EAST MOLINE, Ill. (May 23, 2006) – The John Deere Classic today announced it has awarded sponsor exemptions to John Morgan, Mike Small and Billy Hurley to play in the July 10-16 event at the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run.
Morgan is the fist-pumping, cap-on-backwards Englishman who electrified the 2004 John Deere Classic crowd when he forced his way into a playoff with Mark Hensby, who won on the second playoff hole. A winner on the European Tour in 2002, Morgan, an epileptic, was injured last year and played little. He currently is trying to work his way back this year but has limited playing status in the U.S. and Europe.
"When John Morgan played here in 2004, he turned out to be a great competitor and a crowd favorite," said John Deere Classic tournament director Clair Peterson. "We’re happy he accepted our offer to play in the John Deere Classic this year and look forward to his playing well."
Small is the head golf coach at the University of Illinois, who now moonlights as a tournament player
during his off season.
"I am very grateful for the invitation to play at the John Deere Classic," Small said. "I’m looking forward to coming back to the Quad Cities. It should be a great time."
In 2005, Small made the cut at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol and at the Western Open; he also won the Illinois Open, the Illinois PGA Championship, and the National Club Pro Championship. Small, who was a touring pro in the 1990s, played in the Quad Cities when the tournament was at Oakwood Country Club. This will be his first time playing at TPC Deere Run.
"We’re very happy to have a player the quality of Mike Small in the field," Peterson said. "Mike’s great golf game and his position as golf coach at the University of Illinois make him very deserving of an exemption. We expect to see a lot of Illini paraphernalia around his group during the week."
Hurley is a 2004 graduate of the Naval Academy who recently made the cut in his first professional tournament at the Bay Hill Invitational. Currently carrying the rank of ensign, Hurley enjoyed a sterling amateur career highlighted by his winning the 2004 Byron Nelson Award, playing on the victorious 2005 U.S. Walker Cup team, being named most valuable player in the Patriot League in 2004, and being an honorable mention All-American in 2004.
"Billy Hurley is a fine young player whose Navy background is certain to appeal to the strong military presence in the Quad Cities," Peterson said. "Like John Morgan and Mike Small, Billy has proven he can compete on the PGA Tour."
The John Deere Classic already announced that Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the 2006 tournament. Wie, who is 16, missed the cut by two strokes last year. She is trying to become the first woman in more than 60 years to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.
The John Deere Classic is an annual 72-hole PGA Tour event that began as the Quad City Open in 1971. John Deere, which is based in Moline, Ill. (one of the Quad Cities), assumed title sponsorship of the event in 1998. In 2005, the event raised $3.1 million for local charities, making it the No. 1 charity on the PGA Tour in per-capita giving.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
