Multiple-Time PGA Tour Winner Among Early Number Of John Deere Classic Withdrawals

A busy period of golf continues at the John Deere Classic, which plays as the final tournament Stateside before a fortnight run in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

For 2025, several big names will tee it up in the tournament but, on the weekend prior to the event, we have already seen a few withdrawals before the start of the John Deere Classic on Thursday.

As of writing, three players are on the list of withdrawals, as Norman Xiong, Danny Walker and Aaron Baddeley all pulled out of the tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

Being replaced by Zac Blair, Matt NeSmith and James Hahn, it's currently unclear as to whether more withdrawals will follow at TPC Deere Run, especially as two tournaments, including The Open Championship, get underway in the near future.

Neither Xiong, a two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner, or Walker, have played in the John Deere Classic before, which gets underway on the 3rd July.

Baddeley, a four-time PGA Tour winner, finished T31 at the John Deere Classic in 2023, with his best result in the event coming back in 2009, where he finished in a share of ninth spot.

Going into this year's tournament, American Davis Thompson returns to defend his title, which he claimed dominantly following a 28-under total, four shots clear of Michael Thorbjornsen, Luke Clanton and C.T. Pan.

Thompson, Thorbjornsen and Clanton return for 2025, where Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and last week's Rocket Classic winner, Aldrich Potgieter, headline the tournament.