Where the John Deere Classic falls on the PGA Tour schedule let fans know the field would not be as strong as many would have liked. The U.S. Open was two weeks ago, and the biggest name remained in the field last eek for the final signature event, the Travelers Championship. That meant most of those premiere players were taking this week off before going overseas to prepare for the Open Championship in two weeks.
But for a select group of golfers, an event like the John Deere can help propel their Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points and get them into bigger fields in the foreseeable future. The question just became who would be able to take advantage of the field, and the course, at TPC Deere Run.
Despite Lucas Glover leading almost the entire tournament, it was Chris Gotterup who stormed up the leaderboard on Sunday and made enough shots to claim victory. But the win didn’t come without drama.
With Gotterup in the clubhouse as the leader, Ben Kohles needed just a par to send the John Deere Classic to a playoff. However, an errant approach shot into the lake denied the playoff berth, and gave Gotterup his 5th career victory, and his third of this season.
Gotterup now has wins at the Sony Open, Phoenix Waste Management Open, and now the John Deere Classic. This all in preparation for the Scottish Open next week, a tournament he won in 2025.
Let’s take a look at who was projected to be contending, based on pre-tournament odds.
2026 John Deere Classic Odds
- Ben Griffin (+1325)
- Chris Gotterup (+1400)
- Keith Mitchell (+1800)
- Keegan Bradley (+2000)
- Jackson Koivun (+2700)
When it came to picks for this event, I like to start with my favorite and long shot picks for the tournament. The favorite pick is the winner pick I like the most. For the long shot winner, that is a golfer who has over +2000 odds to win. It is a long shot pick for a reason, and finding those can be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Here are my favorite and long shot picks for the 2026 John Deere Classic:
Favorite: J.T. Poston (+2700) – MISS
Poston had played well as of late, and the thought of him continuing that trend wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. However, Poston struggled this week and finished with a T51 finish. While he did make the cut, he wasn’t close to the outright winner.
Long Shot: Tom Kim (+3500) – MISS
The last time we saw Tom Kim on the golf course, before the John Deere, was at the U.S. Open where he had an impressive finish at Shinnecock Hills. The good vibes didn’t carry over for Kim who finished T46, and my streak of never hitting a long shot play continues.
Top 5 Bets For The John Deere Classic 2026
- Ben Griffin (+280) – MISS
I keep waiting for the Ben Griffin who won three times on tour in 2025 to return, and you have to wonder if it will ever return? Griffin finished the John Deere with a T21 finish. Just not good enough when you have him as a Top 5 pick.
- Chris Gotterup (+300) – HIT
Our lone bright spot this week was taking Gotterup, who won the tournament, with a Top 5 pick. It cashed out at +300, but could have fetched us +1400 if we took him to win the tournament. Nonetheless, we’ll take every win we can get.
Top 10 Picks For The John Deere Classic 2026
- Keith Mitchell (+194) – MISS
Mitchell, like the aforementioned Kim, was playing well heading into the John Deere Classic, but he failed to meet the criteria for out Top 10 play. Mitchell’s T51 finish was a poor placement pick.
- Keegan Bradley (+250) – MISS
Bradley helped us at the Travelers Championship with a winning Top 20 play, but taking him in the Top 10 category was too much to ask. Bradley finished T20, and didn’t help us this week, like he did last week.
Top 20 Value Picks For The John Deere Classic 2026
We took Kim as our long shot play, and my feeling was if he didn’t content he would at least be near the Top 20 area of the field. His T46 didn’t match, and we lost our Top 20 pick.
- Jordan Spieth (+130) – MISS
With the new PGA Tour model set to be introduced in 2027, there are some golfers who should be concerned for their future. Jordan Spieth would fall into that category. Spieth has never been able to get his game back on track, and his T53 finish this past weekend illustrates how he could be facing relegation in the future if he can’t figure some things out to help improve his scores.
Best Prop Bets, Parlays And Bonus Plays For The 2026 John Deere Classic
For bonus plays, these are picks which I don’t necessarily hang my hat on, but still provide value for some who want more exotic plays outside of the aforementioned picks. Sometimes bonus plays are parlays, double chances, triple chances, and even some fun plays for that particular event.
Here are the bonus plays for the 2026 John Deere Classic:
Top 20 Parlay: Ben Griffin, Chris Gotterup, Keith Mitchell (+320) – MISS
Margin of Victory: Two shots (+345) – MISS
Tournament Review:
Outright Plays: 1/8
Bonus Plays: 0/2
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