We picked up a nice winner last week when Rickie Fowler won the Rocket Mortgage Classic at odds of 13-1. This week the PGA Tour heads to Illinois for the John Deere Classic and it is the weakest PGA Tour field in recent memory. None of the world’s top players are in the field this week. Cameron Young is the highest ranked player at No. 19 in the latest World Golf Rankings. Young is not the favorite at BetRivers, however, as World No. 29 Russell Henley gets that honor at golf betting odds of +1200. Denny McCarthy is the second choice at odds of +1400, while Young is listed at +2000. Let’s look at John Deere Classic picks.

Venue: TPC Deere Run is a par 71 that measures 7,289 yards. The course was built in 1999 and features a lot of birdie chances.

Last Year: J.T. Poston won last year and he did it in wire-to-wire fashion, becoming the first winner in 30 years at the John Deere Classic to lead throughout. He won by three shots over Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Emiliano Grillo. Scott Stallings and Chris Gotterup tied for fourth.

TV Coverage: CBS, Golf Channel

John Deere Classic Odds

Henley, Russell +1200

McCarthy, Denny +1400

Young, Cameron +2000

Moore, Taylor +2500

Aberg, Ludvig +2500

Hadwin, Adam +2800

Grillo, Emiliano +2800

Bezuidenhout, Christiaan +3300

Kirk, Chris +3300

Cole, Eric +3300

Schenk, Adam +3300

Smalley, Alex +3300

Mitchell, Keith +3300

Jaeger, Stephan +3300

Poston, J.T. +4000

Taylor, Nick +4000

Power, Seamus +4000

Todd, Brendon +4000

Straka, Sepp +4500

Palmer, Ryan +4500

Ghim, Doug +4500

Byeong Hun An +4500

Rodgers, Patrick +4500

Kuchar, Matt +5000

Montgomery, Taylor +5000

Hubbard, Mark +5000

Reavie, Chez +5000

Kyoung-Hoon Lee +5500

Svensson, Adam +6600

Hardy, Nick +6600

Hossler, Beau +6600

Bramlett, Joseph +7000

Stevens, Sam +7000

Wu, Dylan +8000

Sigg, Greyson +8000

Glover, Lucas +8000

Kevin Yu +8000

Thompson, Davis +8000

Lipsky, David +8000

Streelman, Kevin +8000

List, Luke +8000

Johnson, Zach +8000

Sargent, Gordon +8000

Lashley, Nate +9000

Hadley, Chesson +9000

Ryder, Sam +9000

Lower, Justin +9000

Kizzire, Patton +9000

Seong-Hyeon Kim +9000

Martin, Ben +9000

Novak, Andrew +9000

Kim, Michael +9000

NeSmith, Matthew +9000

Tarren, Callum +9000

All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more.

Favorite

Henley, Russell +1200

The favorite didn’t come through yet again last week, as Tony Finau was never in contention. I say every week that betting the favorite to win a golf tournament is a losing proposition. The field at the John Deere Classic is the weakest PGA Tour field in recent memory and there are countless players who could win. I am not taking Henley as the favorite.

Value Picks

McCarthy, Denny +1400

Is this the week where McCarthy gets his first PGA Tour win? It could happen, as the John Deere Classic has been a good tournament for first-time winners, as five of the last 11 winners of this event won for the first time. McCarthy is up to No. 34 in the latest World Golf Rankings. He is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour and this year he has made improvements in his driving and approach play. This is a good week for McCarthy to get his first PGA Tour win.

Schenk, Adam +3300

Schenk is closing in on the Top 50 in the world and he is up to 26^th in the FedEx Cup standings. He has a number of high finishes this season and he has been in contention. He has played well in this event in the past with a 6^th in 2019 and a 4^th in 2021. I’ll take Schenk at a nice price.

Cole, Eric +3300

Cole has won plenty of times on lower golf tours and it could be time for him to get his first PGA Tour win. He lost in a playoff earlier this year to Chris Kirk and he has a number of other high finishes this season. The field is weak at the John Deere and Cole can contend.

Reavie, Chez +5000

I am surprised the number on Reavie is so high and it was higher, as I saw 80-1 earlier. He should like this shorter course in Illinois and his accuracy should play well at TPC Deere Run. He has had his moments this season but come up just short. I’ll take a flyer on him at big odds.

Wu, Dylan +8000

Wu lives in Illinois so he will have a comfort level this week. He has made the cut a number of times this season and last week he contended at the Rocket Mortgage Classic until a poor final round. I’ll take a shot on Wu at big odds.

Glover, Lucas +8000

My other big longshot this week is Glover who really loves TPC Deere Run. He ranks 2^nd in Total Strokes Gaines on this course since 2016. He needs a big week to improve his position in the FedEx Cup standings and he might just do more than contend.

Check out the latest John Deere Classic odds at BetRivers.