2021 John Deere Classic DraftKings Picks

After a year hiatus thanks to Covid-19, the John Deere Classic is back at TPC Deere Run outside of Chicago, Illinois. Your reigning champion is still Dylan Frittelli from 2019 where he held off a surging Russel Henley. Other previous winners include Michael Kim (18′), Bryson DeChambeau (17′), Ryan Moore (16′), and Jordan Spieth who became the first teenaged PGA tour winner in 2015. However, the tournament should be named after Steve Stricker, who has won the event 3 times and is in the field again this week.

The 2021 John Deere is anyone’s for the taking with many of the world’s best preparing for The British Open next weekend. Although the field is weaker, we still anticipate a birdie fest with TPC John Deere being one of the easiest courses on tour. So expect a winning score to be in the -20’s. The course is a par 71 with 3 very scoreable par 5’s. From the tee’s the players will see wide, easy-easy-to-hit, tree-lined fairways narrowing to bentgrass greens. The key to victory will be well-executed approach shots from 100 to 150 yards out. For that reason, our key statistics for this week are approach shots from 125-150 yards, par 5 scoring, and bentgrass putting. Let’s dive into this week’s plays.

Kevin Streelman – $9,700

In a weaker field this week, Kevin Streelman becomes a top-tier play. Although he missed the cut at the Travelers, he has played excellent golf since the beginning of May. In his past 5 events, he has gained over 5.8 strokes on the field and had himself a top 15 finish at the U.S Open. He has not competed in this event since 2018 but he took 7th that year. Streelman should bounce back from last week’s disappointing finish and put himself in contention.

Seamus Power – $9,000

Seamus Power has been one of the hottest players on tour for the last month, and frankly, is due for a win. Since February, he has not missed a cut and currently has four straight top-20 finishes with top-10s at the Byron Nelson and The Rocket last weekend. He is currently 23rd in the field in strokes gained tee to green over his last 30 rounds. However, his iron and wedge game is scolding hot, gaining 3.6 strokes on approach and 2.3 strokes around the green over his last 5 events. With these easy-to-hit fairways combined with his better-than-tour average putting on bentgrass, he should have plenty of birdie opportunities. This will be his 4th trip to TPC Deere Run, he’s been 61st, 16th, and 25th respectively in his past attempts. When we see a hot hand, we like to ride that wave, Seamus Power is it for this week.

Hank Lebioda – $8,400

Hank Leboida has been red hot the past few weeks. He is coming off of two top 5 finishes at the Rocket Mortgage and Travelers. He has really found some form with his T2G gaining 6.5 strokes on the field. Not only is he smashing the ball, but his putting has been locked in as well. He gained 6.1 strokes last week, and 5.8 at the travelers. This week Hank gets his favorite surface too, bentgrass. This is a gamble play, but let’s see it pays off. A red hot Lebioda is a nice mid-tier value in your John Deere Classic DraftKings lineup.

Beau Hossler – $7,800

The Big Beauford is another golf who is playing very well at the moment. Beau Hossler is coming off three straight events of finishing within the top 25. The best part of his game recently is that it’s very well-rounded. None of his numbers are jumping off the page. He is a great bentgrass putter and we think his hot streak will continue. With the 19th place finish here in 2019, this week you don’t need Beau to finish first. Just anticipate another top 25 finish.

Pat Perez – $7,700

Pat Perez bounced back from his MC at the Travelers after self-reporting playing with someone else’s ball and finished 14th at the Rocket Mortgage last weekend. Take out the travelers and he has been on quite a run dating back to the Valspar in May. Over his last 10 rounds, he is gaining 1.1 strokes on approach shots and 2.1 strokes putting. Once again, this is the recipe we’re looking for this weekend. He ranks out #3 in our model thanks to being 7th in the field in par 5 scoring and 25th in bentgrass putting. He is 2/4 in cuts made at the John Deere, finishing 37th in 2019. Covid was good to Pat though, who had been struggling with a back issue for much of the 2019 season. This tour veteran is healthy and ready to make a run at his 4th PGA victory.

Patrick Rodgers – $7,400

Patrick Rodgers has put together a nice June with multiple straight cuts made. This run culminated with a 41st finish at the Rocket last weekend. He has been one of the best putters on tour, but recently he has lost 7.6 strokes at the Travelers and 2.1 strokes at the Rocket. We’re very pleased he was able to finish so well considering how poorly he was putting. However, the struggle shouldn’t continue, his best putting surface is bentgrass and he has previous success at TPC Deere Run. This will be his 8th appearance at the event, he was 2nd in 2017. Rodgers is a nice value at the backend of your John Deere Classic DraftKings lineups.