Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2024 John Deere Classic

2024 John Deere Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

It was a second PGA TOUR win for Cameron Davis at the Rocket Mortgage Classic – but a case of what might have been for Akshay Bhatia.

The leftie missed two putts on the final hole, including a four-footer that would have forced a playoff, and the look of disappointment on his face told the whole story.

Embed from Getty Images

For Davis, watching on with a glee he professionally kept reserved, it was a second Rocket Mortgage Classic win – the Australian taking a liking to Detroit Golf Club. It propels him back into the world’s top-50 too, and all the perks such a ranking brings.

You can almost sense the anticipation in the world of golf for the Links Swing, which gets underway with the Scottish Open next week and continues with the British Open at Royal Troon thereafter. 

Sadly, that means that the John Deere Classic this week feels like something of a sideshow, but with British Open places up for grabs, there’s still plenty for the players – including many priced at 50/1 or longer at the sportsbooks – to book their flight over to the U.K.

This has been an event where outsiders, or at least those away from the head of the betting market, have thrived. Lucas Glover won his first PGA TOUR event in a decade here in 2021, J.T. Poston was hidden in the middle of the betting market in 2022, while Sepp Straka produced one of the best putting displays of his career when triumphing here 12 months ago.

The eagled-eyed will have noticed that they are all reliable fairway finders at their best, as are former John Deere Classic runners-up Brendon Todd, Kevin Na, and Ryan Moore – despite the fact that TPC Deere Run boasts wide fairways….go figure.

We can’t actually, although we do know that with a rain-heavy forecast, it’s likely to be a wide-open event, with players of all styles and skillsets in the running.

Two things that are non-negotiable are hitting approaches close – TPC Deere Run has easy to find and hold greens – and making putts, with the last four winning scores here being -19 and -21 (x3). You don’t get to that number with a stinky week with the flatstick in hand.

It’s a low-key field, with Patrick Cantlay going off at the kind of single-digit odds that have been reserved for Scottie Scheffler, with the likes of Straka, Jordan Spieth, and Sungjae Im all keeping close company.

So if the John Deere Classic feels like an opportunity to land a long odds winner, you’d be right to feel bullish about those chances – picking the right guy for the assignment….well, that’s never been easy at TPC Deere Run.

Even so, with approach play at the forefront of our minds, here’s our sleeper shortlist for the 2024 John Deere Classic.

[membership level=”0″]

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

Nick Dunlap – 50/1 – Even in his rookie year, you sense that there’s more to come from Nick Dunlap.

The American Express champion has hinted at increasing proficiency on approach to go with his excellent putting range, and at TPC Deere Run – where the 20-year-old may also enjoy extra room off the tee – he could showcase that once more.

Dunlap has taken his outstanding amateur pedigree onto the big stage, and in a field not blessed with natural champions, he stands out at a mouth-watering price.

Kevin Yu – 50/1 – There’s an argument, a fair one, actually, that Kevin Yu isn’t a good enough putter right now to win on the PGA TOUR.

It’s true, but when you learn that his putting display at TPC Deere Run 12 months ago was one of his finest of the past calendar year on his way to T6, you at least learn that Yu took to the greens at this layout with aplomb.

He put up positive numbers at Detroit GC last week too, so all things considered Yu’s achilles heel is, to some extent, feeling less of a handicap for him.

An outstanding ball-striker, Yu has the tee-to-green game to win on the PGA TOUR – if the flatstick behaves, he’ll have every chance to prove it.

Seamus Power – 66/1 – Hit it close. Make some putts. Lift the trophy.

If only it was that easy! But Seamus Power does boast those attributes, and T8 and T13 finishes at TPC Deere Run highlight his suitability for the test.

Top 30s in three of the Signature Events in recent months offers the merest hint of where his game is at, while his strokes gained data reveals excellence in all departments – just not all at the same time.

Will it finally come together for Power at one of his favorite layouts?

Lee Hodges – 80/1 – Hodges missed the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which came as something of a surprise.

It was the first time in six starts that he’d lost strokes to the field on approach – otherwise, his iron and wedge game has been in rude health.

An accurate driver who fits the bill of the kind of player that generally does well at TPC Deere Run, Hodges is also reliable enough on the greens to win a birdie shootout – as he showed with a score of -24 at the 3M Open roughly a year ago.

Joel Dahmen – 110/1 – Anyone that has watched the Full Swing documentary is probably routing for Joel Dahmen, and there’s reasons to be cautiously optimistic on that front.

His lack of length won’t be punished at TPC Deere Run, and indeed his accuracy off the tee could well prove to be very useful indeed if past leaderboard here are anything to go by.

Dahmen continues to put up outstanding approach play numbers, and while putting remains a mystery to him, within his last four starts are +1.09 and +1.19 strokes gained: putting efforts – a repeat of that this week could take him close indeed.

[/membership]

Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the John Deere Classic here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2024)

Cover photo via Instagram