Up next is the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run (par 71, 7,289 yards, bentgrass greens) in Silvis, Illinois. This venue has been the home of the John Deere Classic since 2000. At last year’s tournament, Brian Campbell (-18) defeated Emiliano Grillo in a playoff to win. There will be 144 players competing this week, and a top-65-and-ties cut after the first two rounds.
TPC Deere Run is a short and scoreable par 71 that features wide fairways, thick rough, small greens, 76 bunkers and water in play on three holes. Being accurate is more crucial than being long at TPC Deere Run, and we will see players club down often at this easy course to find the fairway.
Like most birdie fests, winning at the John Deere Classic comes down to your iron play and your putting. Over the last five years, three of the winners at TPC Deere Run have finished the event in the top 10 in SG APP, and three have finished the event in the top five in SGP. Also, each of the last seven winners at TPC Deere Run has either led their field or finished runner-up in par-four performance. Hence, we need to prioritize strong par-four players at this venue.
Let’s dive into three of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the John Deere Classic, which all cost less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $250K Drive the Green [$30K to 1st].
Top DraftKings PGA TOUR DFS Bargain Plays for the John Deere Classic
Andrew Novak ($7,400) – Novak has played well at TPC Deere Run, finishing T30th, T42nd and T7th in his three starts at the par-71. Novak carded a pair of 7-under 64s when he last visited TPC Deere Run in 2024. He just closed the Travelers Championship with a bang last week, posting a 7-under 63 in the final round — his lowest score of the season.
Novak finished T30th at the Signature Event, marking his ninth made cut and sixth top-30 finish in his last 12 starts. Novak ranks 15th in SGT2G when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, and he brings top-10 upside this week, looking to build off his terrific final round at the Travelers.
John Keefer ($7,400) – Keefer is a strong option despite this being his debut at TPC Deere Run. Keefer has made seven straight solo cuts, and he has finished inside the top 40 four times during this stretch, most notably with a T9 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson last month, which is played at another easy TPC venue, TPC Craig Ranch.
Keefer also finished T39th at the U.S. Open, played at the difficult Shinnecock Hills, in his last start. This was just his second attempt at the major, and he ranked second among the world-class field in SG APP. The 25-year-old has gained strokes on approach in five of his last six starts, and he ranks 23rd in the metric this season. More specifically, Keefer ranks 16th in proximity to the hole on approach shots from 50-125 yards out, which is a key distance for this week, as 24.7% of the approach shots at TPC Deere Run over the last five years have come from this far out.
Kevin Yu ($7,300) – Yu has made five of his last seven solo cuts, most recently finishing T29th at the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month. The 27-year-old ranked top-10 in SG OTT and SG APP, and he shot under par in all four of his rounds at TPC Toronto. Yu ranks 13th in total when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, and he now makes his way to TPC Deere Run, where he has thrived in the past.
Yu has finished T6th, T20th and T21st in his three starts at this par 71. The Arizona State product shot a career-low 7-under 63 at TPC Deere Run two years ago and ranks ninth in this field in strokes gained per round at the course. Yu has a great chance to tally his fourth top-25 finish at TPC Deere Run this week, and he is an excellent bargain at this low salary.
