Now that I’ve started playing golf in this area, I try to find interesting betting material on the PGA Tour every week. As for the signature event, the Travelers Championship, held last week outside of Hartford, the tournament marked the longest drought for international winners on tour, ending in 2016. What happened? Norway’s Viktor Hovland defeated world No. 1 Scotty Scheffler in a weather-delayed playoff on Monday.
This week’s tour stop is the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, and to be honest, it’s probably the weakest field of the year. But that’s to be expected, since after the US Open the players will head to Europe for next week’s Scottish Open, followed by the British Open at Royal Birkdale the following week. John Deere used to be held the week before the British Open, and now it’s in absolutely terrible shape.
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So neither Scheffler nor Hovland, nor any of the top 12 players in the world have started it. And what I find pretty interesting is that the pre-tournament favorite hasn’t won the John Deere Classic since Jordan Spieth in 2015, when he was priced at +350. In 10 years, the favorites have never finished better than T12 – the 2020 tournament was not held due to the coronavirus.
American Ben Griffin was a +1500 favorite in this year’s FanDuel and a favorite in 2025, but narrowly missed out on T5 in his first start for John Deere in 2024. Griffin is the first golfer to be named the pre-tournament favorite in consecutive years since Spieth in 2014-15. The tournament will be Griffin’s third on tour, and he was the pre-tournament favorite along with the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, a weak tournament opposite that year’s Wells Fargo Championship Signature Event.
Griffin finished 16th at the Myrtle Beach event, but picked up his third tour victory, all in 2025. He has four top-10 finishes this year, including a T10 at the Travelers last week. At BetMGM, Griffin has the second-most tickets at 5.3% behind Eric Cole (+3300) at 6.7%. Tom Kim topped the handle with 13.3%, dropping from an open value of +4000 to +2500. Kim has been playing well in the second half of the year, but missed the cut last year in his only trip to Silvis.
Most bet John Deere prop at BetMGM
- Zach Blair Top 20 (+500)
- Tom Kim Top 10 (+300)
- Blade Brown Top 40 (+100)
- Ben Griffin Top 5 (+300)
- Hole in one: Yes (-135)
No one has won back-to-back John Deere Classics since Steve Stricker won his third straight in 2011. This was the last time on tour that a player won three consecutive tournaments. Brian Campbell of the United States and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina finished tied at 18-under 266 after 72 holes last year, with Campbell winning on the first hole of sudden death — the event’s first playoff since 2015.
Since 2017, there hasn’t even been a one-shot edition. Campbell has had a tough year, not finishing in the top 10 or top 25 once in 18 starts, and even though he played four seasons at Illinois and knows the state well, I wouldn’t recommend him at +22,500 to repeat.
Campbell is one of nine former champions in the field. Johnson, the 2012 winner who grew up in the general area (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), has seven top-five finishes, tied for the most in tournament history, and is at +1800 this week. He has made 17 consecutive cuts in the John Deere Classic and is at -132 with one more cut to go.
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This is definitely the “course-ready horse” for Spieth (+3300) to win on Tour for the first time since 2022. His first career PGA Tour victory came here at age 19, and he later won again in 2015. Spieth hasn’t played here since T26 in 2024, but this year marks the first time since 2020 that he has played outside the top 50 in three consecutive tournaments on tour.
If you’re looking to bet someone a 54-hole lead, consider Davis Thompson. He is +5000 to take the lead and +5500 to win. He has held an outright 54-hole lead in the past two John Deere Classics. He circled the field in 2024 with a tournament-record 28-under 256, but last year he shot 1-over on Sunday and finished 18th. This was the second-worst result by a 54-hole leader in John Deere Classic history. There are five first-time winners in the first 25 tournaments on tour this season. The previous first-time winner was Thompson two years ago.
Perhaps the most interesting name in the field is former Auburn star Jackson Koibun, who made his official PGA Tour debut and won at +2200. Koibun most recently helped the Tigers win their second NCAA championship in three years. He totaled 11 individual wins during that time and won the Haskins Trophy as America’s top golfer twice. He played here as an amateur last year and finished T11. Koibun also played in this year’s U.S. Open (T23) before turning professional.
