John Deere Classic Underdog Picks

Pat Perez

(RELEASE) — After the John Deere Classic and the Open Championship were canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, both tournaments will take their traditional spots on the golf calendar in the next two weeks and resume their unique relationship. The John Deere takes place this week, just before the Open Championship, the final major tournament of the season.

This year, the Open Championship is the sixth major in what is being called the “Super Season,” with both the 2020 U.S. Open and Masters Tournaments played during the fall portion of the 2020-2021 wraparound season. The John Deere Classic serves as the final qualifying opportunity for those players that have yet to secure a spot in the Open Championship.

Despite the lack of star power in the field, the opportunity for a player that finishes in the top five to qualify for the Open Championship provides some additional interest in what would otherwise be almost a forgotten Tour stop. No player in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) or top 20 in the FedEx Cup point standings will tee it up at the 7,268-yard, par 71 TPC Deere Run Course in the 50th edition of what began as the Quad Cities Open.

Because of last year’s cancellation, 2019 winner Dylan Frittelli is the defending champion and is again in the field in an attempt to record back-to-back victories in the event. The winner of the John Deere Classic will earn 500 FedEx Cup points, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and entry into the Masters Tournament in 2022, as well as next week’s Open Championship, if not otherwise in the field.

Betting Odds

Daniel Berger is the betting favorite, with the 13th ranked player in the world getting odds of +1000 to win the tournament. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year and also is 23rd in the FedEx Cup point standings.

Brian Harman and Sungjae Im are at +1400, followed by Russell Henley at +1800 and Alex Noren and Kevin Streelman at +2500. Cameron Davis, last week’s winner in a five-hole playoff over Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, has odds of +2800.

Underdog Betting Picks

Anyone over odds of +4000, which is the top ten and ties on the odds list, is considered an underdog for this piece. Veteran Pat Perez has not had a very good year, but at +5000 odds and the way he played last week to tie for 14th, the 45-year-old three-time Tour winner could contend this week at TPC Deere Run.

Beau Hossler has yet to win on Tour and his 2020-2021 season has been disappointing, currently sitting at 144th in the FedEx Cup standings, but three straight top twenty-five finishes, including a tie for tenth two weeks ago at the Travelers, should give him some encouragement. He has odds of +6600 to claim his first Tour victory at the John Deere Classic.

Despite missing the cut at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, Brice Garnett was able to rebound with a three-under par 69 on Friday after a disastrous three over par 75 in his opening round. At the Travelers, he tied his best result of the season with a fifth-place finish, and he has odds of +8000 to collect his second PGA Tour victory.