Play scrapped, scores reset at now 54-hole Evian

To corn farmers and their communities in the Midwest, to be knee-high by the Fourth of July means something. It’s the easy-to-remember phrase to measure the growth of the crop on a specific date and get a feel for the eventual yield. The statistical abstract of the exercise also can be a way for PGA TOUR members to size up their placement in the FedExCup standings. With only five weeks and seven tournaments contributing to set the field for the Playoffs and begin the process of assigning membership status for next season, the John Deere Classic is a timely checkpoint immediately after America’s birthday. TPC Deere Run annually is there for the taking. It’s right out there in front of the field of 156 assembled in Silvis, Illinois. The only trick is to capitalize on one of the easiest par 71s on the schedule. Scroll past the projected contenders for a confirmation of the expectation, Dylan Frittelli’s curious path to his breakthrough victory in 2019 and more. RELATED: How the field qualified | The First Look POWER RANKINGS: JOHN DEERE CLASSIC Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim, Pat Perez, Charles Howell III and defending champion Dylan Frittelli will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. As golden as the fields surrounding the Quad Cities, so is the anniversary of the John Deere Classic. This week’s tournament is celebrating its 50th since the inaugural staging won by Deane Beman in 1971. It wasn’t an official event until the following year, but Beman won that one, too. Two years later, he became the second commissioner of the PGA TOUR. The 2020 edition was canceled by the pandemic, so Frittelli has been among the throng who has experienced an extra year as a defending champion. The South African already had a pair of victories on the European Tour, but his title at TPC Deere Run in 2019 served as his coronation on the PGA TOUR. In what was his tournament debut (and as a first-time TOUR member), Frittelli adhered to the script for what it takes to tackle TPC Deere Run. He ranked T10 in greens in regulation, 15th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and second in SG: Putting. Hidden on his scorecards was the fact that he led the field in scrambling, salvaging 15 of 16 chances, but he had to because he was a pedestrian 35th in turning greens in regulation into par breakers. If you were to ask Frittelli which is more important at the Deere, scoring or saving par, the correct answer would be, “Yes.” His missed only two of 62 tries inside 10 feet and was perfect on 53 looks inside seven feet. The output was a two-stroke margin of victory at 21-under 263. The field averaged a predictable 69.510 and it clobbered the ball off the tee like it hadn’t collectively in years. The average distance of all drives was 293.1 yards. That’s nine yards longer than the longest of the previous five editions (2017). Some regression to the historical mean should be expected, but that fact is incentive not to throttle down. There have been no changes to the 7,268-yard walk. Just as it has been in the two non-majors since the U.S. Open at Torrey PInes, primary rough is trimmed to four inches and the bentgrass greens are governed to average 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. After a pleasant opener with a high in the upper 70s, rain and maybe storms could disrupt the proceedings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wind likely will pose a problem only in the form of outflows from encroaching inclement weather. The final exemption into The Open Championship is reserved for the top finisher at TPC Deere Run, not otherwise exempt. As of Monday, 15 in the field already have qualified. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The PGA TOUR today announced the complete schedule for the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, featuring 50 official FedExCup tournaments - including 14 tournaments that were postponed or canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic - culminating with the crowning of the FedExCup champion Labor Day weekend in 2021. The schedule, which reflects a net increase of one tournament over the original 2019-20 schedule, features the most tournaments in a season since 1975 (51). Three events postponed in 2020 - U.S. Open, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and Masters Tournament - will be played in the fall portion of the 2020-21 season and again in their traditional dates during the 2021 calendar year, along with 11 tournaments that were canceled and not rescheduled as a result of the pandemic, including THE PLAYERS Championship. In addition, with the postponement of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, the men's Olympic Golf competition will take place July 26-August 1, 2021, as a standalone event for the first time. "We are excited to present the full 2020-21 PGA TOUR schedule - a ‘super season' of 50 fully sponsored events and capped off by the 15th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. "If you're a golf fan, this is a dream season with more significant events than ever before, including the Olympic Games. Building our schedule is always complicated, but never more so as over the past several months as we continue to navigate challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate the extensive collaboration with our title sponsors, tournament organizations and golf's governing bodies that has brought us here - to the exciting