The swing through the Midwest comes to an end for the PGA Tour with this week’s playing of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois. Having the unenviable slot of being just ahead of the Open Championship, and thousands of miles away, the field is less than attractive for this year’s event. There may be a lack of big names but there’s no mistaking the talent level. A number of the Tour’s rising stars will get the chance to show off and as odds at online sportsbooks suggest, the field is wide open. Michael Kim makes his first Tour title defense and will be joined by recent winners Matthew Wolff and Nate Lashley.
Odds to Win John Deere Classic at BookMaker.eu
Collin Morikawa +1800
Viktor Hovland +1800
Joaquin Niemann +2200
Matthew Wolff +2200
Sungjae Im +2200
Kevin Streelman +2500
Charles Howell III +2500
Daniel Berger +2800
Brian Harman +2800
Lucas Glover +2800
Ryan Moore +3000
Zach Johnson +3000
Wyndham Clark +4000
Sam Burns +4000
Kevin Tway +4000
Kyle Stanley +4500
Bud Cauley +4500
Joel Dahmen +5000
Ryan Palmer +5000
Scott Brown +6000
Nate Lashley +6000
J.T. Poston +6000
Jason Dufner +6000
Bronson Burgoon +6600
Cameron Tringale +6600
Mackenzie Hughes +6600
Martin Laird +6600
Talor Gooch +6600
Nick Watney +6600
Vaughn Taylor +6600
Troy Merritt +7000
Peter Malnati +7000
Sam Ryder +7000
Brian Stuard +7000
Jhonattan Vegas +7000
Cameron Champ +7000
Denny McCarthy +7000
Danny Lee +7500
Harold Varner III +7500
Pat Perez +7500
Sepp Straka +8000
Nick Taylor +8000
Dylan Frittelli +8000
Beau Hossler +8000
Austin Cook +9000
Brice Garnett +10000
Carlos Ortiz +10000
Hank Lebioda +10000
Matt Jones +10000
Joey Garber +10000
Johnson Wagner +10000
Ryan Armour +10000
Roger Sloan +10000
Odds Analysis
Zach Johnson +3000
It’s a risk/reward course that’s yielded plenty of rewards over the years, so why not take a risky gamble on Johnson. He’s certainly a player to look at given his form at TPC Deere Run. He’s finished among the top 20 in seven of his last eight starts here with six of those placing him among the top five. But, and there’s always a but, he enters with five straight finishes of T35 or worse and hasn’t placed among the top 10 since last fall.
Sam Burns +4000
The Louisiana product appears to enjoy the summer heat in the Midwest. He fired a bogey-free 64 in the final round of the 3M Open last week to grab a share of seventh, his best finish since a T3 at the Sanderson Farms Championship back in October. He has the potential to go low and this is the layout that gives him the best chance. He gained over eight strokes tee-to-green last week and needs to avoid the deflating high scores.
Joaquin Niemann +2200
Something has clicked in Niemann’s game and he’s riding a wave of strong form. He was up and down last week topping the field in par-4 scoring and stinking it up on the par 3s and 5s. Still, he finished T23 for his sixth consecutive finish of T31 or better with a pair of top 5s among them. His tee-to-green play has been phenomenal gaining strokes in five straight outings, and he comes in off a T23 last year.
Matthew Wolff +2200
There’s no denying this kid is a competitor. And now he’s a winner. In just his third start as a Tour pro, Wolff, with ice water in his veins, drained a 26-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory at the 3M Open. “I’ve been told so many times before that I was born for moments like these, I live for moments like these,” he said after the victory. Can he offer up the same intensity a week after his maiden victory? I think the answer is yes.
Troy Merritt +7000
A tournament like this offers up some value picks further down the odds board, and one player I’m watching closely is Merritt. When he is a factor it’s his approach game that paves the way. Last week, his putting was dynamite leading to a T7 at TPC Twin Cities. He’s a Northern Iowan so he’s playing close to home, which was a big help last week. He hasn’t fared well at Deere Run and he’s been a mixed bag coming in. He’s definitely a risk/reward play, and three top-20s in seven starts, along with last week’s showing, are promising.
Course: TPC Deere Run – 7,268 yards, Par 71
TPC Deere Run has hosted the JDC since 2000 with the winning score averaging right around 20-under. Kim torched the layout last year to a record 27-under topping the field by eight swings. Deere Run offers some of the widest fairways on Tour but it’s actually the short and accurate hitters that thrive on this track. As long as you are in the fairways, which the field hits about 71 percent of the time, you can attack the greens. Typically a layout that offers up plenty of birdies, the design of the course hasn’t been altered to change that thinking this week.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel, CBS
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