SMART GOLF CHICAGO is now open at a new location on West Willow Street in Chicago, near Elston and North Avenue. See Smartgolffitness.com. (R) Twin Orchard Country Club’s year end sale wraps up today at 4 PM. Great sales on everything golf.     _____________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by Rory Spears, Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, and on Linkedin or Facebook. Nothing putts like Deere, at the 2019 JD Classic at TPC Deere run.

THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC has again received multiple awards by the PGA Tour, at the tours annual meetings on November 20th.

This year the 2019 John Deere Classic was awarded the “Best Title Sponsor Integration” for the second consecutive year, and the “Most Engaged Community” for a record seventh time, and the fourth time in the last five years.

“On behalf of the PGA Tour, I am thrilled to congratulate the John Deere Classic on ebing recognized with two “Best of” awards for the 2018-2019 PGA Tour season,” said Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer Andy Pazdur. “The tournament committee and title sponsor John Deere, should be exmtemely proud of their collaborative efforts as they continue to be a model for engaging with their community.”

The “Best Title Sponsor Integration” award recognizes the event which best utilizes it’s title sponsor throughout the year. Factors include unique on-site brand activation, advertising, social media and charitible tie-ins to the title sponsor.

THE 2020 JOHN DEERE CLASSIC will be held from July 6-12 at TPC Deere Run. Dylan Fritelli is the defending champion.

Through the championships partners and Birdies for Charity Program, the 2019 John Deere Classic raised $13.82 million dollars for 542 local Quad City area charities. Which brings the all-time amount raised to $121 million dollars, 99% perfect of that figure has been raised since John Deere became the tournaments title sponsor in 1999.

Most engaged community award comes from, having a strong attendance, backed by volunteer support, and year round community involvement.

The John Deere Classic volunteer force is over 2,000 people, who donate over 35,000 hours during the year. In addition, the John Deere Classic ranks in the top five tournaments on tour, with followers on various social media platforms, that include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to hear the interview about the awards with John Deere Classic Tournament Director Clair Peterson. In 2020, the John Deere Classic will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary of the PGA Tour coming to the Quad City area. More information about the tournament can be found at JohnDeereClassic.com.