The PGA Tour heads to the Quad Cities for the 2026 John Deere Classic, with added excitement this season as it has garnered one of the most compelling fields in years. TPC Deere Fun has attracted eight of the top-50 players in the world who are eager to acquire highly important late-season FedEx Cup points.
TPC Deere Run is a golf course that historically plays quite easy, featuring wide fairways, soft mid-summer conditions and famously pure greens. Playing as a par 71 at roughly 7,300 yards, the formula for success is not co mplicated. Wedge it close, keep a clean card and get hot with the flat stick. The winning score has eclipsed 20-under par in five of the past seven editions, which includes a record breaking 28-under score in 2024 by Davis Thompson.
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This year’s field is led by a strong group at the top that includes Ben Griffin, Chris Gotterup, Keegan Bradley, rising potential superstar Jackson Koivun and past two-time champion Jordan Spieth.
Scroll down for my top-10 contenders to win the 2026 John Deere Classic.
Read The Line’s Joe Idone and John Haslbauer break down the top of the odds board for the 2026 John Deere Classic:
Watch Read The Line’s full betting breakdown of the John Deere Classic here.
10. Emiliano Grillo 
Cliff Hawkins
Course history alone earns him a spot in the conversation. Emiliano Grillo ranks second-best in the field in that department, and he came extremely close to winning last year before falling just short in a playoff. Grillo has demonstrated a consistent level of comfort in Silvis, and he arrives this year with unfinished business.
Grillo is a short-iron specialist at heart, and this venue puts a premium on approach proximity from inside 150 yards. There’s no need to overpower this golf course, which aligns to form a course profile fit that few in the field possess.
9. Blades Brown
The kid has got it. A T-14 finish at the CJ Cup has earned 19-year-old Blades Brown special temporary membership for the remainder of the PGA Tour season, his third top-15 result in his past four starts. Browns plays golf with the gas pedal down and is amongst the leaders on birdie conversion rate in the field.
TPC Deere Run has historically provided young, in-form players with ample opportunities to continue their positive momentum. Don’t overlook Brown as a serious contender, as he’s part of a pack of up-and-coming stars looking to achieve their first PGA Tour win.
8. Davis Thompson 
David Jensen
Davis Thompson obliterated the tournament scoring record at TPC Deere Run two years ago and he’s a combined 53 strokes under par in his three years playing this event. Recent struggles in his last four starts may put some off the scent, but three consecutive top-15s before that showcase that the raw talent still exists with Thompson.
Birdie-fest venues are the place to back Thompson, who generates his best results where a hot putting week can separate you from the field. His performance in 2024 alone suggests that there is a version of Thompson that can lap the field when he’s at his best.
7. Michael Thorbjorsen
The most interesting prospect to me this week is Michael Thorbjornsen. Runner-up to Thompson in 2024, he possesses all the tools to capture his first victory at TPC Deere Run. The concern is simple. Thor has struggled with the putter.
However, there is room for optimism as his best putting has often come on Midwest bentgrass, and his performance on the greens here two years ago was the fifth best of his career to date. The ceiling on Thorbjornsen is too high to ignore, and he should be on your short list of contenders. When he clicks, he can make scoring at TPC Deere Run feel easy.
6. Jordan Spieth
A late entry into the field, Jordan Spieth is looking to rekindle an old, magical flame in Silvis. It’s the venue of his very first PGA Tour win, and he returned two years later in 2015 to lift the trophy again. If you listen to Spieth talk, he’s optimistic on his swing and a return victory here does feel within the realm of possibilities.
It’s been a season of one frustration after another for Spieth, and it would be disingenuous to ignore his current slump. But, if he’s looking for a spark with the old putter, TPC Deere Run may be exactly the place to start looking. If he’s going to win in 2026, this feels like his best chance.
Ben Jared
5. Keegan Bradley
If you are looking for a top-end talent in search of an energy surge, look no further than Keegan Bradley. Priced near the top of the odds board, Bradley is looking to recapture momentum and the wedge-to-green importance at TPC Deere Run is a fit for his strengths as a player.
If he can find himself in Sunday contention, I trust the veteran pedigree of Bradley to handle the moment and rise to the occasion. He’s quietly trending in a better direction with his form and arrives without much buzz, meaning this may be the perfect time to hop aboard.
4. Keith Mitchell 
Ben Jared
There’s a long history of a magnetic force between Keith Mitchell and my betting picks, but his current form tells us that this may be the week to back him with confidence. Mitchell ranks No. 1 in my stat model for TPC Deere Run, excelling in the ball-striking department over the last few months.
Here’s the sneaky part. Keith Mitchell is putting well! He has gained with the flat stick in four of his past six starts. He followed up a T-4 at the U.S Open with another solid week at Travelers. If he can gain with the putter again this week, a return to the winner’s circle could be in store for Mitchell in Silvis.
3. Ben Griffin
After churning out a career-defining year in 2025, it’s been a bit of a down season for Ben Griffin thus far in 2026. That didn’t stop the oddsmakers from making him the favorite to win, and another solid outing at the Travelers shows us that Griffin currently has got things going in the right direction.
For the majority of the season, Griffin lost control with his irons, leading to a run of disappointing finishes. He’s since corrected the problem, gaining on approach in four straight, with his highest total of the season coming last week at Travelers. Given that TPC River Highlands shares many of the same approach ranges, Griffin is dangerous once again, and he headlines the odds for good reason.
2. Jackson Koivun 
Kate McShane
Making his professional debut, it feels like this week could be set up to be a coronation for Jackson Koivun. It’s an insane ask, but it would be shortsighted to dismiss his chances given what he’s already shown us. He recorded six wins in 13 collegiate starts this year, added a 2nd National Championship trophy, and he’s coming off an impressive T-23 at the U.S. Open.
Koivun also competed as an amateur in the 2025 John Deere Classic, forgoinging the purse winnings after a T-11 finish. He begins his professional journey this week with high hopes, as Data Golf made him the highest-ranked amateur ever ranked on its website. If he wins in his first pro start, it’s something Silvis will remember fondly forever.
1. Chris Gotterup
The highest-ranked player in the field this week deserves to be the top contender. Chris Gotterup won both the WM Phoenix Open and Sony Open in 2026, establishing himself as a perennial threat to win anywhere, anytime on the PGA Tour.
He headlines the field given his proven win equity, and a T-4 finish at this tournament in the past highlights an understanding of how to attack TPC Deere Run. The elite combination of shot-making and closing ability is the reason Gotterup sits at the top of the list of contenders to win the 2026 John Deere Classic.
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Joe Idone is a Read The Line contributor and host of the Preferred Lines podcast.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
