Unfortunately, the panel has gone somewhat cold on the outright front, particularly gutting given the fact that Viktor Hovland was as high as 50-1 in some spots last week. Always tough to miss out on a high-caliber player at a juicy number like that.
Fortunately, though, we continue to come through in our matchup and top 10 bets, and we plan to come through again this week at the John Deere Classic. The JDC is never one to boast a stellar field, but with young studs like Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun and Blades Brown all in Silvis and playing well, this is a sneaky-talented card.
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The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, Ryan Noonan of Betsperts, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line.
RELATED: John Deere 2026: We can’t expect Jackson Koivun to win this week . . . can we ?
Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2026 John Deere Classic:
John Deere Classic picks 2026: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions
Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Tom Kim (35-1, DraftKings) — The return to peak form isn’t quite complete for Tom Kim… yet. All signs point to it being very close, though. TK ranks fourth among all players in the field in SG/approach over the past three months, and he’s flipped the putter switch back to HOT. After dropping a gaudy 6.4 strokes putting at the Bunny Ranch in Dallas, he’s put together three straight positive putting weeks. Kim’s off-the-tee issues haven’t really been solved from a strokes-gained perspective, yet he has been slowly increasing his accuracy, which is good enough for TPC Deere Run.
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Read The Line’s Joe Idone and John Haslbauer break down the top of the odds board for the 2026 John Deere Classic:
Watch Read The Line’s full betting breakdown of the John Deere Classic here.
Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Tom Kim (35-1, DraftKings) — When Tom Kim won at Sedgefield (2022) for his first PGA Tour win, he entered the week at 35-1. The tee-to-green play was excellent at that time, and his putter was doing electric Tom Kim things. Fast forward to the 2026 US Open, where Kim finished third two weeks ago. A T-15 in Canada and one of the PGA Tour’s best accuracy merchants is ready for TPC Deere Run. A perfect fit, Kim can score and hit targets off the tee and on approach. Take the momentum from Shinnecock Hills and back Kim to continue putting himself in position to win. Ryan Noonan, Content Manager 4for4/Betsperts: Blades Brown (66-1, BetRivers) — Blades Brown has his PGA Tour card locked up—now he can play loose and get that W. The 19-year-old can do it: He’s first in my model this week, on the strength of ranking first in SG/total on very easy scoring conditions over the past 36 rounds and second in SG/approach, per the Rabbit Hole. He’s in the top 30 in putting, too … he’s proven he’s good enough to beat anybody in this field. Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest managing editor: Ben Griffin (16-1, Bet365) — The three-time PGA Tour winner is back to playing some great golf, finishing T-10 at the Travelers last week. He’s gained more than 20 strokes tee to green over his last five events, which also includes a T-3 at Colonial. The putter, outside of the Memorial and Shinnecock, has been lights-out, too, which is what you need to win the John Deere Classic. Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Jacob Bridgeman (33-1, BetMGM) — The Genesis winner has now put together four consecutive positive weeks with his irons, and he had his best SG/off-the-tee performance since the Players last week at Travelers. This golf course should let his strengths shine – approach play and putting, as evidenced by his T-5 here a year ago. Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Jackson Koivun (27-1, DraftKings) — I am definitely buying the hype on Jackson Koivun, who is one of the best amateur golfers we’ve seen in the last decade. Koivun finished top 25 at Shinnecock, gaining strokes in all four major categories and already finished 11th last year at this event as an amateur.
Past results: We have our FOURTH winner of 2026, and our first stretch of back-to-back winners. Ryan Noonan and Stephen Hennessey both correctly picked Cameron Young to win the Cadillac Championship at +1250, giving Noonan his third win of 2026 (and his second in a row with the Fitzpatrick bros. at 12-1 at Zurich) and Hennessey his second, his first coming at the Farmers (Justin Rose 60-1). Noonan also nailed Nico Echavarria’s victory at the Cognizant at 60-1. Hop on the train while you can.
