Value for each salary range

The John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run has been part of the official PGA Tour calendar since 1972. It is one of the few events on the calendar to have had the same sponsor for an extended period of time and has been played at TPC Deere Run since 1999. We’ll look at the best John Deere Classic DFS games to give you the best picks in each pay bracket.

TPC Deere Run was designed in 2000 by DA Weibring and PGA Tour Design Services. It normally hosts the John Deere Classic in early July, just before the Open Championship, and is the last chance for players to qualify for the final major of the year. TPC Deere Run is a very easy course by PGA Tour standards, emphasizing strong wedge play and great putters on bentgrass greens.

Our model this week looks at chances won, SG: putting (curved), greens won in regulation, SG: tee shot, SG: par 5, and proximity: 125-150 yards.

Highest value: over 10,000 USD: Sungjae Im – 10,300 USD

If you don’t count the major championships, Sungjae Im has been in fantastic form since the end of April. His form in these tournaments is 3rd, 8th, 9th, 4th, 12th. His driver is back in top form, he finds a lot of greens and putts very well on bent greens.

As the second cheapest player in this price bracket, I think Im brings a very high minimum this week. In a weak field with a lot of uncertainty, it’s great to play against someone who brings that high minimum with a decent maximum. Im may be on the verge of a win soon, and this price suits him well. He ranks 7th in my model.

John Deere Classic DFS High: $9,000-$9,900: Davis Thompson – $9,600

GettyDavis Thompson hits with an iron in Detroit.

Davis Thompson is perhaps in the best form of the field this week. He finished 27th in a strong field at the Memorial, had a very impressive 9th place finish at the US Open and took second in Detroit last week. Warming up the putter was the key factor.

Thompson has been fantastic with the irons most of the year and finds plenty of greens. He’s also very strong off the tee. When the wedges show up, Thompson’s firepower, ability to light up par 5s and comfort playing birdie fests should make him a real contender this week. He ranks 5th in my model.

Highest Value: $8,000-$8,900: Seamus Power – $8,300

I’m confident Seamus Power has a strong $8,300 tournament this week. The Irishman has been pretty quiet this year, but has posted 12th, 16th, 27th and 20th finishes since the RBC Heritage. All of those results were in signature events too, so there’s no reason he can’t compete in one of those weaker fields.

Power has a very solid and consistent history at TPC Deere Run, including an 8th place finish in 2021 and a 13th place finish last year. His game is suited to this course considering he struggles off the tee but is very strong with his wedges and can get hot with the putter at the right time. He ranks 13th in my model.

John Deere Classic DFS High: $7,000-$7,900: Andrew Novak – $7,500

Andrew Novak stands out right in the middle of that price range because of his consistent play and fitness for this course. He’s been making really good putts lately, which has helped him put together a lot of solid results in 2024. He’s made both attempts here at TPC Deere Run.

Novak is a great wedge player and will attack courses off the tee when he’s in a good mood. He also has a great short game. He is very aggressive on his approaches and should have no problem keeping up with a birdie fest. He ranks 9th in my model.

John Deere Classic DFS High: $6,000-$6,900: Kelly Kraft – $6,600

GettyKelly Kraft hits a driver in Detroit.

Let’s go through it all again with Kelly Kraft in the lowest price bracket. Last week he disappointed us with a missed cut, but other than his pretty poor performance on the greens there was nothing to worry about. Kraft shouldn’t miss too many greens on these big courses, though, especially if his approach game gets back to the level he’s been setting lately.

Kraft has a 5th place finish here at Deere Run back in 2016. If he continues to attack as many pins as he has in most of his recent starts, I see no reason why Kraft wouldn’t love this course and make plenty of birdies to keep. He’s been consistent in the key categories this week and ranks 14th in my model.