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John Deere Classic: Dark Horse Candidates in Illinois

By Christopher O'Day

GREENSBORO, NC - AUGUST 17: Nick Taylor of Canada reacts following a putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 17, 2018 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NC - AUGUST 17: Nick Taylor of Canada reacts following a putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 17, 2018 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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SILVIS, IL – JULY 15: Sam Ryder hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
SILVIS, IL – JULY 15: Sam Ryder hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Sam Ryder – 66/1

Sam Ryder played well in three of his four rounds last week at the 3M Open, shooting 69-66-71-66 on his way to a T-34th place finish. Now, he heads back to the John Deere Classic looking for a similar finish to last year.

He played a combination of the best and most consistent golf of anyone at the tournament last year. Take a look at his rounds and you can see why. 66-66-67-66.

Looking at how he played last year and pairing that with a couple of his SG stats gets Ryder into dark horse contention for me.

Ryder is a great putter, gaining .399 SG, good for 31st on tour. He is almost as good on approach shots as well, gaining .344 SG here, good for 45th. Where he stands out is how he plays from the sand, with a save percentage of 62.5, good for 5th on tour.

The area that will make or break his week is going to be his play around the greens, as it is easily the worst aspect of his game. He loses just over .25 SG here, ranking 172nd.

As long as no one runs away with it like Michael Kim did last year, Ryder should have a good shot at cracking the top five this week at the John Deere Classic.

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