conclusion of an extraordinary 2019-20 season this week, and on the brink of a season of 50 events, beginning next week." RELATED: Click here to print the 2020-21 PGA TOUR schedule As previously announced, the 2020-21 season will begin September 7-13 at the Safeway Open in Napa, California, which will serve as the season-opening tournament for the sixth time in seven years since the TOUR went to a wraparound schedule. The U.S. Open (September 14-20) at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, follows, being played in the month of September for the first time since 1913, as well as the rescheduled Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship (September 21-27), which will award full FedExCup points (500) for the first time. The Sanderson Farms Championship (September 28-October 4) will precede a three-event swing on the West Coast with the relocation of two of the TOUR's Asia Swing events. Following the TOUR's annual stop in Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (October 5-11), THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, annually played in Jeju Island, Korea, will be played at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, and will be renamed THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK (October 12-18) for 2020. The following week, Japan's ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be played at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, and renamed the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD (October 19-25) for 2020. The final event of the traditional Asia Swing and the season's first World Golf Championships event, the WGC-HSBC Champions has been canceled, with the Bermuda Championship (October 26-November 1) occupying the week on its own and awarding full FedExCup points. The Houston Open moves a month later on the 2020-21 schedule (November 2-8) and precedes the Masters (November 9-15). The fall portion of the schedule concludes with The RSM Classic (November 16-22), the week prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, and the Mayakoba Golf Classic (November 30-December 6) the week after. The TOUR returns at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 4-10) with the same sequencing as the 2019-20 season until March, as there have been adjustments made to a number of Florida-based tournaments. The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 1-7) and THE PLAYERS Championship (March 8-14) will follow the WGC-Mexico Championship and Puerto Rico Open (both February 22-28), while The Honda Classic (March 15-21) moves to the week after THE PLAYERS. The Valspar Championship (April 26-May 2), traditionally played the week after THE PLAYERS, will now conclude on May 2, between the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 19-25) and the Wells Fargo Championship (May 3-9). After the 40th playing of The Honda Classic, the TOUR's longest-running title sponsored event dating back to 1982 - an eight-week stretch begins that includes six tournaments that were canceled and not rescheduled during the 2019-20 season prior to the PGA Championship, beginning with the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (March 22-28) through the AT&T Byron Nelson (May 10-16), set to be contested for the first time at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. Additional tournaments that return to the schedule include the RBC Canadian Open (June 7-13), John Deere Classic (July 5-11), The Open Championship and the Barbasol Championship (both July 12-18). The men's Olympic Golf competition (July 26-August 1) will be played the week after the 3M Open (July 19-25) as a standalone event for the first time and will be followed by the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship (both August 2-8), before the FedExCup Regular Season concludes at the Wyndham Championship (August 9-15). The FedExCup Playoffs will consist of three events: THE NORTHERN TRUST returns to Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, which will host the event for the fourth time; the BMW Championship will be played for the first time at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, outside of Baltimore; and the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta will conclude on September 5, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. In addition to Caves Valley Golf Club, host of the 2021 BMW Championship, the 2020-21 season features several new or familiar venues. As previously announced, Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas and Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, will host tournaments for one year only. For the first time, the Houston Open will be played at Memorial Park Golf Course in downtown Houston; TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, will host the AT&T Byron Nelson for the first time; and St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Canada, will return as host of the RBC Canadian Open for the first time since 2010. Rotating major championship venues in 2021 include The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort at Kiawah Island, South Carolina (PGA Championship), Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California (U.S. Open), and Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England (Open Championship). Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan will host the men's Olympic Golf competition. 2020-21 FedExCup Regular Season (50 events)

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