John Deere Classic
Course: TPC Deere Run (7,327 yards, par 71)
Purse: $8,800,000
Winner: $1,584,000 and 500 FedExCup Points
Tournament Preview
With all the Signature Events this season in the review mirror and only one major left on the calendar, the race for to make the FedExCup Playoffs is coming into full view. Only the top 70 in the standings will make the postseason and plenty will change between now and then when things kick off at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in mid-August. While there are some standout players in 2026 that will be teeing it up this week, the John Deere Classic provides an opportunity for younger players to make a name for themselves and veterans to return to the top step of the podium.
Jackson Koivun will be making his professional debut this week after putting together one of the most impressive collegiate careers of all time. He scored 11 individual wins over three seasons at Auburn and helped the Tigers to two NCAA Championships during that time span. Preston Stout will get a spot at the John Deere Classic as well this week. Stout just wrapped up his five-win junior season at Oklahoma State with a NCAA Individual title earlier this month. Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell was also give a sponsor's exemption. Howell was the third youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur at just 18 years old. He will be making his sixth PGA Tour start of the season this week and will be starting his collegiate career at Georgia in the fall. 19-year-old Blades Brown will make his eighth PGA Tour start of the season after earning special temporary status last month at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Brown has been competing mostly on the Korn Ferry Tour trying to secure full playing status on the PGA Tour for 2027.
That wraps up many of the future stars, but there certainly are some interesting current stars of the PGA Tour who are electing to tee it up in the Quad Cities. Chris Gotterup is the highest-ranked player in the field at 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking and will play stateside before heading over to defend his title at the Genesis Scottish Open. Gotterup is looking to get back to the form he had early in the season when he won two of his first three starts. Jacob Bridgeman and J.T. Poston both have a win at a Signature Event this year and both will be playing this week along with Ben Griffin who won three times a season ago. Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Max Homa and Tom Kim highlight some of the other notables. Spieth is a two-time winner of the John Deere Classic but has competed just once here since 2015.
Much like we saw a week ago at TPC River Highlands, TPC Deere Run requires players to take it low to have a chance. 12 of the last 16 winners here have taken it to at least 20-under-par, including Davis Thompson's all-time scoring record for 28-under (256) back in 2024. The John Deere Classic knows what it is and seems to play into the birdie barrage aspect of the tournament along with the long history of giving young players an opportunity to compete.
Steamy conditions are forecasted in Silvis, IL this week. Daytime highs during the tournament are expected to dip into the 90s. The tail end of the heat wave that's moving across the country will likely also bring with it some storms, which could potentially halt play at some point, as it did at the Travelers. Wind gusts could top 20 mph during the first two rounds, but is expected to die down for the weekend. Expect to see some long drives in the heat and receptive greens. Spin control with the wedges could be the name of the game.
Recent Champions
2025 - Brian Campbell (-18)
2024 - Davis Thompson (-28)
2023 - Sepp Straka (-21)
2022 - J.T. Poston (-21)
2021 - Lucas Glover (-19)
2020 - No Tournament
2019 - Dylan Frittelli (-21)
2018 - Michael Kim (-27)
2017 - Bryson DeChambeau (-18)
2016 - Ryan Moore (-22)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
- Birdie Average/Proximity 100-150 Yards
Champion's Profile
As is the case in a shootout, hitting greens and sinking putts will be the primary goal. We are expecting to see receptive greens, which should make it easier for mid-to-long irons to hold. As mentioned earlier, spin control with the wedges will be the biggest challenge. Players will get a lot of wedge opportunities with seven of the par-4s measuring under 435 yards in length and all the hot air. Proximity in the 100-150 yard range should once again be important.
Similar to TPC River Highlands, TPC Deere Run has tried to grow the rough up in recent years and it has resulted on more emphasis being placed on hitting fairways. I mentioned all the short par-4s on this course, which will allow players to throttle back at times if they feel it's necessary to have a better chance at playing their second shot from the fairway.
We do have a 36-hole cut to worry about this week, which will require players to go pretty low to make the weekend. Last year the cut fell at 5-under-par. The par-5s here have been key over the years despite their only being three of them. They should all be reachable in two shots for most of the players in the field should they hit a good tee shot.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Ben Griffin ($12,000)
Griffin is the top-ranked player in my model this week and fully deserving of this price given the field strength. After a slow start to the year, Griffin is trending in a great direction, with top-20 finishes in six of his last eight starts and a pair of podium finishes in that stretch. The putting and short game have been lethal during that stretch, and the iron play is trending towards what we saw consistently last year. Griffin was T5 at the John Deere Classic back in 2024 thanks to a great week on the greens.
