Blog#343JD John Deere Classic

Blog#343JD John Deere Classic

PREVIEW AND RESULTS

TPC Deere Run Par 71

Purse $8.8M+ 400K%

July 2 t0 5, 2026

HISTORY

This tournament is played 1 week before the Scottish Open and 2 weeks before THE OPEN. Most of the top players are in the UK preparing for THE OPEN by playing in the Scottish Open to familiarize themselves with Link courses. Last years winner Brian Campbell defeated Emiliano Grillo in a playoff.

Favorites Finish

1 Ben Griffin 15/1 Has 4 top 10’s in his last 8 tournaments. 21-13 $100K

2 Chris Goterup 16/1 Bogie free, playing better since#10 at PGA. W-20 $1.6M

3 Jackson Koivun 22/1 First PGA start and picked #3? #122+2 after RD1 6-17 $297K

4 Keegan Bradley 22/1 0 top 10’s in 2026, 4 missed cuts, game suffered this year. 26-12 $66K

5 Keith Mitchell 22/1 My pick based on #4 US Open #22 Travelers, 5 bogies RD1. 51-8 $21K

Other possible winners; Eric Cole 30/1, Jackson Suber 55/1, Emiliano Grillo 60/1

Round 1 Weather very hot 90* little wind 7 to 10.

1 Lucas Glover-8 63 Bogie free 5 birdies on front9, 3 on back. Missed 7 of 15 cuts.

9 Zac Blair-8 63 Bogie free1eagle 6 birdies, only played 5 PGA events in 2026. 9-16 $240K

3 Lee Hodges-7 64 One bogie 8 birdies, missed 5 of 13 cuts, Sony only top 10. 3-18 $466K

3 Stephan Jaeger-7 64 One bogie 8 birdies. Missed 4 cuts in last 4 events. 15-14 $142K

3 Zach Johnson-7 64 One bogie 8 birdies, won twice on Champions, only 4th PGA.9-16 $240K

9 Chris Gotterup-5 Bogie free, if he keeps it up could win.

Round 2

1 Lucas Glover-14 65 46 Bogie free RD, won 2002 US Open & 2023 Wyndham & S Jude.

2 Lee Hodges-12 66 Two good RDs but I think he will fade.

3 Jackson Suber-10 64 Bogie free, up 35 spots, 4th at Canadian Open&Byron Nelson.

4 Five players tied at-10 David Lipsky, Rep Hisatsune, Tyler Duncan, Troy Mereitt, Ben Kholes.

None of these players have a chance to win.

10 Max Homa-9 His best event so far, 4 of 15 missed cuts but #9 at Masters. 2-19 $960K

11 Chris Gotterup-8 68 First bogie but only 4 birdies, RD 3 will see if he can win.

11 Ben Griffin-8 65 one eagle 5 birdies 1 bogie, moves up 40 spots and may win.

11 Zach Johnson-8 70 Three bogies after 1 RD 1, at 50 he has already had a great tourney.X

20 Harry Higgs-7 68 After 3 bogies RD 1 only 1 RD, hoping for a top 10 for him. 21-13 $100

61 Jordan Spieth-3 69 Five bogies 1 DB in 2 RDs. All Rds-par but 3 DBs. 58-7 $20K

61 Rickie Fowler-3 69 Only 3 bogies in 2 RDs but only 6 birdies. 15-4 $143

CUT Nobody worth mentioning.

Round 3

1 Lucus Glover-16 69 Eagles #1 for 3 stroke lead, 1st bogie on #9 but birdies 17 ties for lead.

1 Lee Hodges-16 67 Four bogies in 4 RDs, 2 on 6&8, but 4 birdies on back9.

3 Jackson Suber-15 66 One bogie 6 birdies, 0 wins cut at US Open at 26 may pass old guys.

3-Ben Kholes-15 66 Another who is this guy.

3 Zach Blair-15 67 Took tie lead after 10 holes at -17 but DB on 11 & bogies on 18.

7 Zach Johnson-13 66 Eagle 2 bogies 5 birdies but he will drop from top 10 in RD.

12 Rickie Fowler-11 63 Low RD of day only 1 bogie, he should win a fall event.

12 Chris Gottreup-11 68 Probably has to shoot 63 to win, good tournament, not enough.

Serval others in the mix, but nobody recognizable. It is Glover’s tournament to win, but if he falters maybe Suber or Hodges. It won’t be Ben Kohl’s or Zach Blair.

Final Round July 5, 2026

Any of these 6 could have won, but Gotterup made no mistakes in a bogie free RD. If he had birdied 18 there would be no doubt, but Kohls 1 bad sot on 18 sealed his victory.

1 Chris Gotterup-20 62 Bogie free low RD to win, ogolfit predicted if he shot 63 he may win!

2 Max Homa-19 64 His only bogie on #4 prevented him from a playoff. Since his Masters finish(#9) he has been playing better, except for not making the cut at PGA. May win this year.

3 Ben Kohls-18 68 Has a great front9 1 eagle 3 birdies 0 bogies, but back 2 bogies and on #18 was tied for the lead-20, but bounced his approach shot off the green into the water for DB.

You have to feel bad for Kohles, at 36 he has no PGA wins. In 2024 at the Byron Nelson he was 9th after RD1, 5th after RD 2, 3rd after RD 3, and birdied #16&17 for the lead. Then he

hits 3 poor shots on 18 and Taylor Pendrith birdies 18 to win by 1 stroke, deja vu.

3 Lucas Glover-18 69 Led 1st 3 RDs and his tournament twin but shoots 2 69’s Rd 3&4.

3 Lee Hodges-18 Three bogies dropped him out of contention.

6 Jackson Suber-17 Only 4 bogies and 2 bogs RDs in tournament.

COMMENTARY

This has always been a “B” tournament as it falls 2 weeks before THE OPEN.

The Scottish Open is next week and has gained importance as a Links tune up for THE OPEN.

As the PGA goes to 2 tiers this will be in tier 2(Challenger Series). The 2 tier concept makes sense, but are you going to watch TV with the players involved here. Most are recognizable veterans whose skills are declining but still fun to watch (ie Jorden Spieth), and some up and coming new names. The Challenger Series may become as Rory Milroy described as,

“a glorified Korn Ferry event”

There is a TV market for the LPGA & Champion’s Tour, and while these tournaments do not have the TV appeal of the PGA, they may be able to have a decent following and may draw some golf fans, especially on off weeks of the Championship Series.

While the structuring of schedules and other important matters have to been finalized of 2028, it will be interesting to see if the concept will be able to attract 100% of the top players to participate in all of the anticipated 20 or more events.