Blades Brown Tops the 4 Best Fantasy Golf Picks (FanDuel) at the John Deere Classic
The PGA Tour is headed to the Midwest this week. They will take the tee box for the John Deere Classic, held in western Illinois (Silvis, IL), at TPC Deere Run. The course is always set for a lower winning score and is marked easier than most on the PGA Tour. Nonetheless, the course does have a dynamic setup that will benefit select golfers and longshots, given its non-signature-event status and the absence of big guns like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Key Course Metrics
TPC Deere Run stands out in a few ways. Most notably, the fairways are extremely thin on a handful of holes. Missing those fairways will be very penalizing, as the course is quite tree-lined. Driving distance will favor golfers on other holes that are more wide open. Misses come with less penalty for the longer hitters on those designs.
Putting will be another major factor. The greens at TPC Deere Run are large, thus making for greens-in-regulation comm. Those who putt the best from 10+ feet will thrive Thursday-to-Sunday.
Datagolf's Relative Importance Model highlights the matrix below. It is worth remembering that TPC Deere Run will play easier than most PGA Tour setups, so do not weigh its worth or importance too heavily. Whoever comes into the week hot can do well.
Course History and Weather Report
In 2025, the John Deere Classic saw its first winning score higher than 20-under-par since 2021. Brian Campbell won in a playoff over Emiliano Grillo. The average winning score since 2021 is -21.4. Here are those winners:
- 2025: Brian Campbell (-19)
- 2024: Davis Thompson (-28)
- 2023: Sepp Straka (-21)
- 2022: JT Poston (-21)
- 2021: Lucas Glover (-19)
The golf course plans to be extremely firm come Thursday morning. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Silvis, Illinois, is under an Extreme Heat Warning. The city is going to have heat index values of 100 degrees with wind over 15 miles per hour. With heat and wind, moisture departs. As much as the greenskeeper can water the greens, it will matter little.
Thursday is expected to have a high of 94 degrees. The overnight into Friday has a 30% chance of rain, hoping to add some moisture to the golf course.
Friday will have the same outlook, but with a 40% chance of rain showers, continuing overnight into Saturday.
The weather through Saturday and Sunday will remain the same, but now with rain 50-60% likely as showers. Any moisture will help the course, but it will ultimately play very firm. That favors rollout on tee shots, but penalizes approach shots and putting. The course is expected to have tougher scoring than average. Expect a winning score of 15 to 20 under par.
Top Fantasy Golf Picks
Tom Kim ($10,700)
Kim comes off a solo first-place finish at the US Open. He has 5 straight cuts made, including 2 top-10s and a T-15 at the RBC Canadian Open. Kim has been touted as a rising star on the PGA Tour. Despite struggles over the past 24 months, his game is clearly coming around, with his best result in well over a year in his most recent start. Gun for upside at the John Deere Classic rather than betting on the favorites. It will be a volatile scoring week.
Doug Ghim ($10,300)
Ghim is a former US Amateur Runner-Up. Right now, he is playing his best golf in a while. Ghim has finished no worse than T-31 in his last 6 events. In each of his last 5 events, Ghim has improved in total strokes gained per round.
Blades Brown ($9,700)
By all accounts, Brown is supposed to be the next phenom on the PGA Tour. The 19-year-old has earned the following results in his last 5 PGA Tour events:
- CJ Cup Byron Nelson: T-14
- ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic: T-9
- Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Team Event): T-24
- Valspar Championship: T-40
- Puerto Rico Open: T-3
It should be noted that the John Deere Classic is not a signature event. The favorite leading into the week is Ben Griffin, who is ranked 16th in the world. The field is certainly tougher than a Korn Ferry Tour event, but it is closer to one of those than to a Major Championship.
Max Homa ($9,400)
Homa can win with his experience and his putter. Homa has been labeled among the best putters on the PGA Tour over his career. He is in good form right now, featuring back-to-back top-22 finishes (RBC Canadian Open, Charles Schwab Classic). Like everyone in our picks this week, Homa has tremendous upside, with his best golf making him a contender in the toughest events. While years removed, Homa did win the Genesis Invitational and was on the 2023 Ryder Cup Team.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.