The PGA Tour heads to the Quad Cities right outside of Davenport, Iowa this week for the John Deere Classic. This tournament is always one of the worst on the schedule. It is not because TPC Deere Run is a bad course; but because of the placement of the tournament on the PGA Schedule. The John Deere Classic is usually played right before the Scottish Open. Most of the golfers want to head overseas to get adjusted to the time change and get some practice on the links course so they skip the John Deere Classic to get ready for the Scottish Open next week and the Open Championship in two weeks. That is the case once again this year.
I like watching the best golfers in the world play. I have little interest watching a bunch of scrubs competing for a spot in the Open Championship. I will cut back my play significantly for this tournament and save the extra money for the Open Championship in a few weeks.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
TPC Deere Run will be the host course this week. It plays 7,327 yards in length and is a par 71. The course is pretty easy. The par 4’s are pretty short and the fairways are wide. There is no water to be concerned with but there are a lot of bunkers to make it somewhat challenging. This is definitely a week when the short hitters can score well as long as their wedge game is in form. I expect some low scores from the golfers and some high scores in DFS.
Click here to see the course: TPC Deere Run
JOHN DEERE KEY STATS
– Stroke Gained Off the Tee
– Strokes Gained Approach
– Par 4 Scoring 350 – 450 Yards
– Birdie or Better %
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
TOP 30 GOLFERS
CORE GOLFERS FOR JOHN DEERE
JOHN DEERE STRATEGY
Strategy for lineup construction will be tricky this week. I read on the DK Nation website that the winning lineup for the John Deere Classic the last two years spent all $50K of the salary cap and had all six golfers with double-digit ownership. In 2023 the winning lineup had six golfers priced between $7.6K and $8K and most of the golfers had single-digit ownership. So this tells us that “stars and scrubs” and a “balanced lineup” should work this week. I plan to build more “stars and scrubs” lineups because I trust the higher priced golfers more this week and there is not much difference between the golfers priced in the Mid-$7K range and the golfers in the high-$6K range.
This is the week to limit your exposure in Tournament Contests to one golfer. Spread your exposure around so that you have a lot of golfers in your core. This tournament has a history of a golfer coming out of nowhere and blowing away the field. Finding that golfer is tough, so have as many bullets as possible at the John Deere Classic.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
BEN GRIFFIN ($10,500): Griffin seems to be the class of the field this week. He finished 5th at the John Deere Classic in 2024 and his form entering the tournament this week is fantastic. Griffin finished 3rd at the Cadillac Classic, 3rd at the Charles Schwab, 14th at the PGA Championship and 10th last week at the Travelers. The fields in those tournaments were a lot stronger than what we have this week. Griffin has a good chance to win Sunday.
TOM KIM ($8,700): Kim started off his PGA Tour career on fire and then he cooled down last year and now he is heating up again. Kim finished 6th at Myrtle Beach (another easy course), 15th at the RBC Canadian Open and 3rd at the U.S. Open. Kim ranks No. 5 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 4 in SG Approach, No. 7 in Scrambling and No. 4 overall in the Key Stats. Kim has a decent chance to win the John Deere Classic Sunday.
DOUG GHIM ($8,500): I love playing Ghim at these easy courses. He ranks No. 6 in the model when I sort by easy courses. Ghim has made the cut in four of his last five trips to TPC Deere Run. His only missed cut was in 2022 when he was playing his worst golf of his career. Ghim ranks No. 3 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 3 Ball-Striking and No. 5 overall in the Key Stats. He has the course history and the recent form to play well this week.
RICO HOEY ($7,600): I had a hard time deciding between Blades Brown and Hoey for this pick. I think Hoey is the safer play, so he gets the spot. Hoey has played the John Deere Classic twice. He has never shot over 68 in his 8 rounds at this course. Hoey missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, but he was in great form before that tournament. Hoey also ranks 6th in the field on easy courses. He should be a safe play for a top-15 finish for your Cash Contest lineup.
EMILIANO GRILLO ($7,300): Grillo has had a pretty good season so far. He hasn’t finished in the top-10 at the Big Boy Courses, but he has been good on the easy courses. The stats also love Grillo this week. He ranks No. 12 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 14 in SG Approach, No. 18 in SG Putting and No. 10 overall in the Key Stats. Grillo finished 2nd at the John Deere Classic last year and he finished 2nd again in 2022. He has the form and course history to finish near the top of the leaderboard Sunday.