Eric Cole ($11,000)
I was extremely high on Cole last week and was feeling good about things after he led following round one with a 63. Unfortunately, he struggled to keep pace the rest of the way and actually lost strokes on the greens when it was all said in done. That was the first time that happened to him since he missed the cut at the Valspar. I'm not going to worry too much about that. Cole still is No. 1 in this field in SG: Putting over the last three months and can pile up birdies with the best of them. The trend towards the green in SG: Approach has been quite encouraging.
Jacob Bridgeman ($10,900)
There's a chance I might have been a week early on Bridgeman, but I'm not going to take the risk of missing out on one of his spike weeks at a perfect setup for him. Bridgeman, like Cole, is a guy that can make birdies in bunches thanks to his biggest weapon that is the putter. That's excactly what he did en route to a T5 finish at TPC Deere Run last year. Bridgeman also excels in the 100-150 yard range, which we will see quite a few second shots come from this week.
The Middle Tier
Pierceson Coody ($10,500)
I have been off Coody for a bit after his sizzling start to the season, but he has started to rebound with five top-25s in his last eight starts. The putter has been a big reason why, as Coody ranks eighth in SG: Putting over the last three months and is gaining more strokes than anyone over the last two seasons on Bentgrass greens. Coody ranks 17th on Tour this season in birdie average and is one of the longest hitters in this field.
Denny McCarthy ($9,900)
It has been a struggle for McCarthy to get it in gear this season, as he is still looking for his first top-10 finish. That said, he still has a pretty high floor making the cut in nine of his last ten starts. Last week he showed something with a T14 finish at a Signature Event, and now we head to TPC Deere Run where he has gone T6-T6-T7-T11 the last four years. McCarthy ranks top 5 in this field in SG: Putting over the last three months, SG: Total at TPC Deere Run and SG: Putting on Bentgrass.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($9,300)
Bezuidenhout graded out very high for me this week thanks to how well rounded his game is. He is accurate off the tee, very strong with his wedges, has terrific touch around the greens and can fill it up with the best on them. Bezuidenhout might not show up every week, but he has a knack for rising on the leaderboard on easier courses and against weaker fields. He finished T2 at the John Deere Classic back in 2022 where he was amongst the leaders in SG: Putting.
The Long Shots
Zach Bauchou ($8,800)
Bauchou makes a ton of sense at the top of the $8K range. He missed the cut in his last start in Canada, but went T13-T24-T6-T22 prior to that. Bauchou is a terrific wedge player ranking second on Tour this season in proximity from 50-125 yards. He is also 15th in scrambling and 10th in par-4 scoring. This will be Bauchou's first time playing the John Deere Classic, but given the way everything has trended lately on similar courses, I'd expect a strong showing from the Oklahoma State product in the Quad Cities.
Austin Eckroat ($8,400)
Eckroat has made his last seven cuts and owns a trio of top-20s in tha stretch. He is one of the best iron players in the field and will give himself plenty of quality looks, ranking second in both proximity from 125-150 yards and 150-175 yards. Eckroat has also seen big strides in his putting this season, ranking fourth on Tour in putts per GIR and 14th in birdie or better conversion percentage. He was also T11 last year at the John Deere Classic.
A.J. Ewart ($8,400)
Ewart checks in at the same number as Eckroat and offers another very reliable option to finish out a lineup. He has finished top 30 on nine occasions this season, including five of his last six starts. The putter has been so strong during that stretch and he has gained the second-most strokes per round on the greens of any player in this field over the last three months. Ewart is 10th overall in this field in SG: Total over the last six months as well. This feels like a perfect time for him to pop.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
With a shallow field on a course that is very gettable, it can make handicapping everything for DFS purposes quite difficult. Much like last week, it's going to be easy to hit a lot of greens, but the conversion percentage where be where the separation occurs. That's a big reason why I'll be leaning on hot putters at TPC Deere Run. Of course anyone could have a big putting week out of nowhere, but those who have been consistent standout performers on the greens the last few months will be the most reliable. You can play pretty well from tee to green at an event like this and miss the cut by just not making enough putts.
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