The PGA Tour's busy summer continues this week as players make their way to the Quad Cities for the 2024 John Deere Classic. Competitors will hope to find some form at TPC Deere Run as the race to the FedEx Cup Playoffs heats up with only a handful of events remaining.
Headlining the action is the man who first broke through in Silvis, Illinois, many years ago: Jordan Spieth. The three-time major champion returns to the par-71 course for the first time since 2015 and is in need of a major push if he is to be a postseason presence through the Tour Championship.
Spieth arrives ranked No. 59 in the FedEx Cup standings, outside the top-50 cutoff which qualifies for the BMW Championship as well as the signature events in 2025. A winner at this golf course twice in his career, the Texan hopes the good vibes are enough to produce his first top-30 finish since the Texas Open in early April.
While Spieth has sputtered, someone like Sungjae Im has quietly begun to surge. Remove the major championships -- where Im has missed all three cuts -- and the South Korean has notched six straight top 12s worldwide, including a victory on the Korean Tour. Im searches for his first victory in the United States in nearly three years and enters the tournament as the favorite after Patrick Cantlay withdrew.
Defending champion Sepp Straka has his sights set on going back-to-back while Rocket Mortgage Classic contenders Aaron Rai and Davis Thompson hope to keep a good thing going. Denny McCarthy and Maverick McNealy are among those still searching for their first PGA Tour victories with young guns like Nick Dunlap, Neal Shipley and amateur Luke Clanton rounding out the field.
2024 John Deere Classic schedule
Dates: July 4-7
Location: TPC Deere Run — Silvis, Illinois
Par: 71 | Yardage: 7,289
2024 John Deere Classic field, odds
- Sungjae Im (14-1): An early season neck injury has subsided and Im's form has since shot up. He's connected on four straight top-10 finishes in non-major starts including top-five efforts at the Wells Fargo Championship and, most recently, the Travelers Championship. Strides have been made with his iron play over the last couple months, and should those continue, Im will have a great chance to win
- Sepp Straka (16-1): He's been a top-20 player on the PGA Tour this season, and a return to TPC Deere Run could result in a return to the winner's circle. Since the Masters, Straka has compiled six top-16 finishes in nine starts including a pair of top fives in signature events. The Austrian continues to pepper fairways with consistency and ranks fifth in this field in terms of strokes gained approach this season. His short game comes in waves, but he has the makeup of contending here once again.
- Denny McCarthy (20-1)
- Jordan Spieth (20-1): Oof. What are we going to do with Spieth? In 17 starts this season, the 30-year-old has just three top 20s with his latest coming three months ago. Sprinkle in five missed cuts, and it's no wonder he is on the outside looking in for the second playoff event. The good news for Spieth is he is putting up career numbers with the driver in hand. The bad news is he is putting up near career worst throughout the rest of his bag.
- Aaron Rai (20-1)
- Davis Thompson (25-1)
- Maverick McNealy (28-1)
- Keith Mitchell (30-1)
- Jason Day (33-1): After a resurgent 2023, Day has experienced a stop-and-go type of 2024. There have been moments like his top-five finish at the Wells Fargo Championship, but the main issue arises with his iron play, or lack thereof. The former world No. 1 is currently amid the worst approach season of his career and has been buoyed by a massive effort with the putter. If the iron play finds some form, he has the game to win this tournament. That's a big "if," though.
- J.T. Poston (35-1)
- Nick Dunlap (35-1): It has taken some time for the 20-year-old to get his feet wet as a professional. Enduring some tough stretch after winning as an amateur at The American Express, Dunlap has looked the part over the last month or so. Three top 25s in his last six starts were highlighted by a top 10 last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic where he led the field in ball striking.
2024 John Deere Classic expert picks
| Winner (20-1): McCarthy is generally overdue for a win. He has factored a number of times over the last couple years, losing in two playoffs, and TPC Deere Run should present another chance for him to cross the finish line. Finishing T6 in his last two appearances, he has proven to have an inkling for this layout, and he arrives in as good as form as ever. Leading this field in total strokes gained this season and fresh off a wonderful ball-striking week at the Travelers, the putting maestro appears ready for his maiden trip to the winner's circle. | |
| Contender (50-1): The Irishman has four top 25s in his five John Deere Classic appearances and is beginning to find some form. Power has three top-20 finishes in his last seven events including one at the Travelers Championship where he gained strokes throughout his bag for the first time since March. In a birdie-fest style of event, Power has the iron play and putting to keep up with some of the favorites. | |
| Sleeper (90-1): Novak has had a stellar season but still needs to do more if he is to punch his postseason ticket. He comes into his third start at TPC Deere Run off top-20 finishes at the Canadian Open and last week's Rocket Mortgage Classic. A mid-season lull was the result of a dip in his approach play, but recent performances suggest it is back to early-season levels where he was contending on a somewhat regular basis in these full-field events. | |
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