The champ is here. Reigning Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth will make his first start since conquering Chambers Bay in the 2015 John Deere Classic. The tournament will serve as Spieth’s warmup heading into the upcoming third leg of the Grand Slam – the Open Championship – which begins on July 9.
Spieth has felt right at home at the TPC Deere Run, a course where he tasted his first ever Tour triumph. But a couple other golfers have also had their share of success on the course, and will give the Grand Slam-chasing Spieth a run for his money.
Read on below for our preview of the favorites, sleepers and long shot for the John Deere Classic. Also, don’t forget to check out our additional John Deere Classic sleeper picks here.
The TPC Deere Run course holds a very special place in Jordan Spieth’s heart. It’s where he won his first ever PGA Tour title in a three-way playoff back in 2013 as a 19-year old. That win sparked the beginning of Spieth’s rise to prominence, which has kicked into full gear this season. He has already won the first two majors of the year and is a +500 favorite to win a third in St. Andrew’s.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Spieth, who has 11 top 10 finishes in 18 total events this year, has been especially sizzling in recent tournaments with three top three finishes in his last four starts. With that impressive resume, the two-time major winner will be the odds-on favorite at +350 to claim his second John Deere title this year.
But hot on Spieth’s heels will be another former Masters champion, Zach Johnson. The 39-year old has had a similarly successful season thus far, with seven top 10 finishes in 18 starts.
Two of those top 10 finishes have come in his last three tournaments, sandwiching a rather disappointing 72nd place finish at the US Open. He finished fifth in the AT&T Byron Nelson in the tournament prior and was sixth in the Travelers Championship in late June.
Johnson (+900) simply loves the TPC Deere Run course. He’s finished no worse than third in his last four tournament starts. He won the entire event in 2012, lost the aforementioned three-way playoff to Spieth in 2013, and was the runner-up to Brian Harman last year by just one shot.
Speaking of Harman (+3,000), the reigning champion will be a sneaky sleeper bet to topple Spieth and defend his title. Harman hasn’t had a particularly impressive season, and has missed the cut in 10 of the 21 tournaments he’s entered, including both majors.
But he’ll be entering this year’s tournament playing his best golf of the season. All three top 10 finishes he’s had this season have come in the past seven tournaments, including his most recent third-place finish at the Travelers Championship.
Steve Stricker won’t be playing with any such momentum, though. The 48-year old is making just his seventh start of the year following back surgery in December. Despite finishing a solid 28th in his return at the Masters, he has struggled to place much higher in following tournaments. He most recently missed the cut at the Greenbrier Classic.
But no one should ever sleep on Stricker (+3,000) at the John Deere Classic, the tournament which he has made his own. He won an unprecedented three consecutive titles from 2009 to 2011, putting him in a tie with D.A. Weibring for the most wins in tournament history. Stricker has been in the hunt in the last three years as well, finishing T5 in 2012, T10 in 2013 and T11 last year.
Long Shot – Jerry Kelly
48-year old Jerry Kelly’s best days seem to be behind him. After registering two Tour wins in 2002 and two top-10 finishes in majors in 2007 (T5 in the Masters, T7 in the US Open), Kelly’s last Tour win was all the way back in 2009. This season, he has three top-10 finishes in 18 events, and has missed the cut in his last two.
But there’s something about the TPC Deere Run course that brings out the best in Kelly, who should at least be considered a long shot to finally end his long Tour drought. Kelly finished T4 in 2013, one shot from joining a four-way playoff with Spieth and Johnson. He then went T3 last year, three shots back of the eventual champion Harman. He is pegged at +7,000 to win the John Deere Classic this week.
Writer’s Prediction
Zach Johnson (+900) steals Spieth’s spotlight and claims his second John Deere Classic win.
