John Deere Classic

Odds to Win Tournament

Just a week ahead of the third major of the season, the players head to the John Deere Classic for a typically high scoring affair at TPC Deere Run. There has not been a victor at this event in the single digits since 1975 and ever since coming to this par-71, 7,268-yard course for the first time in 2000, the average winner’s score has been a blistering 19.3 strokes under par with Americans taking the trophy in each of the last eight installments. Some solid golfers have etched their names into the trophy recently as Jordan Spieth became the first teenager to win on the PGA TOUR when he won in 2013 as he followed up a great showing by Zach Johnson (-20) in his 2012 victory. The most dominant man here has been Steve Stricker who has three of his 12 career wins when playing at this course and won each year from 2009-2011 with an average mark of 22.7 strokes under par. He also holds the record at this event for lowest aggregate score (258) and best mark to par (-26) when he outlasted Paul Gyodos by two strokes. In 2014, it was Brian Harman who obtained his first PGA victory, just beating out Zach Johnson by a stroke behind four rounds of 68 or better. Pacing the field this week will be world No. 2, according to the Official World Golf Rankings, Jordan Spieth, as he is the only golfer from within the top-25 as most rest before the next major. The next best players according to their rankings are No. 29 Zach Johnson, No. 36 Kevin Kisner and No. 38 Ryan Moore. There will be plenty of fireworks on the course this week so let’s take a look at a few golfers who could card the most birdies and eagles while outpacing the rest of the field.

Zach Johnson: Johnson has made being a professional golfer look simple with his play at TPC Deere Run as he owns a win in 2012 while being sandwiched between three other top-three finishes. As mentioned before, he narrowly earned a second victory at this course last year, losing by a stroke to Brian Harman despite posting a ridiculous 21-under-par score with a score of 64 or better on Thursday and Sunday. He has at least one victory in seven of the last eight years, but has yet to break through in 2015 with 13 cuts made in 17 events (76%) as he is on pace for the worst year since 2008. The 11-time TOUR winner will get back to the top this week and turn around his season on a course he has previously dominated.

Kevin Kisner: Unlike Johnson, Kisner has not done too well at the John Deere Classic, and before a solid 20th last year, he missed the cut in the previous two attempts. Despite that, he earns his spot here and high odds from Vegas based on his stellar season to this point. He has more than tripled his earnings from last year with some outstanding play which has had him in three playoffs this season; all of which eventually ended in a runner-up finish. Kisner has shown up in all types of tournaments with high finishes in both events where the fields are thin, and also at big ones like the U.S. Open (12th) and the PLAYERS which was one of his second-place performances. Taking Kisner and his solid driving accuracy (69.28%, 18th on TOUR) would be riding the hot hand, and his is hotter than anyone on TOUR at the moment.

Scott Brown: The very shallow field this week allows for Brown to improve on his solid recent play as he has been able to make it to the weekend in 11 of the last 12 tournaments while doing no better than 12th. Overall on the year, the 32-year-old has five top-25 showings and earlier in the season he looked great when he finished in the top-10 at both the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and Puerto Rico Open. As usual, he has been able to do well amongst the field at the John Deere Classic, getting three straight top-25 finishes while getting a seventh in 2012 and fifth last year when he putt 1.803 strokes better than the field and hit 76.8% of fairways. He will look to do well on the greens again after having a putting average of 1.748 this year (40th on TOUR), and if he can do this again he should be near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.

Chez Reavie: Reavie substantiated his solid recent stretch with yet another great outing when he finished in a tie for 22nd last week in West Virginia; his third consecutive top-25 finish of the year. At the Greenbrier Classic, the former Sun Devil was able to hit an incredible 83.9% of fairways and putt better that the field by .892 strokes. The flat iron, which typically hinders his game, has been great as he has done much better than his opposition in three of the past four events played. He’s made a mere 6-of-16 (38%) cuts on the year, but is running hot at the moment and could surpass plenty of expectations once again.

Jon Curran: Curran has made just 12-of-22 (55%) cuts this year, but has made the most of those weekend visits with five top-10s and a runner-up finish. He has two such finishes in the past month and a half as he shot a combined 22-under par between the AT&T Byron Nelson and Travelers Championship. His short game has been on point as he is 34th in sand save percentage (57.94%) and 25th in scrambling (62.96%) while hitting better than 73% of fairways in three of his last four performances. The rookie has already eclipsed a million dollars in earnings this year and should once again be in the money with a chance at a very high standing.