Welcome to another weekly rundown detailing what you need to know before crafting your PGA lineups this week on DRAFT. The next stop on the PGA rota is Illinois, where the majority of the world’s top golfers will NOT be competing. One of the primary reasons is because the John Deere Classic features one of the smallest purses on the schedule. Only four players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings will tee it up this week.
Get a free $3 contest entry at DRAFT.com with your first deposit 
Recap of last week
Before setting the table for this week’s tournament, I’d like to take a few moments to recap last week’s tournament, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. If you took my advice and entered a few tournaments on DRAFT, you likely did very well for the second tournament in a row. We had three players in the top 13, including a T5 with wunderkind Joaquin Niemann. Tony Finau finished T21 and Phil Mickelson rounded out the rest of the lineup with an unfortunate T65. All in all, I would chalk it up as a victory.
Side-note: Niemann and Beau Hossler are my two favorite young players to play on Tour. Both have loads of potential and could be poised for a major breakout in the next couple of months.
Storylines heading into this week
Most of the top golfers in the world will not be making the trek to Illinois to participate in this event as they begin to prep for The Open Championship in a couple of weeks. I would be lying if I said this tournament held any sort of appeal to the average golf fan. It is one of the weaker fields we’ll see on Tour this season. There is one spot in The Open Championship up for grabs but other than that, there is not much to like this week. It will likely turn into a birdie-fest as TPC Deere Run is considered one of the easiest courses these players will see in 2018.
The Course
TPC Deere Run has accepted the fact that players will likely dominate this course, as the previous winner has been below 20-under or better in six of the last eight tournaments here. It is a Par 71 that stretches out to about 7,268 yards, which is about average for most Tour stops. The fairways are more than generous and there is only one body of water on the entire property. The greens feature soft bentgrass and wind can play a factor, as is the case with most courses located in the Midwest.
Previous Champions (past five seasons)
2017: Bryson DeChambeau
2016: Ryan Moore
2015: Jordan Spieth
2014: Brian Harman
2013: Jordan Spieth
Key Stats
SG: Tee-to-Green
Bogey Avoidance
Driving Accuracy
Golfers to Target
Zach Johnson
I wish I loved anything half as much as Zach Johnson loved playing the John Deere Classic. This tournament is close to home for him so he circles this event on his calendar every year. I typically don’t pay much attention to narrative-driven storylines but the results are hard to ignore here. He’s finished with three runner-up finishes and one victory here since 2009. He’s worthy of a first and second round selection.
Francesco Molinari
The hottest golfer on the planet. He has two victories in his last four starts, including a T2 mixed in for good measure. His recent form is simply too good to ignore.
Ryan Moore
Moore has flashed good recent form in his last three starts with two top-13 finishes and posted a victory here in 2016. He ranks 13th in SG: Tee-to-Green, as well as top 30 in nearly every other strokes gained category besides putting.
Steve Stricker
If I am going to mention Johnson’s course history here, it is only fair to mention Stricker’s. He has torn this place apart in the past 10 seasons. He has three wins as well as three other top-five finishes here. His recent form hasn’t been great, however, so he might be a worth a fade in a few lineups as well.
Get a free $3 contest entry at DRAFT.com with your first deposit
Shane Davies is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Shane, check out his archive and follow him @SBDAVIES7.
