Tuesday tournament officials announced their list of sponsor exemptions, including graduates from the University of Illinois, Illinois State, the University of Iowa, and Iowa State.
Tournament Director Clair Peterson says the Classic has a long tradition of giving promising young players a chance to go up against some of the best on the PGA Tour, and give fans a chance to see them early in their careers.
"So we really thought that this year, after a year off, we'd focus on giving spots to guys that we really admire, that have worked really hard, but are going to schools closer to the John Deere Classic, and guys that might not be getting exemptions from other tournaments."
Some past sponsor exemptions include Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and Michelle Wie.
"The basic philosophy of a sponsor exemption is somebody who wouldn't be in your field otherwise that's going to bring some degree of interest to tournament week. And that's a broad definition going back to 05-06 - Michelle Wie certainly fit that description and made sense for us."
This year's John Deere Classic is set for July 8-11 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.
Illinois - Michael Feagles
Ill State - David Perkins (East Peoria)
Iowa - Alex Schaake (Omaha)
Ia State - Tripp Kinney (Waukee)
