2011 John Deere Classic Predictions
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
Last week at the AT&T National, Nick Watney captured his second win of the 2011 season, and arguably the biggest of his career up to this point. It’s a big confidence builder for Watney, who will look to bring home his first major next week at the 2011 British Open. While most of the attention this week will be on the third major of the season, the PGA TOUR will make it’s annual stop at TPC Deere Run for the 2011 John Deere Classic.
As you might expect, many of the best players will take this week off to prepare for the British Open, which leaves a pretty average field for the Johne Deere Classic. Two-time defending champion Steve Stricker (5) and Jason Day (7) are the only two players in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings in the field, and just 19 players who have qualified for the Open are expected to tee it up this weekend.
While the field may lack a lot of the big names, this tournament will provide plenty of entertainment for those who decide to tune in. Last year Stricker won this event with a 26-under 258, despite shooting just 1-under on the final round. TPC Deere Run doesn’t exactly provide much of a challenge, which is great for the fans who love to see birdies, but not so good if you want to prepare for the difficult challenge of Royal St. George (site 2011 British Open). Coming as no surprise, the key to winning the John Deere Classic is taking advantage of every birdie opportunity you get.
For those of you looking to make a bet on who will win this tournament, here is a look at three golfers that I feel have a great shot at hosting the trophy come the final round on Sunday.
Jason Day (+1000) – With the downfall of Tiger Woods, rarely do we see the same player defend his title at a given event. That has me passing up on Stricker winning this event for a third straight season, and laying my money on Jason Day, who comes in playing exceptional golf. Since finishing tied for 2nd at the Masters, Day hasn’t missed a cut and has finished inside the top 10 in four of his last five starts, including a 2nd place finish at the U.S. Open. Day comes into tournament this week 11th in scoring average, 13th in birdies per round, 12 in birdie conversion, and 8th in putting per round. That all should add up to a great four rounds at TPC Deere Run.
Charles Howell III (+1800) -Howell III comes into the tournament striking the ball incredibly well. He has finished tied for 3rd in each of his last two starts, including last week at the AT&T National. Howell didn’t have a bad round last week at Doral, shooting under-par in all four rounds, including a 66 to finish up on Sunday. He is 11th in scoring average and 40th in greens in regulation in 2011. If he can get the putter rolling early, I don’t see any reason why he won’t be right there with a chance to win on Sunday.
Steve Marino (+3500) – Mario showed flashes of what he is still capable of with his 63 on Saturday last week at the AT&T National. His other three rounds weren’t exactly much to get excited about, but I feel like with the easy conditions of TPC Deere Run we will see Marino put up a low score this week. Marino does have just three top 10 finishes in 2011, but has finished second twice. He has the game to score low at this event, and at +3500 there is a ton of value. He is 44th in greens in regulation, 50th in putting and 29th in birdie conversions.
Complete John Deere Classic Odds
| Steve Stricker | +500 |
| Jason Day | +1000 |
| Zach Johnson | +1600 |
| Charles Howell | +1800 |
| David Toms | +1800 |
| Jonathan Byrd | +2000 |
| Stewart Cink | +2500 |
| Bryce Molder | +3500 |
| Steve Marino | +3500 |
| John Rollins | +3500 |
| Heath Slocum | +3500 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | +3500 |
| Brian Gay | +4000 |
| Andres Romero | +4500 |
| Ryuji Imada | +5000 |
| John Merrick | +5000 |
| Robert Garrigus | +5000 |
| Charlie Wi | +5500 |
| DJ Trahan | +5500 |
| Davis Love | +5500 |
| Jason Dufner | +5500 |
| JJ Henry | +6000 |
| Pat Perez | +6000 |
| Chris Stroud | +6000 |
| Brandt Jobe | +6500 |
| Ricky Barnes | +6500 |
| Vaughn Taylor | +6500 |
| Brian Davis | +6500 |
| Chris Kirk | +7000 |
| Jerry Kelly | +7000 |
| Troy Matteson | +7000 |
| Chad Campbell | +7000 |
| Paul Goydos | +7500 |
| Scott Verplank | +8000 |
| Mark Wilson | +7000 |
| Jhonattan Vegas | +8000 |
| Kevin Stadler | +8000 |
| Rod Pampling | +8000 |
| Marc Leishman | +9000 |
| Chris DiMarco | +9000 |
| James Driscoll | +9000 |
| Brendon De Jonge | +10000 |
| Brett Wetterich | +10000 |
| George McNeill | +10000 |
| Chris Riley | +10000 |
| David Mathis | +10000 |
| Tommy Gainey | +10000 |
| Matt Jones | +10000 |
| Chris Couch | +10000 |
| Michael Thompson | +10000 |
| Greg Chalmers | +10000 |
| Kenny Perry | +10000 |
| DA Points | +10000 |
| Kyle Stanley | +12500 |
| Michael Putnam | +12500 |
| Joe Ogilvie | +12500 |
| Cameron Tringale | +12500 |
| Blake Adams | +12500 |
| Jason Bohn | +12500 |
| Scott Piercy | +12500 |
| Tim Petrovic | +12500 |
| Hunter Haas | +12500 |
| Garrett Willis | +15000 |
| Dean Wilson | +15000 |
More Golf Predictions
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