2012 PGA John Deere Classic Odds To Win: Steve Stricker Favored
By Drew Sharper
SILVIS, IL (TheSpread) – There is one week left prior to the British Open and this week’s PGA event is the John Deere Classic. Here is a look at the odds to win this tournament.
According to oddsmakers, Steve Stricker is the favorite to win, as he has odds of 7/1 to win. Other short odds to win are Zach Johnson (12/1) and Nick Watney (20/1).
Stricker is the three-time defending champion of this event and he holds the tournament record for low score at 26-under par. He is currently 13th in the world rankings and been in somewhat of a down slope in his career. He has failed to crack the top 10 in his last four events and in six of his last seven.
Zach Johnson is 17th in the world rankings, but after going 1-2 in back-to-back tournaments, he has finishing outside the top 40 in his last three events. Johnson placed third in this event last year and 21st in 2010.
Watney is 30th in the world rankings. He finished 10th last week, which was just his second top 10 in his last 11 tournaments. He did not compete in this tournament last year.
The PGA John Deere Classic takes place Thursday, July 12 and will run through Sunday, July 15 from TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. For complete odds for each golfer to win the PGA John Deere Classic, see below.
2012 PGA John Deere Classic Odds to Win
Steve Stricker 7/1
Zach Johnson 12/1
Nick Watney 20/1
Jonathan Byrd 25/1
Ryan Palmer 25/1
Brendon De Jonge 33/1
Jeff Overton 33/1
Seung-yul Noh 33/1
Tim Clark 33/1
Carl Pettersson 40/1
Charles Howell III 40/1
Charley Hoffman 40/1
John Senden 40/1
Robert Garrigus 40/1
Ryan Moore 40/1
Sean O'Hair 40/1
Ben Crane 50/1
Bryce Molder 50/1
K.J. Choi 50/1
Ken Duke 50/1
Kyle Stanley 50/1
Pat Perez 50/1
Blake Adams 66/1
Brian Davis 66/1
Chez Reavie 66/1
Daniel Summerhays 66/1
Matt Every 66/1
Rory Sabbatini 66/1
Scott Piercy 66/1
Spencer Levin 70/1
Bud Cauley 80/1
Chad Campbell 80/1
D-A Points 80/1
David Hearn 80/1
Jerry Kelly 80/1
Jimmy Walker 80/1
Kevin Stadler 80/1
Kevin Chappell 80/1
Mark Wilson 80/1
Stewart Cink 80/1
Y-E Yang 80/1
Camilo Villegas 100/1
Chris Stroud 100/1
Jhonattan Vegas 100/1
John Peterson 100/1
Kevin Streelman 100/1
Martin Flores 100/1
Sang-Moon Bae 100/1
Billy Horschel 125/1
Brian Gay 125/1
Brian Harman 125/1
Chris Riley 125/1
Heath Slocum 125/1
John Daly 125/1
John Merrick 125/1
Jordan Speith 125/1
Rod Pampling 125/1
Will Claxton 125/1
Alex Cejka 150/1
Billy Mayfair 150/1
Boo Weekley 150/1
Charlie Beljan 150/1
Chris Couch 150/1
Chris Kirk 150/1
Harrison Frazar 150/1
J.J. Henry 150/1
James Driscoll 150/1
Jeff Maggert 150/1
Matt Jones 150/1
Patrick Reed 150/1
Ricky Barnes 150/1
Roland Thatcher 150/1
Scott Stallings 150/1
Stuart Appleby 150/1
Ted Potter 150/1
Tom Gillis 150/1
Tommy Gainey 150/1
Troy Matteson 150/1
Troy Kelly 150/1
Vaughn Taylor 150/1
William Mcgirt 150/1
Billy Hurley 175/1
Garth Mulroy 175/1
Shaun Micheel 175/1
Bart Bryant 200/1
D.J. Trahan 200/1
Danny Lee 200/1
Dicky Pride 200/1
Duffy Waldorf 200/1
Jason Bohn 200/1
Joe Durant 200/1
Josh Teater 200/1
Kris Blanks 200/1
Kyle Reifers 200/1
Nathan Green 200/1
Nick O'Hern 200/1
Tim Petrovic 200/1
Chris Dimarco 250/1
Daniel Chopra 250/1
Gary Christian 250/1
Lee Janzen 250/1
Ryuji Imada 250/1
John Deere Classic Preview and Picks
By Matt Fargo
Playbook.com
With the Open Championship on deck for next week, the PGA Tour takes a hit with the field as players are either resting or playing over in Europe this week. The Open Championship is the one Major where players usually are not playing the prior week due to the significant travel time. Players not already in the Open Championship still have a shot to play as one place has been reserved for the leading player, not already exempt, finishing in the top five at the John Deere Classic.
