2025 John Deere Classic
Breaking down TPC Deere Run and my favorite plays for the John Deere Classic.
Extremely condensed write-up this week as I’m on a family vacation in NW Montana for two weeks. Important work is getting accomplished out here though—
I spend the first two days of this vacation each year building out this nine-hole pitch-and-putt golf course. Holes range between 27 - 44 yards long. Greens are probably about a 4 on the Stimpmeter, but my trusty 1970s era pushmower gets them to a consistent enough length that you can feel like you’re playing something closely resembling real golf. I’ll probably post some course content later this week on Twitter / X: @Thatll_Play.
Tournament Details:
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Course: TPC Deere Run | Par 71, 7,281 yards
Greens: L‑93 Bentgrass
Field Size: 156 players
Cut: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
Purse: $8.4 million total; winner’s share $1.51 million
Past Champions: Davis Thompson (2024), Sepp Straka (2023), JT Poston (2022), Lucas Glover (2021), Dylan Frittelli (2019), Michael Kim (2018), Bryson DeChambeau (2017), Ryan Moore (2016), Jordan Speith (2015 / 2013), Brian Harman (2014), Zach Johnson (2012)
(Quick) Course Breakdown: TPC Deere Run
Another birdiefest on tap this week at one of the softest stops on Tour. The John Deere Classic is annually among the lowest-scoring events of the season, with winners routinely pushing -20 or better. TPC Deere Run rewards players who keep it in the fairway, dial in wedges, and pour in putts. It is not a course that demands distance—just a steady stream of birdie looks inside 15 feet and the ability to capitalize. The rough is manageable, the greens are receptive, and the leaderboard usually favors precision over power.
Picks and Favorite Plays
Denny McCarthy (25-1 / 9,900 DK)
2025 PGA Tour Results: 12* - 57* - 55* - 8* - 48* - 49* - 29* - 18 - 14* - 18* - 48 - 5* - 16 - 58* - 16 - 46
Course History: 7 - 6 - 6 - MC MC - 34
Denny’s recent finishes don’t jump off the page, but context matters—he has been playing exclusively in Signature Events and majors for the past three months. This week, he returns to a much softer field and a course he clearly loves. McCarthy has finished 7th or better in each of his last three starts at TPC Deere Run, making it one of the most reliable tracks in his rotation.
While his putting has dipped slightly from his usual elite level, he has flirted with top-tier iron play this season. He gained multiple strokes on approach in six of his first seven starts and has looked sharp again in recent weeks, holding up well at both the U.S. Open and Travelers. He is more than capable of winning a birdiefest, especially one that turns into a putting contest.
Michael Thorbjornsen (28-1 / 9,100 DK)
2025 PGA Tour Results: 4 - 41* - 54* - 33 - MC - 39 - MC - MC - 39 - MC - 74 - MC - MC
Course History: 2 - 17
Pretty simple argument here. The former No. 1 amateur in the world is coming off his second-best PGA Tour finish—a strong T-4 last week at the Rocket Mortgage—and now returns to the site of his career-best result, a T-2 at the 2024 John Deere. He also finished T-17 here as an amateur the year prior. He gained strokes in all four categories last week, including a red-hot 5.6 strokes putting on the bentgrass/Poa mix in Detroit. It’s early, but there are signs he could become a legitimate weapon on these Midwest bentgrass greens.
Chris Kirk (35-1 / 8,900 DK)
2025 PGA Tour Results: 2 - 12* - MC* - MC - 55* - 42* - 18* - MC* - MC - 42* - 22* - 56 - MC - 62* - 34 - MC - 44
Course History: 21 - 23 - 60 - MC - 22 - 30 - 22
Kirk’s season has been underwhelming, but his T-12 at the U.S. Open might have marked a turning point. He followed it up with a runner-up finish last week at the Rocket Mortgage, losing in a playoff after a season-best ball-striking week. That makes two excellent results in a row, and Kirk has shown in the past that he can run hot—his 2023 Honda win came right after consecutive T-3 finishes. He is a seven-time PGA Tour winner with victories in each of the last two seasons, and he is more than capable of closing the deal in a field like this.
Bud Cauley (40-1 / 8,600 DK)
2025 PGA Tour Results: 25* - MC - 39* - 3 - 72* - 32* - 5 - 4 - 6* - MC - 56 - 21 - 30
Course History: 61 - 18 - 12 - 8 - 52 - MC - 72
Another player that will benefit from a slight step down in competition. Bud had a great run early in the season that helped qualify him for majors and Signature Events, and he has primarily been playing in those over the past three months. The last three times he teed it up against non-elite competition, he finished 3rd (Charles Schwab), T-5 (Valero), and T-4 (Valspar). He has been great with his irons all season and has an elite birdie rate to keep pace as these players push for 20-under this week. He also has decent history here prior to his 2019 car accident, with three consecutive top-20s.
He has come close to a breakthrough win multiple times this season, and this feels like the kind of soft-field birdiefest where he could finally get over the line. A win after everything he’s been through would be one of the most meaningful stories of the year.
Kevin Roy (60-1 / 7,300 DK)
2025 PGA Tour Results: 8 - 15 - 46 - 15 - 40 - MC - MC - MC - 6 - MC - 17 - 18 - 45
Course History: 31
The 35-year-old is trending in the right direction. After a rough patch mid-season, Roy has now made five straight cuts, including two T-15s and a T-8 last week in Detroit. The biggest improvement has come with his irons—he’s posted his four best SG: Approach performances in his last four starts, culminating in a massive +7.6 at the Rocket Mortgage.
He finished T-31 here two years ago, one of the few bright spots in a rookie campaign that was otherwise full of missed cuts. Now sitting 88th in the FedEx Cup standings, he looks much more comfortable on Tour and is building momentum toward keeping his card for 2026.
Andrew Putnam (70-1 / 7,600 DK)
2025 PGA Tour Results: 8 - 6 - 44 - 61 - 15 - 26 - MC - MC - MC - 11 - 49 - 25 - 32 - MC - 30
Course History: MC - 41 - MC - 79 - MC
Putnam has been riding a red-hot putter, posting back-to-back top-10s on driver-heavy tracks that typically don’t suit his game. This week he gets a much friendlier setup—less of a bomber’s course, more of a wedge-and-putt contest. He led the field in SG: Putting last week and should feel right at home at TPC Deere Run, where shorter, precision players often end up in the winner’s circle.