John Deere Classic: Final Round
TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
The Rocket Mortgage Classic ended up being just that: a classic. Rickie Fowler (Texhoss Top Five +1400) birdied #18 for the third time in a row in a playoff against Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin to win his first PGA tour event in four years. Rickie has been playing well all season, and after the recent Sunday collapse at the U.S. Open, we knew he was primed for a not-if-but-when scenario. The +1400 Rickie Fowler ticket, as well as three Top 20 picks including Troy Merritt at +700, carry the green streak to nine weeks in a row.
This week, there will be a lot of green and yellow around at TPC Deere Run for the John Deere Classic. This is one of the events I would like to visit eventually, as it always looks like a good time in Silvis, Illinois, during John Deere week. The John Deere Classic has had some entertaining finishes in the past, with the most notable ones being by Jordan Spieth draining the bunker shot on #18 to force a playoff in 2013 for his first tour win and chipping in on #16 for birdie on an epic back-nine comeback to yet again force a playoff and win in 2015. This week, the stage is set for another young up-and-comer to make their run to become the next PGA star, as the majority of the top players have made the trip to Europe for the Scottish Open and The Open in the next two weeks. Last year, J.T. Poston held off the field for his second PGA Tour win at the 2022 John Deere Classic, winning by three strokes. The purse for this week will be $7.4 million, with $1.3 million going to the winner.
The Field:
The field this week will not be a star-studded event, as it is not an elevated event and the top players are heading across the pond to get ready for the upcoming events, but this type of field is what sets apart the casuals from the experts. There will be plenty of talent in the field this weekend, and a lot of hungry golfers making up the 156-player field. Players like Adam Schenk, who has been playing well all season and has two runner-up finishes, will try to be on top this week. There will be many players coming in hot, such as Taylor Moore, Adam Hadwin, Denny McCarthy, and phenom Ludvig Aberg. Look for good putters and scramblers to fill your DraftKings lineups to put you in the money this week.
The Course:
Sitting on the border of Illinois and Iowa, on the Rock River, lies the lush green arena of the TPC Deere Run. Established in 2000 and designed by D.A. Weibring, an Illinois native and three-time John Deere Classic winner (prior events under different sponsorships), TPC Deere Run is another tee-to-green bentgrass Eden, with the thick bluegrass rough. The layout will play 7,257 yd as par 71 (35-36) with average-size greens at 5,500 sq ft. Winners in the past weeks on the bentgrass with bluegrass rough have been great scramblers and putters due to the speedy greens and thick sticky rough. The weather this week looks to be chamber-of-commerce levels, with highs in the low 80s and lows in the 60s. No rain or gusty winds are in the forecast.
TexHoss Projected Top 5 (via BetOnline):
Taylor Moore +3300
Adam Schenk +2500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000
Doug Ghim +5500
Adam Hadwin +3000
Tournament Wagers:
Matchup: Stephan Jaeger OVER Patrick Rogers (-120) [via Draft Kings]
Top 10: Denny McCarthy (+220) [via BetOnline]
Top 10: Taylor Moore (+400) [via BetOnline]
Top 10: Emiliano Grillo (+400) [via BetOnline]
Top 20: Dylan Wu (+225) [via BetOnline]
Top 20: Adam Long (+700) [via Draft Kings]
Top 20: Greyson Sigg (+400) [via Draft Kings]
Top 20: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+260) [via Draft Kings]
Top 20: Ryan Moore (+450) [via Draft Kings]
Top 20: Adam Svensson (+280) [via Draft Kings]
Top 20: Luca Glover (+260) [via Draft Kings]
1st Round Wagers: (+0.62 units)
[WIN] Matchup: Garrick Higgo OVER Brendon Todd (-105) [via BetOnline]
[LOSER] Matchup: Taylor Moore OVER Chris Kirk (-105) [via BetOnline]
[WIN] Matchup: Adam Schenk OVER Seamus Power (-125) [via Draft Kings]
[WIN] Matchup: Lucas Glover OVER Michael Kim (-115) [via Draft Kings]
[LOSER] Matchup: Ludvig Aberg OVER Cameron Young (+110) [via Draft Kings]
2nd Round Wagers: (-1.09 units)
[WIN] Matchup: Lucas Glover OVER Michael Kim (-110) [via BetOnline]
[WIN] Matchup: Denny McCarthy OVER Russ Henley (+100) [via BetOnline]
[PUSH] Matchup: Byeong Hun An OVER Alex Smalley (+105) [via BetOnline]
[LOSER] Matchup: Garrick Higgo OVER Brendon Todd (+109) [via BetOnline]
[LOSER] Matchup: Dylan Frittelli OVER Eric Cole (+170) [via Draft Kings]
[LOSER] Matchup: Adam Hadwin OVER Seamus Power (-130) [via Draft Kings]
Final Round:
Matchup: Eric Cole OVER Ludvig Aberg (+109) [via BetOnline]
Matchup: Robert Streb OVER Lanto Griffin (+109) [via BetOnline]
Matchup: Adam Svensson OVER Kevin Yu (-110) [via BetOnline]
Matchup: Zach Johnson OVER Kevin Streelman (+100) [via Draft Kings]
Matchup: JT Poston OVER Chris Kirk (+110) [via Draft Kings]
Matchup: Brendon Todd OVER Alex Smalley (+110) [via Draft Kings]
Top 20: Jason Dufner (+400)
Top 20: Zach Johnson (+700)