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John Deere Classic picks 2026: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win
Mayo: Blades Brown (66-1, BetRivers) — The kid is riding a heater right now. PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, it matters not to Brown. His T-14 at the CJ Cup earned him Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the year and marked his third top-15 finish in his past four PGA Tour starts. In addition, he’s strung together five top-20 finishes in his past seven Korn Ferry Tour appearances, including a runner-up and a third-place finish along the way. Eventually, the 19-year-old will learn how to close, and it becomes a lot easier when you’re constantly in contention. Oh, and approach shots from 50-150 yards are over-indexed compared to a standard PGA Tour course at the John Deere Classic. Brown happens to be pretty good from those ranges. Stewart: Emiliano Grillo (84-1, DraftKings) — Argentina is definitely trending, and Lionel Messi is not their only national star competing this weekend. Emiliano Grillo finished T-23 at the U.S. Open and T-20 the week before at the Canadian Open. The ball-striking is positive, and now Grillo goes to a golf course where he has two runner-up finishes in his career (out of three starts). If creating birdie opportunities is the priority, then grab Grillo and get to the window, as this longshot has proven he can play TPC Deer Run effectively. Noonan: Emiliano Grillo (84-1, DraftKings) — Grillo has the top-end ceiling ball-striking numbers to take the trophy here, as he’s proven with two runners-up in three starts at TPC Deere Run.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Emiliano Grillo (84-1, DraftKings) — Grillo is a two-time runner-up at the John Deere Classic and is playing some solid golf, finishing T-23 at the U.S. Open. The putter was hot at Shinnecock, gaining more than five strokes on the greens. At this number it’s worth a shot he’ll get over the line. Powers, Golf Digest: Jackson Suber (60-1, Fanatics) — Suber’s T-30 last week looks pedestrian, but he was literally inside the top 3 of the leader board with nine holes to play on Sunday. A double on 10 and a triple on 16 saw him tumble down, but I won’t let that deter me. Suber has been cooking for weeks now, and he gained strokes in every area at TPC River Highlands, something he last did in a fourth-place finish at TPC Craig Ranch. TPC Merchant? Let’s hope so. Lack: Johnny Keefer (66-1, BetMGM) — I remain extremely high on Johnny Keefer’s talent, and was extremely impressed by the fact that he gained 6.6 strokes on approach at the U.S. Open. While the short game and putting held him to a 39th-place finish, TPC Deere Run is far more friendly on and around the greens than Shinnecock, and this has been excellent breakthrough spot for talented young ball-strikers. RELATED: The member-guest was made in America
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John Deere Classic picks 2026: Players We’re Fading
Mayo: Jordan Spieth (33-1, BetRivers) — It’d be fun to see him triumph again at the place where it all began. But he just can’t get his game to line up all at the same time in any event these days. Stewart: Jordan Spieth (33-1, BetRivers) — Watching Jordan Spieth on site last week in Connecticut, it was plain to see Spieth is steadily losing his mind. Playing strokes-gained “whack-a-mole,” it seems like every time something gets fixed, another strokes-gained category pops up to fix. The putter is the recent culprit causing Jordan to lose a stroke per round to the field with the flatstick over his last two starts.
Noonan: Chris Gotterup (14-1, BetRivers) — Gotterup ranks outside the top 50 in this weaker field in SG/total on very easy scoring conditions over the past 36 rounds, per The Rabbit Hole, so I would look elsewhere. Hennessey, Golf Digest: Keegan Bradley (20-1, BetRivers) — Too short of a number at an event where you’re going to need a super-hot putter. Powers, Golf Digest: Brendon Todd (4500-1, DraftKings) — Snedeker certainly gave us a scare last week. Comfortable saying the short-hitting Todd will not do the same. Lack: J.T. Poston (22-1, Caesars Sportsbook) — While J.T. Poston’s around the green stats are certainly skewed by a disastrous 12 on the 13th hole in the final round of the Travelers Championship last week, his ball-striking was not particularly impressive either. Poston is a decent boom or bust candidate, but 22-1 still feels a steep price to pay.
John Deere Classic picks 2026: Matchups
Mayo: Jacob Bridgeman (-110) over Eric Cole (Coolbet) — A scan of Bridgeman’s Travelers numbers doesn’t look promising, yet a deeper dive reveals how he went off the rails. Prior to Cromwell, Bridgeman had been trending back toward the iron play and putting that propelled him to a win at RIV earlier this year. And it appears like it all went in the tank last week. Really, it was horrible approach play in Round 1 and his worst putting round of the year the next day. Over the weekend, however, Bridgeman was one of the ball-striking leaders in a field stacked with the world’s best players. I don’t love the inconsistency, but in a field like the JDC, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who consistently lights it up every day. Stewart: Matt Wallace (-110) over Sungjae Im (FanDuel) — Sungjae Im is ranked 112th in the field for strokes gained approach since April 1. Im has lost strokes with his iron game for 11 starts in a row. How can he keep up with this field in birdie chances with zero approach help? Matt Wallace just finished second at the Italian Open, gaining 13 strokes total. We’re not going to overthink this one. Wallace is great on birdie-fest weeks with a premium on ball-striking. We’ll probably win this one on Friday night. Noonan: Jackson Suber (+100) over Max McGreevy (BetOnline) — McGreevy is one of the worst bentgrass putters in this field and struggles on the greens when conditions are easy, per The Rabbit Hole, so this is an easy one of me. Suber’s playing some great golf, and we’re getting plus-money. Hennessey, Golf Digest: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+100) over Denny McCarthy (FanDuel) — C-Bez is top 10 in this field in the last six months in SG/total, compared to Denny, who’s closer to average. Denny’s coming off a strong Sunday at TPC River Highlands, which has this number in our favor, but I’ll back the longer-term data, which favors C-Bez in nearly every important metric.