With the Open Championship on deck for next week, the PGA Tour takes a hit with the field as players are either resting or playing over in Europe this week. The Open Championship is the one Major where players usually are not playing the prior week due to the significant travel time. Players not already in the Open Championship still have a shot to play as one place has been reserved for the leading player, not already exempt, finishing in the top five at the John Deere Classic.
The John Deere Classic has been a mainstay on tour since 1972 and even though this is the 42nd anniversary, the tournament has gone through eight name changes and three courses. The event nearly died on several occasions back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s but it somehow stayed above water and when John Deere took over the sponsorship in 1999, as it is also the official supplier of equipment throughout the tour, it is a pretty healthy stop on an annual basis.
This is just the 14th year that the TPC at Deere Run has hosted the event which obviously coincides with the sponsor. The course is one of the easiest on the schedule as last year Deere Run ranked 40th out of 51 courses in difficulty. One of the reasons for that as unlike other tracks, this one has not been lengthened much as only 75 yards has been added since its inception in 2000. Also, the course has only three water hazards throughout.
With the course being easy, the scores are always very low as the winners have carded -22, -26, -20, -16, -18 and -19 the last six years and no winner has ever finished worse than -16. And that has been with a very light field. There was a 59 scored in the opening round by Paul Goydos two years ago, which was just the fourth ever 59 on tour. This year there are only two players that are ranked in the top 20 of the OWGR, those being Steve Stricker (13th) and Zach Johnson (17th).
Steve Stricker (+650) is the favorite and is the three-time defending champion as he birdied the last two holes to win by one shot over Kyle Stanley last year. He become the first back-to-back-to-back winner of this event and he is trying to become the sixth player ever to win the same event four straight years. He won in Hawaii to open the year and has not won since but he has missed only one cut. No value here though.
Zach Johnson (+1,200) has not done much since his win at Colonial at the end of May as his best finish is a T41 in three starts. While current form is important, past history on a course is just as big and Johnson has had plenty of success here. Last year he finished T3, five shots back of Stricker, T21 in 2010 and T2 in 2009, three shots back of Stricker. If anyone is considered a serious challenger to the defending champion, it is Johnson.
After a slow start to the season Ryan Palmer (+2,000) has been playing exceptional. He last played at the AT&T National and finished T15 while prior to that he logged four top tens in five events which included three top fives. He missed the cut in his last start at TPC Deere Run but that was in the midst of 10 missed cuts in 11 events so he clearly was off his game. He is certainly a different player now.
Jonathan Byrd (+2,500) was tied for second after the opening round last week at the Greenbrier Classic but faded to a T22. He has not missed a cut since March and in seven events since then, he has three top tens as well as a T12 at THE PLAYERS. He missed the cut at the John Deere last year but he was not playing well and right now he is arguably playing his best golf since he won here in 2007.
Sean O'Hair (+4,000) is having a pretty solid season despite not having won. He has missed only two cuts in 16 events and he is coming off a T7 at the Greenbrier Classic which was his first top ten since a T2 at the Sony Open back in January. His current game fits well at TPC Deere Run as he is 12th in birdie average and birdies are the key here. He should know as he won the John Deere Classic in 2005 at -16.
For a longshot, we will take a look at Chez Reavie (+6,000). He has had a tough season with no top ten finishes and he has missed the cut in half of his 18 starts. However, his two best finishes have been in his last two starts as he posted a T11 at the Travelers and a T15 at the AT&T National. Reavie has played this event only three times but his best finish came last year which was a T5 despite a Sunday 72.
Recommended Tournament Win Five Pack at the John Deere Classic – All for 1 Unit
Zach Johnson (+1,200)
Ryan Palmer (+2,000)
Jonathan Byrd (+2,500)
Sean O'Hair (+4,000)
Chez Reavie (+6,000)