Deere & Co. yesterday announced it had "agreed to a seven-year extension" of its title sponsorship of the annual PGA Tour stop in the Quad-Cities, meaning the John Deere Classic will remain on the schedule through '23, according to Matt Coss of the QUAD-CITY TIMES. John Deere has been the title sponsor of the event since ’98. Financial terms of the extension were not disclosed, but John Deere Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division President James Field said that the company "will remain official golf course equipment supplier to the PGA Tour and TPC Network and the official landscape product supplier to the Tour." The agreement had been set to expire after next year, but Tournament Dir Clair Peterson said that talks "have been ongoing for the past eight months about extending the contract.” Peterson: "I wouldn’t say it is impossible, but it would be tough to envision a PGA Tour event here without John Deere as a sponsor.” PGA Tour Deputy Commissioner Jay Monahan said that the John Deere Classic is just the fifth Tour event "to extend out to at least 2023.” Coss notes the “big uncertainty” is when the tournament will be held next year. With golf added to the Olympics next August in Rio, the Tour is “tweaking its schedule.” The event "has been held the second week of July” since ’04 (QUAD-CITY TIMES 7/8).
