Top 5 PGA Tour Superstars Missing From the 2024 John Deere Classic Field Explored

Following a thrilling experience in which Cam Davis doubled his PGA Tour and Rocket Mortgage Classic victories on Sunday, the PGA Tour is now heading to the Midwest. The TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, will play host to the Tour’s next scheduled event, the John Deere Classic, which will go on from July 4 to 7.

Players will compete for a massive purse of $8 million. Unfortunately, there are many big names that won’t be competing on the Illinois greens this week. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and others are not on the field for the 2024 John Deere Classic, whether for personal or professional reasons.

No top OWGR players are on the field of the 2024 John Deere Classic

Last week, the top 20 golfers, as per OWGR, were not present on the field of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. And that streak continues this week, with Sepp Straka (World #24) being the highest-ranked player who’ll take to the course. That being said, let’s dive into some ‘top of the food chain’ names that will be missing the tournament.

1. Scottie Scheffler: The 2024 season has been incredibly successful for Scheffler. The World No. 1 has won six tournaments so far this season and earned an impressive $27 million. And that’s only six months! The golf pro has, hence, no doubt had a pretty busy first half of the current year, and as a result, the 27-year-old seems to have decided to take a brief break from the sport. He opted out of the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week and is now out of the John Deere Classic this week too, to spend time with his family. This break is especially significant as he recently became a father a few weeks ago, making the time off well-deserved.

2. Rory McIlroy: The world number 2 recently faced a close defeat to Bryson DeChambeau in the recent US Open, which was pretty hard for him to deal with as he left the course immediately after the conclusion of the major. In a tweet shared by McIlroy, he accepted the toughness that he had faced in the major’s final round and said that he would need a little hiatus.

The 4-time major winner will now only take the field at the Scottish Open in the second week of July. Hopefully, by then, he’s found the time he needs to be back at the top.

3. Xander Schauffele: It wouldn’t be too wrong to say that this season has been the greatest for the World No. 3. Not only did he achieve his career-best ranking of two after triumphing in the PGA Championship (#2), but he also added another feat to his name. Schauffele has managed to qualify for the Olympics for the second consecutive time and will be representing America at the Summer Olympics as the defending gold medalist in Paris. Although the exact reason for his break and absence from both last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic and this week’s John Deere Classic is unknown, it appears likely that he is taking some time to relax and prepare for the upcoming major and, of course, the international battle.

4. Wyndham Clark: Clark has been getting a lot of backlash of late. Fans believe his qualifying for the Summer Olympics (as America’s second player alongside Scheffler) was unwarranted. This season, the World No. 3 has been less than consistent. He missed cuts at two of the three majors (the Masters and the PGA Championship) and settled for a lowly T56 at the third when trying to defend his title (the US Open). The one-time major winner last competed at the Travelers Championship last month, where he recorded a T9 finish. Notably, this was his first top-10 finish in the last six tournaments. Since then, Clark has not played, missing the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week and the upcoming John Deere Classic. He has not officially disclosed the reason why, but it is likely for a break to try and get his head back in the game and find his way back to the winner’s circle.

5. Patrick Cantlay: The eight-time PGA Tour winner and World No. 8 will also not be on the field this week. Although Cantlay, like everyone else on the list, did not participate in the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week, he had every intention to be a part of the John Deere Classic. However, fate had something else in store. In a recent tweet, Cantlay revealed news of an injury that he suffered during his practice for the event. “While training for the John Deere Classic, I sustained an injury. Out of an abundance of caution and on the advice of my team, I unfortunately have to miss this week’s event,” he wrote. The golf pro also claimed he and his team were also “optimistic about a speedy return,” so it’s likely not too serious an injury.

Other players who will be missing the event this week include Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, and more. However, the show will no doubt go on. So tune in to find out who takes home the crown at the 2024 John Deere Classic.