with the afternoon waves in play.
Johnson’s ties to John Deere run deep. The closest thing to where he grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a PGA Tour venue. And he won the 2012 competition. It was one of 12 PGA Tour wins in his career.
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“I love being here and I’m obviously comfortable, so my scorecard… I know that’s a factor this week, but it’s not everything,” Johnson said Thursday. “A lot of closeness, a lot of love and, you know, 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 choice to play at JDC had a domino effect on his schedule. Loyalty prevailed in Johnson’s decision to play there instead of the U.S. Senior Open, which is being held again this week at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, where Johnson would have been the favorite to win. He has played in the PGA Tour Champions eight times and already has two wins and seven top-five finishes.
Johnson is scheduled to compete next week at the Senior PGA Championship, another senior circuit major, at Firestone Country Club. And he is scheduled to play in the Senior British Open at the King’s Course at Gleneagles in Scotland later this month. However, the combination of play over the last three weeks has led to his decision to withdraw from the British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the second time he has missed the tournament after winning at St. Andrews in 2015.
“You can’t play four weeks in a row,” Johnson said, explaining why he won’t play at Birkdale. “I’ve already missed…I missed the Birmingham (Tradition) major. When was it? March? April? I forget. I had a wedding. I’m missing the U.S. Senior Open this week. Next week is the major, and then the Senior Open. Of course, the week after the Open is a major, so I don’t plan on playing four in a row.”
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Johnson’s loyalty to the John Deere Classic stems from it being the closest PGA Tour venue to Iowa, where he grew up, and from his victory at the event in 2012.
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Part of Johnson’s thought process may be due to his recent performance at the British Open. He has competed in this event only once since 2019 (T-55 in 2022). And before the John Deere event, he played in just three PGA Tour events in 2026, but didn’t finish better than T-61.
Johnson wasn’t sure what to expect at TPC Dear Run, given this week’s troubling weather forecast of high temperatures in the low 90s, high humidity and heat indexes reaching triple digits.
“I have a protocol (for dealing with the heat) and I have to stick to it before the week starts, in the evening, and of course during my rounds, just to survive, to be honest,” Johnson said. “Just having the energy to play through 18 holes was an accomplishment for me.”
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So can Johnson stay in his element throughout the week at Deer Run? Yes, but he is careful not to get too ahead of himself.
“My expectation is, let’s look at the weather forecast left foot, right foot, stay calm and see if it’s better going into next week than it was this week. I mean, that kind of sounds like a cliche, but it’s the truth.”
“I have another big tournament coming up next week, and the more I focus on where my feet are from shot to shot, day to day, week to week, it usually bodes pretty well. Again, it’s just one day, but I feel comfortable. I’m happy with the process I’m working on with each hole, each shot. You know, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