CARSON YOUNG ($7,200): Young has been lighting up the Korn Ferry Tour. He shot a 61 in the Opening Round last week on that tour. Can those stats translate to the PGA Tour? TPC Deere Run may be easier than some of the courses on the Korn Ferry Tour. Golf is golf and if a player is red hot on one tour, I am betting he can be hot again this week. It is not like he has a defense trying to shot him down, like there is in other sports.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST
KEITH MITCHELL ($10,000): Will people be willing to click on Mitchell’s name when they see the $10K next it? I expect Chris Gotterup and Ben Griffin to eat up a lot of ownership from Mitchell, so I will take a chance with “Cashmere Keith.” He is on a heater right now. Mitchell finished 5th at the C.J. Cup, 4th at the U.S. Open and 22nd last week at the Travelers Championship. Mitchell ranks No. 2 in the Key Stats this week. I like his chance to be near the top of the leaderboard Sunday.
J.T. POSTON ($8,000): Poston has been playing some really good golf over the last two months. He was playing well last week until he took a 12 on a par-five. I am not going to let one bad hole chase me away from Poston. He won the Memorial Tournament and finished 4th in the U.S. Open. He also won the John Deere Classic in 2022. I would not be surprised to see Poston holding the trophy again this week.
SUNGJAE IM ($8,400): Whenever the PGA Tour travels to TPC Deere Run, I like to sort the top-10 easiest courses on the PGA Tour and see if any golfers pop. That golfer this week is Sungjae. He has not played well on the large courses, with a loaded field, but he did finish 5th at the Truist Championship and 9th at the C.J. Cup. Im ranks No. 1 in the field in SG Total on easy courses. I will trust the numbers and take a chance with Sungjae this week.
BLADES BROWN ($7,600): This 19 year old has been lighting up the Korn Ferry Tour and he has been playing well every time he has shown up on the PGA Tour. Brown finished 3rd in Puerto Rico, 9th at Myrtle Beach and 14th in the C.J. Cup. “What can Brown do for you?” He can help you win your Tournament Contest at the John Deere Classic.
JACKSON SUBER ($7,400): Suber missed the cut at the John Deere Classic last year, but he was nowhere near the golfer he is now. Suber finished 19th at Myrtle Beach (another easy course), 4th at the CJ Cup, 4th at the Canadian Open and 30th last week at the Travelers Championship. Suber ranks No. 16 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 18 in SG Approach and No. 16 in the Key Stats. I like his chances for a top-15 finish Sunday.
BEN KOHLES ($7,300): I have heard a lot of people talking up Emiliano Grillo and John Keefer this week. I will pivot to the lower owned Kohles. He popped when I ran the stats for this tournament. He ranks No. 14 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 1 in SG Approach, No. 5 in Ball-Striking and No. 20 overall in the Key Stats. He weakness is his putter, but he does gain .3 strokes per round on Bentgrass Greens. Kohles finished 29th at the RBC Canadian Open and 23rd at the U.S. Open. He has the game to finish in the top-10 Sunday.
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contests: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the fourth tournament in Segment 3. This is the toughest Segment to navigate. We still have the Open Championship and the FedEx Playoff Tournaments. Use your golfers wisely in this Segment.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: J.T. POSTON (JOHN DEERE)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Justin Thomas (15th), Xander Schauffele (11th), Wyndham Clark (11TH), Patrick Cantlay (17th), Rickie Fowler (MC), Jordan Spieth (19th), Bryson DeChambeau (MC), Cameron Young (10TH), Scottie Scheffler (2ND), Matthew Fitzpatrick (WIN), Jon Rahm (38th), Keith Mitchell (M/C), Brooks Koepka (M/C), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa (W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Tommy Fleetwood (7th), Russell Henley (12th), Si Woo Kim (3rd), Jason Day (38th), Ben Griffin (24TH), Hideki Matsuyama (13th)
SEASON-LONG ONE & DONE PICK: JACKSON KOIVUN (JOHN DEERE)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: Alex Fitzpatrick (7th), Tommy Fleetwood (11th), Sam Burns (20TH), Alex Smalley (MC), Rickie Fowler (MC), Eric Cole (31st), Xander Schauffele (7th), Rory McIlory (19th), Scottie Scheffler (2nd), Sahith Theegala (24TH), Patrick Cantlay (8TH), Bryson DeChambeau (M/C), Jordan Spieth (63RD), Min Woo Lee (3RD), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa (W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Hideki Matsuyama (28th), Justin Rose (37th), Cameron Young (41st), Maverick McNealy (10th), Si Woo Kim (6TH), Russell Henley (19th), Michael Thorbjornsen (7th), Nico Echavarria (46TH), Garrett Higgo (15th), Alex Noren (23rd), Davis Thompson (21st)
BEST BETS FOR THE JOHN DEERE
J.T. POSTON 27-1
TOM KIM 35-1
DOUG GHIM 43-1
JACKSON SUBER 56-1
BLADES BROWN 58-1
EMILIANO GRILLO 84-1
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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