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RELATED: The 20 best TPC golf courses, ranked Powers, Golf Digest: Sudarshan Yellamaraju (-110) over Sungjae Im (DraftKings) — Im’s iron play has been putrid for over month, yet he’s still managed some decent results. Yellamaraju has shown some better boom-or-bust potential of late, and I’ll hope for a boom here. Lack: Daniel Berger (-140) over Taylor Pendrith (Southpoint) — Daniel Berger put together a quiet top 25 last week at the Travelers Championship, where his irons looked great and his short game markedly improved. Taylor Pendrith, on the other hand, is very much struggling on approach and has still yet to notch his first top 20 of the 2026 season. Matchup Results from the Travelers Championship: Mayo: 1 for 1 (Matsuyama (-104) over Gerard); Lack: 1 for 1 (Lowry (-140) over Noren); Noonan: 1 for 1 (Spaun (-105) over Griffin); Hennessey: PUSH (Harman (-110) over Rose); Powers: 0 for 1; Stewart: 0 for 1 Matchup Results from the 2026 season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Powers: 16-8-0 (up 6.41 units); Stewart: 14-6-2 (up 6.31 units); Mayo: 12-11-1 (up 1.56 units); Lack: 13-10-1 (up 0.2 units); Noonan: 10-11-3 (down 2.33 units); Hennessey: 9-13-2 (down 4.98 units)
John Deere Classic picks 2026: Top 10s
Mayo: Ben Kohles (+770, DraftKings) — You’d think Kohles is Collin Morikawa based on his driving and irons. Unfortunately, he’s then asked to chip and putt. He’s churned out quality T-23/T-29 finishes in his past two PGA Tour events (the U.S. and Canadian Opens), leading all players at Shinnecock Hills with his iron play. That came on the heels of winning on the Korn Ferry Tour the week before. The putter will likely be his downfall, but it’s a club that hasn’t been as much of a hindrance lately. Maybe we luck into a career week on the greens? Stewart: Chris Gotterup (+220, FanDuel) — After hitting a nice top-10 bet last week with Akshay Bhatia, I’m going to further build our bankroll before we cross the Atlantic with one of the tournament favorites, Chris Gotterup. Trending in all the proper ball-striking categories, Gotterup has gotten it done a couple of times at TPC Deere Run. Fourth place in 2022, and 21st place last year, it was a proper preview for Gotterup’s second career win at the Genesis Scottish Open. Noonan: Jackson Koivun (+345, DraftKings) — The kid might not get it done, but he’s proven he’s basically a top-10 machine on tour … even before becoming a pro. Hennessey, Golf Digest: Michael Kim (+500, FanDuel) — I’ll take the former winner here, who excels in easier scoring conditions, ranking top 10 in this field over the past three years, per The Rabbit Hole. Powers, Golf Digest: Jackson Koivun (+345, DraftKings) — Drinking that Koivun kool aid with everybody else. Lack: Doug Ghim (+500, BetRivers) — While I have less faith that Doug Ghim can make enough putts to win the golf tournament, he is driving the ball extremely well at the moment and remains one of the best short iron players in this field. Top 10 feels like a solid market to deploy him in.
Top-10 results from the Travelers Championship: Lack: 1 for 1 (Corey Conners +700); Stewart: 1 for 1 (Akshay Bhatia +600); Mayo: 1 for 1 (Alex Fitzpatrick +470); Hennessey: 1 for 1 (Collin Morikawa +200); Powers and Noonan: 0 for 1 Top-10 results from the 2026 season: Mayo: 8 for 24 (up 28.85 units); Lack: 6 for 24 (up 6.3 units); Powers: 6 for 24 (up 5.25 units); Stewart: 6 for 24 (up 4.85 units); Noonan: 5 for 24 (down 4.5 units); Hennessey: 5 for 24 (down 4.6 units) About our experts Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME. Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor and content partner with Golf Digest. Stewart is a co-founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the PGA Tour, LPGA and TGL. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter for the industry’s best betting narratives. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_. Ryan Noonan is the Betting Content Manager for 4for4 and Betsperts Golf, writing articles and hosting multiple shows under the Betsperts Group umbrella, including Move The Line and our Betsperts Golf Betting Show. Find him on Twitter: @RyNoonan. Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports.