World’s 7th-ranked player bringing family on
this year’s trip to the Quad Cities
SILVIS, Illinois (May 13, 2013) – Louis Oosthuizen loves golf, his family and John Deere farm equipment.
Seven weeks from today, these three objects of his affection will be together in one place, as Oosthuizen and three generations of his South African farming family travel to the Quad Cities for the 43rd annual John Deere Classic, July 8-14.
It will be the second time in the last three years that the 2010 British Open champion and 2012 Masters runner-up will compete at TPC Deere Run while spending his off hours exploring all things John Deere in the home of the company’s world headquarters. Oosthuizen, who finished in the top 20 at the Players Championship yesterday, is No. 7 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
“The John Deere Classic is very excited to welcome back Louis Oosthuizen to TPC Deere Run,” said John Deere Classic tournament director Clair Peterson. “Not only is Louis a world-class player, he grew up on a farm and has the kind of emotional connection and loyalty to John Deere and its products that millions of farmers around the world have experienced over the last 175 years.”
Peterson said it is unlikely Oosthuizen would have competed in the John Deere Classic the week before the British Open had the Quad City-based tournament not started running a charter to the site of the Open six years ago. This year, the jet leaves after play Sunday night, and the players arrive at Muirfield, Scotland mid-day Monday.
“You can’t underestimate the significance of the jet in terms of making it possible for Louis and other top players and former British Open champions to play here the week before the Open Championship,” Peterson said. “It has really helped improve our field over the past several years.”
The last time Oosthuizen came to town, he was accompanied only by his business manager. This year, he will be joined by his wife, Nel-Mare, their children, and Louis’ and Nel’s fathers, both farmers – sort of a Disney-style family vacation on the Illinois-Iowa border.
While in town, the Oosthuizen clan is scheduled to tour John Deere’s Harvester Works manufacturing plant in East Moline, where they will see agricultural equipment in various stages of production. They’re also expected to tour Deere’s award-winning Eero Saarinen-designed international corporate headquarters in Moline and to visit the John Deere Pavilion in downtown Moline.
It’s not unusual for farmers to travel great distances to Moline, which many regard as a kind of mecca of agricultural equipment design and manufacturing, according to Ken Golden, John Deere’s director of global public relations.
“Every year, John Deere welcomes thousands of visitors to the John Deere Pavilion in downtown Moline, where many of our current and vintage products are on display in indoor and outdoor environments,” Golden said. “It is one of Illinois’ more popular tourist attractions.”
Oosthuizen, 30, is a member of both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour. This year, in five starts on the European Tour, he has one victory and a top 10 finish. On the PGA TOUR, he has one top 10 finish in seven starts.
Last Saturday at TPC Sawgrass, Oosthuizen recorded six consecutive birdies, tying a 29-year-old Players Championship record. He shot 5-under 67 for the day and wound up T-19 for the tournament at 5-under.
In all likelihood, though, barring injury, Oosthuizen is a shoo-in for this year’s International Presidents Cup Team, which will take on the U.S. at Muirfield Village Golf Club outside Columbus, Ohio. He currently is ranked second on the points list.
Oosthuizen has had a special connection to John Deere since childhood. He was raised on his family’s farm in the coastal town of Mossel Bay, South Africa, located on the Indian Ocean, where John Deere equipment was a major presence in the family’s every day life and work. Like many farmers, Oosthuizen developed a long-term loyalty to the company and its products.
A few days after winning the 2010 British Open, a reporter asked Oosthuizen how he planned to spend his British Open winnings. He immediately replied that he would purchase John Deere equipment for the farm. He bought a John Deere 6000 Series tractor.
“Being a farm boy, it was one of my big dreams, and I bought myself a nice John Deere tractor for my farm back in South Africa,” Oosthuizen told reporters at the Scandinavian Masters. “John Deere is very close to my heart.”
Since then the Oosthuizens have added a second daughter and have a third child on the way.
Oosthuizen joins defending champion Zach Johnson and three-time champion Steve Stricker as early entries into the 2013 John Deere Classic.
Tickets for the John Deere Classic are available at www.johndeereclassic.com or by calling 309-762-4653.
The PGA Tour began its run in the Quad Cities in 1971. John Deere, whose world headquarters is in Moline, Ill., assumed title sponsorship of the tournament in 1998 and is committed through 2016. The tournament moved to TPC Deere Run in 2000.
Now in its 43rd year, the tournament helped raise $6.79 million for 493 charities in 2012, ranking it first on the PGA TOUR overall in per capita contributions at $18.11 for each of the 375,000 residents of the Quad City area and among the top five overall on the PGA TOUR.
The John Deere Classic, which includes Birdies for Charity, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in the John Deere Classic tournament offices at 15623 Coaltown Road, East Moline, Illinois. Since its founding in 1971, the tournament has helped raise $49.08 million for charity.
Contact:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801
bcronin@cronincommunications.com
