Chris Gotterup is competing at the TPC Deere Run this week, and the tournament is not just another name in the schedule for him. This is where his professional career took off. Since that first trip to Silvis, Gotterup has turned into one of the biggest breakout stories on the PGA Tour. Speaking in an interview with Trey Wingo, he was asked directly whether the Tour’s new competitive structure could someday shut him out of the tournament that gave him his start. His answer was blunt, and it said a lot about how players are actually processing the changes coming into their sport.

“I think it’s something that we have no say over, for the most part. And I think it depends on… I mean, there’s obviously a million different things that are moving with that. There’s no reason to say that the John Deere can’t become, you know, if they want to pony up and be a signature event, then they will probably do that, and then the question doesn’t really exist.”

“But I think it’s something that we can’t really think too deeply about. We’re kind of programmed to just show up where we need to be, try to play well, and try to play the best golf we can,” he said on the show.

The PGA Tour is set to bring a sweeping restructuring plan in June, starting in 2028. It will split the tour into two tiers, the Championship Series and the Challenger Series.

The Championship Series would essentially be Tier 1 and would carry $20 million prize purses and would host the game’s best players every week. The Challenger Series will run underneath it, offering smaller purses and a pathway back up. The tour has already confirmed one hard rule: Championship Series players cannot play Challenger Series events.

Although the John Deere Classic’s future remained the subject of speculation, Guterup has made it clear how he would feel if he were to never tee up ever again. Before arriving in Silvis, Guterup was still trying to establish himself as a professional. He turned pro in June 2022 after winning the Haskins and Nicklaus Awards at Oklahoma. But his first few starts were a mixed bag. He missed the cut in his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open.

Thereafter, he recorded a T-43 finish at the U.S. Open and T-35 at the Travelers Championship. He then arrived at the John Deere Classic for what was just the fourth start of his professional career. He made it to the tournament through a sponsor’s exemption.

It was a major moment for him. He closed his week with a final-round 66 and birdies on his last three holes to finish T-4, the best result of his short pro career at the point. So the invite meant more to him than just a stop on the schedule.

“Without this, I’d probably be sitting on my couch playing Xbox and waiting for Q school,” he said later.

His finish at the John Deere Classic propelled him towards earning a Korn Ferry Tour card. It allowed him to build himself in a season on the circuit to reach the PGA Tour in 2024. He claimed his first PGA Tour title at the Myrtle Beach Classic, winning by six strokes. Gutterup added a second victory at the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open and finished third at the Open Championship. His rise has only continued in 2026. This season, he has already captured two titles, winning the Sony Open and the WM Phoenix Open.

Notably, the reason Gutterup feels they have no say points to a major question in the current system. Right now, even the Tour’s biggest stars can pick and choose their schedules to some extent. Players skip certain limited-field events every year to manage their bodies and priorities around the majors. That flexibility is uncertain under the new system.

Additionally, the Championship Series schedule will consist of 23–24 events over roughly seven months, creating questions about how much scheduling flexibility players will retain. Tommy Fleetwood, for one, raised the question.

While the proposed changes may limit players’ choices, Guterup said the biggest loss would be the relationships he has built.

“But it is one of those things where I know Andy and Nathan on a personal level just from being here for so many years, and the same with the people at Deere. So I think that would be the tough part.”

With the season Chris Gotterup has shown in the 2026 season, losing out on the John Deere Classic would be a bittersweet experience. However, he did leave himself one way out. If the John Deere Classic ever signs as a Signature Event status of its own, “the question doesn’t really exist.” Until then, that’s not a decision he gets to make either.