Daniel Berger is 9/1 favourite for the John Deere Classic, the final PGA Tour event before the Open Championship, and plenty of punters seem sure to take that price after his seventh-place finish in the US Open last time out.
If Berger is completely over the rib injury which troubled him in the spring – and if he is 100 per cent focused on this low-key event before jetting over to Royal St George’s for the final Major of the season – then the world number 16 should be a serious John Deere contender.
Berger won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and is a four-time PGA Tour champion at the age of 28. Given how weak the field is at TPC Deere Run this week, the cocksure Floridian will expect to feature prominently.
Not much breeze is forecast, so the straightforward course is there for the taking. Paul Goydos once carded a 59 on this track, and Berger will be among the most likely candidates to repeat that feat.
Harman can do plenty of damage at Deere Run
Brian Harman is available at 11/1 for John Deere Classic glory, which seems a fair price when you consider how often he has been contending in much better tournaments than this one over the last few months.
Harman hinted that he could have a good year after finishing eighth in The American Express at the end of January. The diminutive left-hander followed up with a third place in the Players Championship at Sawgrass, a run to the quarter-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and 12th spot in the Masters.
More recently, he has finished eighth at Colonial, 19th in the US Open and fifth in the Travelers Championship last time out. The 34-year-old is full of confidence in his game, and he is proven at TPC Deere Run. Harman’s maiden PGA Tour title came in the 2014 John Deere Classic when he reached 22 under par for 72 holes. The course sets up perfectly for players who are strong with their wedges, and their putter and Harman fits the bill.
McNealy may threaten PGA Tour breakthrough
The most dangerous PGA Tour maiden in attendance is arguably Maverick McNealy, who is on offer at 40/1 – a tempting proposition given each-way terms of a quarter the odds, the first five. McNealy is a former world number one amateur – his college career was as impressive as that of Tiger Woods – and this year, he has fully established himself as a PGA Tour professional.
An impressive runner-up finish behind Berger in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February banked a significant, career-stabilising cheque for McNealy, and he followed up with a fourth-place finish in the RBC Heritage in April.
The 25-year-old’s last three PGA Tour starts have resulted in form figures of 20-30-21, and he can attack a course he knows this week. McNealy has never teed up in the John Deere Classic as a pro, but he was 44th as an amateur in the 2017 edition.
*All odds correct at time of writing