John Deere Classic Betting Tips: Five Predictions From TPC Deere Run

This week’s John Deere Classic may lack star quality with The Open less than three weeks away, but the FedExCup Playoffs are just around the corner, so the opportunity is there for the field to pick up some crucial points.

Betting sites have installed Ben Griffin as the 16/1 favourite for a third win of the season and defending champion Davis Thompson is available at 35/1 at the low-scoring par-71 TPC Deere Run where touch and a hot putter are the keys to success. 

Hideki Matsuyama and Harry Hall weren’t too far off the places at last week’s Rocket Classic, one week after Russell Henley continued his excellent form for The Panel with a runners-up spot at the Travelers Championship.

The Panel have three John Deere Classic betting tips this week, plus one each from the usual first-round leader and top-20 markets.

John Deere Betting Tips: McCarthy Hunts Maiden Title

There’s a lot to like about Denny McCarthy’s prospects this week at a course where he has thrived in the past.

Yet to win on the PGA Tour, McCarthy has finished inside the top seven in his last three visits to this parkland track in rural Illinois and he has made the cut in every tournament since last year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Eighth at the USPGA Championship, McCarthy maintained his consistent start to the season with 12th place at TPC River Highlands last time out, so against a weak field the American may well break his title duck.

McCarthy’s strength is on the greens where he has finished inside the top 10 using the Strokes Gained: Putting measurement for the last three years and stands at eighth in the current rankings.

Six of the last eight winners of the John Deere Classic have posted top 10s for that metric and he was solid from tee to green at the Travelers Championship.

At 25/1 with golf betting sites, McCarthy looks worth a whirl at a course where he tends to thrive.

John Deere Classic Prediction 1: Denny McCarthy (Each-Way) - 28/1 With Bet365 (Five Places)

(Odds correct at 6pm on July 1, 2025)

John Deere Classic Betting Tips:

• Denny McCarthy (Each-Way) - 28/1 With Bet365 (Five Places)
• Kevin Yu (Each-Way - 30/1 With Ladbrokes (10 Places)
• Lucas Glover (Each-Way) - 40/1 With Betfred (Five Places)
• Zach Johnson (Each-Way) First-Round Leader - 100/1 With BoyleSports (Seven Places) 
• Sami Valimaki Top 20 - 4/1 With Unibet

(Odds correct at 6pm on July 1, 2025)

John Deere Classic Betting Odds: Thinking About Yu

Kevin Yu is another player with decent course form, having finished sixth on his 2023 debut followed by 20th just 12 months ago.

The Taiwanese burst into the world’s top 100 with his sole PGA Tour victory at last year’s Sanderson Farm Championship and is starting to look threatening again after a consistent first six months.

Back-to-back top 20s at the Valspar Championship and the Houston Open were followed by fourth at the Myrtle Beach Classic and third at the Canadian Open.

What is more encouraging about his chances is the improvement with his putter in the last couple of years which goes nicely with his excellent tee-to-green numbers.

Yu seems to be knocking on the door this year and in a field comprising just three of the world’s top 30, he looks a decent prospect at 33/1, although The Panel are taking the 30/1 with Ladbrokes which is offering 10 places.

John Deere Classic Prediction 2: Kevin Yu (Each-Way - 30/1 With Ladbrokes (10 Places)

John Deere Classic Predictions: Hand In Glover

Lucas Glover appeals this week at 40/1 with Betfred to win on this short course for a second time.

In 2021, the American ended a 10-year title drought by carding a final-round seven-under-par 64 for a two-shot victory over compatriots Ryan Moore and Kevin Na.

Glover had finished 10th just 12 months earlier and in the last two seasons he was sixth and 23rd, so it’s clear TPC Deere Run is a track to his liking.

His putting has been poor this season, but he has been strong from tee to-green and he stands fifth in the proximity to the hole statistics, so if he can get the ball close enough (he is 24th in the Strokes Gained: Approach metric), then a red-hot flatstick may not be imperative.

Glover has had a week off since finishing ninth at the Travelers Championship, so he heads to Silvis fresh and ready to land a seventh PGA Tour title.

John Deere Classic Prediction 3: Lucas Glover (Each-Way) - 40/1 With Betfred (Five Places)

John Deere Classic First-Round Leader Tips: Johnson Can Fly Out Of The Blocks

Few players in the field have had as much success at TPC Deere Run as Zach Johnson, who won here 13 years ago and finished runner-up in the next two years to add to second spot in 2009.

The 2007 US Masters champion is 125/1 with several betting apps to win for the first time since his Open Championship success 10 years ago, but The Panel prefer his chances in the first-round leader market.

The 49-year-old American has topped the leaderboard three times after the first round of this tournament and last week he opened with a 65 at the Rocket Classic – just three shots off the lead.

Johnson isn’t renowned for making fast starts in 2025 but at a short, scoreable course, he can go low again on Thursday at 100/1 with BoyleSports, which is offering seven places.

John Deere Classic Prediction 4: Zach Johnson (Each-Way) First-Round Leader - 100/1 With BoyleSports (Seven Places) 

John Deere Classic Top-20 Prediction: Finn Can Compete

The last of this week’s John Deere Classic betting tips is for Sami Valimaki to post a top-20 finish.

The Finn was 12th on his debut here a year ago thanks to an excellent performance on the greens where he finished third in the Strokes Gained: Putting stats and he is eighth in those standings since the start of the season.

Valimaki was strong on the greens and for approach at last week’s Rocket Classic, as he has been all season, so could this be the week he lands a first PGA Tour title?

He is 90/1 for that outcome, but The Panel prefer the 4/1 on offer with Unibet for a top 20.

His current form is good, having posted five top 20s in his last eight appearances, and The Panel are optimistic he can hit the frame once more.

John Deere Classic Prediction 5: Sami Valimaki Top 20 - 4/1 With Unibet