Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: John Deere Classic

John Deere Classic

TPC Deere Run
Silvis, IL

The PGA Tour heads to Illinois for another edition of the John Deere Classic.

The final signature event of the season is now in the books. Where did this season go? We're now entering that stretch of the season where we're just waiting for the next big thing. In this case, we're eagerly awaiting the Open Championship, which takes place in just a couple weeks. Until then we've got an event which most players are skipping, the John Deere Classic, and the Scottish Open, which was a nice add to the PGA Tour schedule a few years ago.

After that, it's another waiting period, this time it's for the FedEx Cup playoffs, which doesn't quite hold the anticipation that the Open Championship does, but it's still pretty exciting. Well, at least for those that play in fantasy leagues that count dollars earned, because the FedEx is like having three consecutive signature events.

I'm getting ahead of myself however, which I don't like to do because we've got plenty to look forward before the playoffs. Well, we've got plenty of events anyhow.

One of those events tucked in between the Open Championship and the FedEx playoffs is the 3M Open, which is held in my back yard of Blaine, MN. Normally this event has a couple somewhat big names, but that's about it. This year however, we get a huge name in Scottie Scheffler, whose winless streak might be alive when he comes here. If that's the case, I'd guess that the streak may end that week.

Speaking of Scottie's streak, have we ever seen anything like this? The guy is consistently in the mix, and I'm not talking about hovering around the top-5 and getting a backdoor 3rd-place finish, no he's right there on Sunday, almost every single week and yet, no wins since very early in the season.

I'm not going to dissect everything that's going on with Scottie because one, I've spent a lot of time on Scheffler this season and two, everyone else has already done the same. There's really nothing more to say, he's playing great, he's just not closing. He's capable of course, but it just isn't happening. It will at some point, it just hasn't happened recently.

As for the winner this past week, Viktor Hovland, that was actually a really big win. Not because of the payout or the points or anything tangible, but for his psyche.

Hovland was on the cusp of the elite level not too long ago, but he stood and watched as the likes of Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, and others passed him by. It's not that Hovland has played terribly over the past couple years, but he definitely hasn't lived up to expectations. A win like this might just be the catalyst he needs to get to the next level.

Okay, onto this week. The field doesn't have a lot of big names, but it certainly has some guys that have played well over the past 12 months. A ton of course history in play this week as well. 

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FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 5:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Ben Griffin (15-1) 

Though not a big name just yet, Griffin has played like a big-timer over the past two seasons. Griffin is well off the pace he set from a year ago, but honestly, that pace was a bit ridiculous as Griffin topped $10 million in earnings this past season. His form has picked up recently, with four top-20s in his past five starts, including a top-10 at the Travelers this past week. His track record here is limited, just two starts, but he did land in the top-5 in 2024. This is an unfamiliar spot though, as a favorite, so we can't be sure how Griffin will handle it. With that said, he wouldn't be playing this week if he weren't focused on getting another win, so I think he's worth a look.

Chris Gotterup (18-1)

Similar to Griffin, Gotterup had his breakthrough within the past 24 months. Unlike Griffin however, he's upped his game this year, granted, Griffin's bar was set much higher. Nevertheless, Gotterup took the momentum he gained this past year and immediately built upon it. Gotterup's recent form however isn't the best. No top-25s in his past three starts and just two top-20s in his past eight starts. Gotterup may be using this week to build back his confidence. He's played here three times, making the cut twice and posting a T4 in 2022. Gotterup could contend, but given his recent form, I don't think a win bet is in order.  

Keith Mitchell (22-1)

Mitchell is the only one of the top-3 favorites that is not qualified for the Open Championship, so you can be sure that his focus will be entirely on this week's event. Mitchell has had an interesting career. He won in his second season on the PGA Tour (2019) but hasn't won since. He's cracked the top-50 twice, but generally lands somewhere between 50-100 on the season ending FedEx Cup list. He seems to pop a few times a year, but has never found the consistency of a top-30 player. I mentioned the popping because he might be doing that right now. He had a top-5 at the U.S. Open two weeks ago and played pretty well against a strong field this past week at the Travelers. Mitchell might see this week as his best opportunity this season to get career win No. 2.

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

J.T. Poston (27-1)

It's been quite the past 30 days for Poston. Not only did he pick up the biggest win of his career at the Memorial, but he backed that up with a top-5 at the U.S. Open. He fell back to Earth this past week at the Travelers, but who can blame him after what was a career changing few weeks. This week he gets to reset at a place where he's had a lot of success. Poston won this event in 2022 and posted a top-10 the following year while defending, which is no small feat. His overall record here isn't great, but that's largely due to a slow start where he missed two cuts and finished outside the top-60 in two other starts. He's also coming into this year's event with more confidence than ever.

