JOHNSTON: Look for young stars to emerge at JDC

Defending John Deere Classic champion Lucas Glover scored an ace when talking about the local PGA Tour event and its success no matter the weather, no matter the field and no matter the obstacles it faces on the Tour schedule.

“It’s a community-driven event and the community has embraced it,” said Glover when he was here last month for Champion’s Day. “People come out no matter what, they come out no matter who is at the tournament or who is playing or who is not. They come out and they watch and they support it.

"It is a community-wide event. That’s why it’s so cool and that’s why I love it so much. That’s why guys who have been coming here for years are still coming.”

Which is the bottom line for this tournament.

Many people, year-after-year, fret about the lack of star power in the field. This year, there are no Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings after No. 25 Daniel Berger withdrew on Monday because of a lingering injury.

There are only nine players in the field ranked among the Top 99 — No. 58 Webb Simpson, No. 66 Sahith Theegala, No. 75 Christiaan Bezuidenhout, No. 80 Adam Hadwin, No. 83 Cam Davis, No. 86 Maverick McNealy, No. 88 Anirban Lahiri, No. 93 Denny McCarthy and No. 99 J.T. Poston.

There is no Jordan Spieth, no Justin Thomas, no Rory McIlroy.

But you know what?

There are plenty of great golfers to watch and who knows, maybe even the next Jordan, JT or Rors will emerge from the 2022 JDC field.

Former JDC champ and 2023 Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has the perfect response to those lamenting a field seemingly lacking star power — watch closely and you might just see the next young breakout golfer.

“What would I say to the fans is the next guys that are playing on some of these Cup teams are probably in the field right now, that's what I would say,” the Iowa native and JDC board member said. “Whether they're young pros or even some veteran guys that have been there before. I think we'll see some guys surface and make headlines in major championships and on teams.

“I mean it just happens. I think if you were to ask the golfing public out there that is somewhat golf literate, two and a half years ago did they really know who Scottie Scheffler was? … We picked him at the Ryder Cup last year. For all intents and purposes he might have been our 12th man. I don't think we have to question who he is now. So that would be my response. There's a number of Scottie Schefflers out there and my guess is there could be a few in the field.”

A couple of the top players in the chase for Rookie of the Year honors who have been shining brightly this season are Davis Riley, Mito Pereira, Cameron Young and Aaron Rai.

Riley withdrew from the JDC when he landed a spot in the upcoming 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. The other three are taking a pass on the JDC and a shot at the three spots available for the upcoming Open.

While some of the “name” veteran players are leaving the PGA Tour for the riches of the LIV Tour, they are just opening the door for the next crop of stars. And there are plenty to choose from as 14 rookies come into this week’s action ranked in the Top 125 on the FedExCup points chase and looking for spots in the upcoming playoffs.

Former U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson can relate to the youngsters in this week’s field getting an opportunity to compete at the highest level. He was a JDC exemption in 2008.

“They're huge,” Simpson said of receiving a spot his rookie year. “I remember when Clair (JDC executive director Clair Peterson, who was then tournament director) invited me to come, I was elated because there's so many uncertainties when you turn pro as a young player. You don't know where you're going to be the next six months.

"So I was grateful of those. I got a couple other ones that summer but they set me up for kind of a great end of 2008 to get through Q-School.”

So who are the top rookies that we should be keeping an eye on this week at Deere Run?

Here are five of the best guesses:

Sahith Theegala: Is two holes away from two Tour titles this season. Lousy finishing holes kept him from victories at the WM Phoenix Open and last week’s Travelers Championship. He has made 20 cuts in 25 starts with five Top 10s and is 37th in the FedExCup race and already No. 66 in the OWGR. This guy is the real deal and just needs that breakthrough.

Chad Ramey: Already found the winner’s circle, taking the crown at the Corales Puntacana Championship and has a T5 at the Puerto Rico Open. Still looking for the first Top 10 on the continent as well as the consistency that some of the other rookies possess. Still has made 10 cuts in 23 Tour starts and a pair of Top 10s as he sits 60th on the FedExCup list and 131 in the OWGR.

Nick Hardy: The Illinois native is ranked No. 16 among the top rookies right now, but lost some ground when an injury sidelined him for a month. Still has made nine cuts in 16 starts and finding his form, coming in off last week’s T8 at the Travelers after a T14 at the U.S. Open.

Hayden Buckley: His T14 at the U.S. Open put four straight missed cuts in the rear view mirror and he followed that with a T43 at last week’s Travelers. Has 11 made cuts in 24 starts and a pair of Top 10s as he sits at No. 96 on the FedExCup list.

Taylor Pendrith: They say beware of the injured golfer. Well, Pendrith is just back from a rib injury that sidelined him since the Players Championship in mid-March. Leading up to his injury, the Canadian had made 10 cuts in 15 starts with a T5 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship last fall and T13 at the Players. Is still No. 107 in the FedExCup race despite the limited starts.

Other rookies among the Top 20 in the Rookie of the Year race to eye this week are David Lipsky, Alex Smalley, Matthias Schwab, Lee Hodges, Brandon Wu, Max McGreevy, Greyson Sigg, Austin Smotherman, Andrew Novak and Justin Lower.

Of course, there are plenty of established players who may not be household names to the average golf watcher. These guys have either been knocking on the door to their first Tour victory or have already tasted success, but are primed to be in contention this week.

Those players, along with some established veterans to watch include Simpson, McNealy, Hadwin, McCarthy and Illinois native Kevin Streelman.

Don’t bet against Charles Howell III to be a factor. He isn’t quite in Steve Stricker or Zach Johnson territory when it comes to JDC success, but chances are good he makes the cut and is part of the weekend story.

No star power in this field?

Just you wait and see.