The 2019 John Deere Classic gets underway from TPC Deere Run on Thursday. D.A. Weibring designed this unique course, which plays over 7,000 yards and boasts a par of 71. Experienced and amateur bettors alike will lock in wagers on this event, which brings together experienced veterans and up-and-coming players trying to sneak into the final major of the year. It's a strong 2019 John Deere Classic field that includes plenty of young players like Viktor Hovland and last week's 3M Open champion, Matthew Wolff, who are both going off at 20-1 or better in the latest 2019 John Deere Classic odds. There's also a strong contingent of PGA veterans like Jason Dufner, Charles Howell III and Pat Perez, resulting in plenty of talent at the John Deere Classic 2019. And before locking in any 2019 John Deere Classic picks of your own or entering a PGA DFS contest on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings, look at the PGA Tour predictions from SportsLine's advanced computer model.
SportsLine's prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has nailed the last two majors entering the weekend. It predicted Gary Woodland's first career major championship at the U.S. Open even though he wasn't the favorite entering the weekend. The result: Woodland held off a late charge from Brooks Koepka and won by a resounding three strokes. The model also called Koepka's historic victory at the PGA Championship, predicting he'd hold his lead in the home stretch. In all, their advanced computer model has nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend, and anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now that the 2019 John Deere Classic field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. One huge shocker the model is calling: Morikawa, the overall Vegas favorite at 14-1, barely cracks the top 10.
Morikawa's 20-under par performance turned heads at 3M Open last week, but the 22-year-old American has just four career appearances on the PGA Tour, and that was his first top-10 finish. He's fired at least one round of 70 or higher in his other three starts, including three rounds over 70 at the U.S. Open and a disappointing 75 that sunk his chances at the Travelers Championship just a few weeks back.
The model doesn't like his chances to build on last week's breakthrough performance and says there are far better values in a talented 2019 John Deere Classic field.
Another surprise: Sungjae Im, a 28-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
Im has proven he has what it takes to compete with the top players on the PGA Tour. In fact, the 21-year-old has recorded six top-10 finishes, including a seventh place last month at the RBC Canadian Open. He's been consistent as well, making the cut in eight of his last 10 official starts on the PGA Tour.
Im's strength has been finding greens in regulation this season, which leaves him with more makable birdie putts. In fact, Im enters this week's event hitting over 68 percent of greens in regulation. That's helped him shoot in the 60s in 12 of his last 16 rounds on the PGA Tour. Even though oddsmakers aren't giving him much of a chance, he has all the tools needed to climb the 2019 John Deere Classic leaderboard quickly this week.
Also, the model says four other golfers with odds of 28-1 or longer will make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big.
So who wins the 2019 John Deere Classic? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see the full John Deere Classic projected leaderboard from the model that's nailed two straight golf majors, and find out.
Collin Morikawa 14-1
Viktor Hovland 16-1
Lucas Glover 20-1
Charles Howell III 20-1
Matthew Wolff 20-1
Brian Harman 28-1
Joaquin Niemann 28-1
Sungjae Im 28-1
Daniel Berger 33-1
Zach Johnson 33-1
Ryan Moore 33-1
Sam Burns 40-1
Kyle Stanley 40-1
Jason Kokrak 45-1
Martin Laird 45-1
Scott Brown 50-1
Bud Cauley 50-1
