Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2021 John Deere Classic

The 2021 John Deere Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

The PGA TOUR has been experiencing play-off fever recently, with the Rocket Mortgage Classic the latest event to require an extra time shootout.

This time there were three combatants duking it out for the prize, although it only took one hole for Joaquin Niemann to say goodbye to the contest.

Step forward Cam Davis and Troy Merritt, neither of whom are prolific winners on the TOUR by any means, and for whom this moment meant a great deal.

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Four playoff holes came and went, and Davis could reflect on a handful of missed opportunities as Merritt – by hook or by crook – remained in contention.

However, a missed green on the fifth extra hole from Merritt gave the Australian the chance he needed to finally convert the W and secure the first PGA TOUR title of his career.

The fact that he chipped in on the 71st hole from out of the bunker to even get into a share of the regulation lead was extraordinary in itself, and the young man who has set up home in America will remember this moment for the rest of his career.

Of course, greater times could be on the horizon – especially if he can qualify for the British Open, which takes place in England next week. There is a qualification berth up for grabs at this week’s John Deere Classic for the player who finishes highest that is yet to qualify outright for the fourth and final major of the year.

Davis will be in the field at TPC Deere Run trying to secure his place, and while this may be a low-key field there will be no shortage of effort and motivation given what’s at stake.

Plenty will fancy their chances of gatecrashing the Open Championship party too, and that’s largely because this layout has no demons in store. Wide open off the tee, the 78 bunkers are a nuisance rather than a hazard, and with water on just five holes it’s no surprise to learn that at least a dozen of these holes will average under power come the end of Sunday.

The winning score is typically -20 or even lower, and so ultimately this will prove to be something of a putting contest on what are medium-fast Bentgrass greens. The weather is set fair too, so we’re expecting a low-scoring contest where birdies will need to be made from the get-go and throughout in order to any chance of winning.

With market leaders such as Daniel Berger and Brian Harmon not exactly prolific winners on the TOUR, there is definitely scope for picking out a sleeper winner here – but who will it be?

We’ve scoured the field and come up with a quintet of selections that make up our John Deere Classic 2021 sleeper report.

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The 2021 John Deere Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

Patton Kizzire – 50/1 – Bludgeoning tee shots and making putts….that’s the Patton Kizzire way.

He averages 15th on TOUR for SG: Putting and 67th for Driving Distance….it’s just the middle bit that’s the issue.

The extra room at TPC Deere Run should ensure he’s approaching from the short stuff more often, which will help, and back-to-back T3s in May at the Byron Nelson and Charles Schwab are recent enough to be relevant.

A solid T25 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic – where he signed off with a round of 64 – is a handy warm-up act.

Lucas Glover – 55/1 – He’s not a glamorous pick nor a prolific winner, but if Lucas Glover is to cash in on his undoubted talent then this is the kind of week it will happen.

An excellent ball-striker, putting has long been a mystery for the veteran – however, there are some caveats to note.

The first is that he plays well at TPC Deere Run – 10-25 in his last two visits, in fact. That suggests he likes how these greens are cut.

Glover has been putting better lately – he ranked 28th for SG: Putting in Detroit – and it will only take a slight improvement from that to contend this week.

Hank Lebioda – 60/1 – Sometimes in golf betting we just have to follow the value price….

Hank Lebioda is playing some of the best golf of his life right now, and while his ball-striking has been strong for months, suddenly his short game has also come up to the mark.

Consecutive top-five finishes at the Travelers and Rocket Mortgage Classic have come about basically because he has chipped and putted better, and assuming that travels with him to Illinois then Lebioda becomes a person of interest once more.

Beau Hossler – 66/1 – You can take what we’ve written about Hank Lebioda and flip it on its head for Beau Hossler.

He has long been regarded as an elite-level putter, but clearly that can only take you so far in the sport – you have to have the tee-to-green skills to really flourish, too.

And recently Hossler has been much better in that department, and a trio of top-25s – signed off at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week – have come about purely because his ball striking has improved.

If he puts it altogether, Hossler can be a factor in Illinois.

Vincent Whaley – 150/1 – Between March and May, Vincent Whaley played in eight PGA TOUR events and finished no lower than T36 in any of them.

The problem is that his best return was T15, and so the takeaway point was that this was a super-consistent player who’s not quite ready to breakthrough yet.

However, here we find ourselves at the first tournament in a while that is completely wide open, and where a mild case can be made for dozens of players.

Whaley is long enough off the tee and reliable enough with flat stick in hand to really compete at TPC Deere Run, and maybe this is where his breakthrough weekend arrives.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the 2021 John Deere Classic here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2020-2021)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”2.16%” bar_text=”4 out of 185 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent= “9.72%” bar_text=”18 out of 185 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”24.32%” bar_text=”45 out of 185 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=2.70%” bar_text=”1 out of 37 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”7.40%” bar_text=”2 out of 37 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”61.62%” bar_text=”114 out of 185 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram