John Deere Classic betting tips: Short game will be key
Odds and preview for this week’s PGA Tour event
Attention may already be switching to next week’s Open Championship but the PGA Tour is at TPC Deere Run this week as we pick out some John Deere Classic betting tips.
The event was cancelled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and while the field at Silvis, Illinois, will be 156 strong, it is considerably weaker than in recent times, with many of the stars teeing off at the Scottish Open or taking the week off to prepare for next week’s Major.
TPC Deere Run is a DA Weibring-designed 7,258-yard par-71 course with easy-to-hit fairways and Bentgrass greens. Those with hot putters generally fare well.
Market leaders
Strokes gained in approach play are generally a great indicator to success in this tournament, as it is a relatively short course with wide fairways. Daniel Berger may rank 85th in driving distance, but he is hitting greens in regulation with regularity, ranking eighth on the Tour.
His AT&T Pebble Beach success was just one of six top-10 finishes this season and though his final-round 76 dropped him to a T34 finish in the US Open, Berger has been consistent, as his odds of 10/1 suggest.
Brian Harman won this event in 2014 and posted a strong finish here in 2017, with an eight-under 63 in the third round on his way to a T10 finish.
He led the field in strokes gained putting when recording a T3 at the Players Championship and the left-hander has quietly put together a decent run of form, which is 12/1 to continue with victory this week.
Sungjae Im may have withdrawn from the Open Championship to focus on the Olympic Games, but he could arguably do with a break.
In his first 20 starts of the season, Im had two top-five finishes, four top-10s and nine top-25s, but he has laboured in recent weeks, missing the cut in five of his last 11 events.
He did bounce back with a T8 in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and has the game for this course, so is available in John Deere Classic betting tips at 14/1.
Russell Henley comes here in decent form with back-to-back top-20 finishes, and ranks second in the field on approach play in his past 24 rounds.
Second here in 2019 and in contention at the US Open, his short game and putting ability means he is one of the more likely suspects at 16/1.
Kevin Streelman has three top-10 finishes this season, including a T8 finish in the PGA Championship. Though he missed the cut at The Travelers Championship, this course plays to his creative short-iron game strengths and his odds are 22/1.
At larger odds
With 10 top-25 finishes this season and coming here off the back of a fourth-place effort when just a shot behind at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Sweden’s Alex Noren is a 25/1 chance.
His putting and chipping has always been sublime, and this course may bring out the best in him.
Sony Open winner Kevin Na seems to appreciate shorter courses that are a little tight and while missing the cut in three of his last six tournaments, the five-times PGA Tour winner’s putting should see him contend again at 40/1.
Zach Johnson has four top-five finishes in his last seven visits to this course and he won this in 2012. He has not posted a victory since the 2015 Open Championship, yet his most recent start, at The Travelers, showed plenty of promise, gaining 4.5 strokes on approach play. If he finds a hot putter, he may be of interest for John Deere Classic betting tips at 40/1.
Scores can get extremely low here as the course will offer plenty of birdie opportunities and 12 of the 18 holes historically average under par. Maverick McNealy, runner-up at Pebble Beach and T4 at the RBC Heritage, has been firing plenty of birdies lately and could be a player at odds of 40/1.
Elsewhere
If anyone needs to find a course that he will feel comfortable at, it is Charles Howell III.
He missed the cut at both the Memorial Tournament and the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but has a win (2012), a runner-up finish, two ties for second and two ties for third at TPC Deere Run, and is a 50/1 shot in the John Deere Classic betting.
Ryan Moore is another winner of this tournament (2016) and while he has not been in any real form for the past couple of seasons, a second-round 65 at The Travelers Championship last time showed there may be some shoots of a revival. He is available at 55/1.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
