With only five weeks remaining before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, the John Deere Classic serves as a critical opportunity for players hovering around the cutoff bubble for the top 70 players who will qualify for the first leg.
The event begins Thursday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., and our golf experts preview the event while sharing their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
Location: Silvis, Ill., July 3-6
Course: TPC Deere Run (Par 71, 7,289 Yards)
Purse: $8.4M (Winner: $1.512M)
Defending Champion: Davis Thompson
FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:45 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @JDCLASSIC
PROP PICKS
–Zach Johnson to Make Cut (-120 at DraftKings): No one has played this tournament more times than Johnson, who will tee it up for the 23rd time at TPC Deere Run — five more times than anyone else. Along with a win in 2012 and a trio of runner-up finishes, the former Ryder Cup captain has finished T26 and T35 the past two years.
–Ben Griffin for Top 20 Finish (+108 at BetRivers): A two-time winner already this year, Griffin has also posted six consecutive top-14 finishes entering this week. The biggest concern here is fatigue as Griffin makes his 22nd start of 2025, but he should have little problem being a weekend factor against a mediocre field.
–Michael Kim to Beat Ryan Gerard (-115 at DraftKings): Kim claimed his lone tour win to date at the John Deere and is enjoying a strong season that includes five top-15 finishes. Gerard is also up to 71st in the world rankings on the strength of seven consecutive made cuts that includes a T8 at the PGA Championship, but we also like Kim as a potential longshot winner this week at +5000.
2025 Prop Pick Record: 20-23
BEST BETS
–Ben Griffin (+1600 at DraftKings) is a pre-tournament favorite for the first time, and for good reason. The highest-ranked player in the world in the field at No. 17, Griffin has already won twice this year and has six consecutive top-14 finishes.
–Jason Day (+2500) is coming off a T4 at the Travelers for his fourth top-10 of the year.
–Michael Thorbjornsen (+3000) finished T4 last week and it’s just a matter of time before the former Stanford star wins on tour. He has been backed by 6 percent of all money wagered at the book on this week’s winner.
–Denny McCarthy (+2500) is still seeking the elusive maiden win on tour. He has come close numerous times and has a good track record at TPC Deere Run, where he has a pair of T6s and a T7 the past three years. McCarthy, who is coming off a 12th at the Travelers, leads the field with 12 percent of the money and 7 percent of the total bets backing him to win this week.
–J.T. Poston (+3000) is a three-time winner on tour whose resume stacks up well against this field.
–Aldrich Potgieter (+3500) notched his first tour win last week at the Rocket Classic after being denied in another dramatic playoff earlier this year.
–Chris Kirk (+3500) lost in a playoff last week after posting a T12 at the U.S. Open.
–Jake Knapp (+3500) shot a course record last week en route to a T4 and just needs to put together four solid rounds. He’s tied with Griffin for the second highest percentage of the outright winner money as both have garnered 7 percent.
–Nicolas Echavarria (+5000) offers very intriguing odds for someone who has won twice in the past nine months and is coming off a T6 in Detroit.
NOTES
–Notable players on the FedExCup Playoff bubble in this week’s field include Kirk (No. 67), Davis Thompson (No. 70), Rickie Fowler (No. 72) and Karl Vilips (No. 73), who was the first player to sign as a brand ambassador with Tiger Woods’ “Sunday Day Red.” Fowler is playing the John Deere for the first time in 15 years, opting to compete in the U.S. instead of at the Scottish Open ahead of The Open Championship.
–John Deere is the second-longest running title sponsor on tour (1998), behind only AT&T (1986), and has signed an extension to serve as the event’s title sponsor through 2030.
–The field includes the top three ranked amateurs in the world: Auburn’s Jackson Koivun, Virginia’s Ben James and Michael La Sasso out of Ole Miss.
–Thompson, who set the tournament scoring record of 256 last year, is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend at the John Deere since Steve Stricker won three straight from 2009-11.