Jordan Spieth (30-1)

It's been over four years since Spieth's last win and honestly, I'm not sure if he'll ever win again on the PGA Tour, but if he is to do it, it will likely be at an event like this. The best way to describe Spieth's season to date is "meh". He's making a lot of cuts and a good number of top-20s (7), but he's got no punch on the weekend. If he has one good round on the weekend, the other round is surely not great. Why then would I list him here? Well, he has won this event twice, granted, those wins were over a decade ago, but hey, it's still the same course. Do I think he'll win this week, no, but if he were to win, I wouldn't be shocked.  

Tom Kim (30-1)

It's crazy to think of all the highs and low Kim has gone through and yet he's still only 24 years old. It feels like Kim has been in a slump for years, yet he's only two years removed from his most recent win, and win that was his fourth on the PGA Tour. Kim has as much talent as anyone in the field this week, but for whatever reason, he's largely been unable to tap into it the past two seasons. That might be changing however as he looked very good at the U.S. Open a couple weeks ago. If he has found something in his game again, then he's going to not only be dangerous this week, but for the rest of the season.   

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LONG SHOTS

Daniel Berger (45-1)     

This has not been the year that most where expecting for Berger. After battling back into form in 2025, many, including me, expected Berger to finally get back to the form that saw him land inside the top-20 on the FedEx Cup list in 2020-2021, but that hasn't materialized. Berger posted a runner-up at the AP Invitational in March, but he hasn't done much since. May into June was a particularly rough patch for Berger, but there are signs that he's pulling out of this mini slump. Berger does not have a great track record here, but he did post a T5 in 2017.   

Davis Thompson (55-1)             

It's been mostly downhill for Thompson since he won this event in 2024, but sometimes returning to the site of your greatest accomplishment can unlock something in your game. I know, it's a stretch, but this is a strange time of the season when everyone is looking ahead to the final major and sometimes, guys like Thompson can sneak out wins. Thompson's future looked bright in 2024 after his win at the John Deere, but his past two seasons have not been great, especially this season. This would be one of those, "out of nowhere" type of wins if Thompson were to pull it off, but I dare say no one expected him to win in 2024 either.

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Ben Griffin – Griffin appeared to be a guy that you'd take at a signature event heading into this season, but if you didn't use him early, you probably still have him at your disposal. I'm guessing a lot of OAD players are in that camp as Griffin hasn't given many reasons to take him this season, but this looks like it might be a good spot as there aren't that many serious challengers in the field this week and he has had some success here.     

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Tom Kim – There's really been no good spot to use Kim this season, so he should be available on most teams. This one is a bit of a leap of faith has Kim hasn't shown a lot out of his U.S. Open performance a couple weeks ago, but if you have a feeling that he's about to break out again, then this could be a good spot to use him. Then again, if you think he's going to break out, then perhaps you want to save him for a bigger event?

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Michael Kim – It's rare that a golfer makes his first appearance in this article at this point, but I missed Kim in my first run through and I think he's worth a look this week. Kim had a breakout season this past year, but he's failed to build upon that momentum this year. With that said, he's had some moments this season, including a runner-up at the Valero Texas Open in April. He's also had his moments at this event, well, actually, moment as outside of a win here in 2018, he really hasn't done much, but let's not get hung up on the five missed cuts, let's look at that win in 2018 and consider that he's a much better player now than he was then.        

Buyer Beware: Jackson Koivun – The much-heralded amateur is turning pro this week and while his future is undoubtedly bright, I think he's going to go through some growing pains this season. This is surely a great place to turn pro as the field is fairly light, but within this field you have some bigger names as well as a lot of professionals that are very familiar with this course and that will be tough to overcome for Koivun, even if he's more talented than 80% of the field. Koivun did post a T11 here this past year, but he's a pro now, and with that comes a lot more pressure.

My Pick: Tom Kim – There are certainly better looking options on paper, but I have to wonder if some of those names might be looking ahead to next week and the week after. Kim however looked really sharp at the U.S. Open a couple weeks ago and should seize this opportunity to build on that momentum. It's been a bit of a rough patch for Kim since 2024, but he looked like his "old" self at the U.S. Open a couple weeks ago and I think he might be on the brink of something big. It's certainly a gamble, to take someone off of one good outing, but if you were to gamble, this would be the spot, as nobody outside of the winner is making a lot of money this week.       

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: J.T. Poston ($11,400)
Middle Range: Michael Kim ($9,600)
Lower Range: Zach Johnson ($7,600)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick - Zach Johnson – A bit of risk taking someone that doesn't play full time on the PGA Tour anymore, but the biggest factor when taking someone in this format, at an event like this is motivation. Yeah, there are better players in the field this week, but are they fully invested into this event or are they looking ahead to their trip overseas? There's no worry about motivation with Johnson as this is his hometown (well, area anyway) event. Johnson has made the cut here in 20-of-23 starts and hasn't missed the cut since 2008.     

Previous Results