John Deere Classic Picks and Best Bets: Don’t Sleep On Kirk

The PGA Tour zips to the Quad Cities for the John Deere Classic. Play tees off on Thursday from TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Although most of the game’s top stars are not in the field, we do expect a ton of birdies and fireworks at a normally high-scoring summer event.

And for us golf bettors, every weekend on TOUR is a major, regardless of who’s in the field. Let’s make this a special Fourth of July weekend with another winner.

Tournament Notes:

• Dates: July 6-9, 2023
• Golf Course: TPC Deere Run in Silvis, IL
• Course Notes: Par 71 / 7,289 Yards
• Prize Money / 1st: $7.4M / $1.3M
• Defending Champ: J.T. Poston (+4000)

2023 John Deere Classic: Picks and Best Bets

Note: Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. For more sports and betting insight be sure to check out Betsided. 

(Tournament Winner / Top 10 Finish)

Chris Kirk  (+3500 / +350)

Sweet-swinging Chris Kirk rolls into TPC Deere Run in strong form. The #22 ranked golfer in the FedEx Cup standings is 15th on TOUR in “Par 4 Scoring”, and 26th in “Strokes Gained – Total”. This season, Kirk picked up his 5th career win at the Honda Classic and has quietly been lurking on Sunday leaderboards lately (T14 at Rocket Mortgage, T29 at PGA).

He also has good history at the John Deere, with three top 25s and 5 of 6 cuts made in the previous editions. Frankly, Chris Kirk is being underpriced in a less-than-stellar field and is our top play this weekend.

Sepp Straka  (+5000 / +500)

The Austrian ball striker is one to watch at the John Deere Classic. Straka enters the week at #50 in the FedEx Cup standings and has had a good run of play as of late, making the weekend in 5 of his last 6 events and recording three top 30 finishes in that span.

Straka ranks 18th on TOUR in “Strokes Gained – Approach to Green” and 19th in “Total Driving”. With accurate tee shots and sharp iron play, a hot putter can lead to Straka being a danger man in Illinois and a chance for his 2nd career win on TOUR.

Matt Kuchar  (+5500 / +500)

This season on TOUR has been the comeback one, with many players breaking years-long winning droughts, so why not Kuch? The 51st-ranked golfer in the FedEx Cup tees it up at Deere Run ranked #3 in “Scrambling”, #6 in “Strokes Gained – Around the Green” and #33 in “Strokes Gained – Total”.

He’s in a good spot to qualify for the playoffs, but can do even more damage with a strong weekend in Illinois. The veteran, Kuchar, is worth a gamble in a field where we should be confident in his chances.

Lucas Glover  (+6000 / +600)

The 2009 U.S. Open champion returns to the Quad Cities playing solid golf. Glover returns to the site of where he ended his nearly 10-year winning drought on TOUR when he won the John Deere Classic in 2021.

Coming off a weekend where he shot 4 rounds in the 60’s at the Rocket Mortgage, Glover should be ready for a high-scoring shootout at Deere Run. Ranked 3rd in “Proximity” and 9th in “Driving Accuracy”, the South Carolina native needs a big weekend in his quest to qualify for the playoffs.

So we’re banking on good vibes returning to the site of his last win, and hopefully, his new putting stroke can pay immediate dividends.