The PGA TOUR heads to Silvis, Illinois, this week for the John Deere Classic. TPC Deere Run will be the host and measures as a 7,289-yard par-71 with Bentgrass greens. The field is weaker than we have seen in recent weeks, with Cameron Young serving as highest ranked golfer in attendance.
Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]
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Chris Kirk ($9,300)
Kirk finally bounced back last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, finishing in a tie for 14th place after missing his three previous cuts. He looked like vintage Chris Kirk in the process, hitting a ton of fairways and greens, while dominating with his short irons. He gained 5.93 strokes on approach for the week, including 2.13 during his final round.
He’ll now tee it up to TPC Deere Run, a place that he’s no stranger to. Kirk has played the JDC five times this decade and posted a top-30 finish in three of those. With the field as light as it is this week, Kirk stands out pretty heavily at $9,300, and with the way he struck the ball last week in Detroit, he could very well win this event. Only Eric Cole and Denny McCarthy have gained more total strokes than Kirk has over the past 48 rounds in this field.
Stephan Jaeger ($8,800)
I simply cannot quit this guy. Jaeger is coming off a T9 last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, marking the second consecutive year he’s placed inside the top 10 in Detroit. It also marked his eighth consecutive made cut as well, and he’s established himself as one of the most consistent cut-makers on the PGA TOUR this season.
Jaeger gained 4.04 strokes on approach last week, and then caught absolute fire with the putter on Sunday, gaining a whopping 4.62 strokes on the greens during his final round.
Dating back 48 rounds in this field, only Byeong Hun An has gained more strokes from tee-to-green than Jaeger has, while only eight golfers have gained more total strokes. He’ll be making his fourth career start at the John Deere, with his most recent trip resulting in a T30. Jaeger is locked in right now and is basically a sure thing to advance to the weekend, which is not something you can say about many other guys in this field.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($8,500)
After an uncharacteristic missed cut from Bezuidenhout at the Travelers, he got back on track at the Rocket Mortgage last week, although he had to settle for a middling T56 finish. Anytime we have an easy course on the schedule, I always look to target Bez, who always seems to thrive in these setups.
Last year, Bez finished runner-up to J.T. Poston in his first career start at TPC Deere Run. He averaged 2.01 SG: Putting per round in the process and remains one of the game’s elite Bentgrass putters. The only thing we needed to see from the South African last week was that his game was trending in the right direction, and since we got a resounding yes to that question, I absolutely love going right back to him at a course he’s already torn up once before.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.