John Deere Greens
Welcome back to your weekly window into the wild and wacky world of pro golf. It's a week until one of the Big Ones, and a lot of golfers have taken the time off to prep. But anyone crying "weak field" about the John Deere Classic can go cry in a wheat field for all I'm concerned. This is gonna be a fun one, I can tell.
At the very least, it's given me the opportunity to learn about a very interesting and very small All-American town: Silvis, Illinois. So please allow me to hip you to what I've discovered, and then hear me out on why I think I've got a line on the winner this weekend.
SILVIS, ILLINOIS
Silvis, IL is home to a place they call "HERO STREET." Usually places with such grandiose names are all bluster and very little blow, so to speak, but not here. It turns out that during WWII, the little town of Silvis sent more men to war (per capita) than any other place in America.
And one street especially, formerly called 2nd Street, was home to 22 Mexican-American families who sent 84 brave folks into service. Eight of those men gave their lives to this country, and in honor of them, the city changed the name to Hero Street and built a pretty badass memorial to honor them.
THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
Built on a former Arabian horse farm, TPC Deere Run is a gorgeous course in the middle of nowhere, America. My only qualm with its design was when I realized that the 5th hole is literally just an upside-down silhouette of one of John Deere's new Z-Track Zero-Turn mowers, the Z545.
Notice the length of the hole. They weren't hiding much, were they?
SO WHO'S GONNA WIN?
With our algorithm machine (The Golf Whizard 3000) in the shop with a busted combobulator, I'm left to make the pick myself. Maybe that's better anyway. I'd rather go with my heart than a robot's output anyway. And I'm going with the only Mexican-American in the field.
Pat Perez. The surname Perez is thought by some to mean "Son of the Rock," and the heroes enshrined in the middle of Silvis were workers for the Rock Island Railroad Company. Coincidence? Methinks not. Plus Pat's friends with Michael Jordan and Bill Murray– a couple of Illinois legends. Plus Silvis is part of what's known as The Quad Cities, and I guarantee you Pat Perez loves the song "C'mon Ride the Train" by the Quad City DJ's.
Till next time,
Jordan