Organizers of the FedEx Cup playoff event near Chicago understandably took pause last week when their Illinois neighbor, the John Deere Classic, opted to cancel this year’s tournament rather than play without spectators.
“When Deere canceled, we were surprised that happened; it’s unfortunate,” said John Kaczkowski, president and CEO of the Western Golf Association, which runs the BMW Championship, the second of three FedEx Cup playoff events.
“But we understand. There are a lot of mitigating factors. We are in the same state, but we’re looking at it this way: There are six weeks between our event and the John Deere. A lot can happen. Look at where we were six weeks ago. We’re still hopeful we will have spectators.”
Organizers of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, decided it would not be worth the financial hit to play the tournament in 2020 — although the state’s coronavirus pandemic restrictions undoubtedly played a part.
Scheduled for July 9-12, the John Deere will wait until 2021 while the PGA Tour attempts to find a replacement event in short order as the tour schedule resumes next week at the Charles Schwab Championship.
