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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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PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Luke Donald of England react to a shot during the third round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 15, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Luke Donald of England react to a shot during the third round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 15, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /

Luke Donald – 150/1

I’m going with back-to-back 41-year-old dark horse picks (and a lot of hyphens it looks like) and taking Luke Donald as my last choice for the week.

Donald has the proverbial old man game on tour. He is not good off the tee, but he is money with his short game and putting. He goes down as having one of the best all-time short games. At least according to… me!

Donald is consistently a top-ten player around the green, and will even hop up there as a top ten putter once in a while as well. That hasn’t left him as he broke 40, and he is still an incredible wonder to watch around the green.

Crazy enough, this is going to be the first time in his career that Donald has played the John Deere Classic. A likely reason is that he is looking for that top finish to get into the Open Championship next week. As someone who loves a good short game, I feel confident that Donald is going to make it interesting this week.

If you need a little help on hitting out of the bunker, make sure to watch anytime that Donald ends up in there this week. He is one of the greatest all-time to do it.

Donald hasn’t won since 2012 on the PGA, and 2013 internationally. I do like Donald to make a run this week and fight for a top-five spot and entry into the Open Championship.

Next. Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff proving that they are here to stay. dark

Those are the dark horse picks for the John Deere Classic this week. Best of luck to all!

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