Sungjae Im will look to win his first PGA Tour event in three years when he tees off in the 2024 John Deere Classic beginning Thursday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. The 26-year-old Im, who is ranked No. 29 in the world, has not won on Tour since capturing the Shriners Children's Open in 2021. He has been feast-or-famine over his last six events, with four top-nine finishes and two missed cuts. This week, Im is one of three co-favorites in the 2024 John Deere Classic odds, at +1800. The other two co-favorites are two-time John Deere Classic champion Jordan Spieth and defending champion Sepp Straka.
Aaron Rai (+2200), Maverick McNealy (+2500), Keith Mitchell (+2500) and Denny McCarthy (+2500) round out the top seven choices on the PGA odds board among the 156 John Deere Classic players. Before locking in any John Deere Classic 2024 picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad.
Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He's had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets and in betting head-to-head matchups. He also has been solid with his head-to-head matchups since last year's Charles Schwab Challenge, going 50-34-5 and returning 13.22 units over that span. That's a $1,322 profit for $100 bettors since May 2023.
Nejad also nailed Wyndham Clark, a 75-1 longshot, as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship last year. In 2023, SportsLine debuted "The Early Wedge," and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners.
Now, Nejad has turned his attention to the 2024 John Deere Classic field and locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. See who they are at SportsLine.
Top 2024 John Deere Classic expert picks
One surprise: Nejad is down on the chances of co-favorite Spieth (+1800). A 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, Spieth is in danger of missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He ranks 59th in the FedEx Cup standings, and only the top 70 players after the Wyndham Championship in early August will qualify for the Playoffs.
Spieth, a two-time winner at TPC Deere Run, enters the John Deere hoping to recapture some form. He has not finished better than 29th in any tournament since the Valero Texas Open in the first week in April. "His short odds in this tournament are exclusively based on name recognition, and I think he belongs in the +3000 range," Nejad told SportsLine.
However, Nejad is backing 31-year-old PGA Tour veteran and tournament co-favorite Straka (+1800). The defending John Deere Classic champion, Straka is looking to become the first player to successfully defend his John Deere title since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009-11. Only three players have won the John Deere in back-to-back seasons.
Nejad believes Straka's game is a good fit for TPC Deere Run. Straka ranks 32nd on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach the green (+0.376) and 33rd in strokes gained: off the tee (+0.333). "He has the kind of spike potential that can provide a Sunday sweat and an outright win," Nejad told SportsLine. See which other players to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 John Deere Classic picks
Nejad has locked in his best bets for the 2024 John Deere Classic and is backing multiple longshots, including one priced at more than +6000. This player "crushes the ball off the tee" and is a longshot who could surprise. You can see Nejad's PGA Tour picks only at SportsLine.
So which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 John Deere Classic, and which player in the John Deere Classic 2024 field could bring a huge payday of more than +6000? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sia Nejad's top picks for the 2024 John Deere Classic, all from the expert who is 50-34-5 on his last 89 golf head-to-head picks.
2024 John Deere Classic odds, field
See Nejad's picks, best bets and predictions here.
Sungjae Im +1800
Sepp Straka +1800
Jordan Spieth +1800
Aaron Rai +2200
Maverick McNealy +2500
Keith Mitchell +2500
Denny McCarthy +2500
Davis Thompson +2800
Jason Day +3000
J.T. Poston +3000
Nick Dunlap +3500
Sam Stevens +4000
Kevin Yu +4000
Luke Clanton +4500
Adam Svensson +4500
Eric Cole +5000
Mark Hubbard +5500
Lucas Glover +5500
Ben Griffin +5500
Beau Hossler +5500
Thorbjorn Olesen +6000
Ryo Hisatsune +6000
Patrick Rodgers +6000
Michael Thorbjornsen +6000
Doug Ghim +6000
Daniel Berger +6000
Seamus Power +6500
Lee Hodges +7000
J.J. Spaun +7000
Andrew Novak +7000
Adam Schenk +7000
Jhonattan Vegas +7500
S.H. Kim +8000
Neal Shipley +8000
Nate Lashley +8000
Michael Kim +8000
K.H. Lee +8000
Davis Riley +8000
Andrew Putnam +8000
Alejandro Tosti +8000
Mac Meissner +9000
Luke List +9000
Joseph Bramlett +9000
Jake Knapp +9000
Jacob Bridgeman +9000
Hayden Springer +9000
Dylan Wu +9000
Brendon Todd +9000
Rico Hoey +10000
Justin Lower +10000
Chris Gotterup +10000
Chandler Phillips +10000
Chan Kim +10000
Alex Smalley +10000
Zach Johnson +11000
Pierceson Coody +11000
Joel Dahmen +11000
Greyson Sigg +11000
David Skinns +11000
Cameron Champ +11000
C.T. Pan +11000
Vince Whaley +12000
Troy Merritt +12000
Sami Valimaki +12000
Sam Ryder +12000
Ryan Moore +12000
Patton Kizzire +12000
Nick Hardy +12000
Max Greyserman +12000
Jimmy Stanger +12000
Harry Hall +12000
Garrick Higgo +12000
Chesson Hadley +12000
Carson Young +12000
Bud Cauley +12000
Ben Silverman +12000
Ben Kohles +12000
Will Gordon +15000
Tyler Duncan +15000
Patrick Fishburn +15000
Parker Coody +15000
Matt Kuchar +15000
Martin Laird +15000
Kevin Tway +15000
Kevin Dougherty +15000
Justin Suh +15000
Jorge Campillo +15000
Carl Yuan +15000
Brice Garnett +15000
Trace Crowe +17000
Stewart Cink +17000
Lanto Griffin +17000
Kelly Kraft +17000
Harry Higgs +17000
Chad Ramey +17000
Adrien Dumont De Chassart +17000
Cole Sherwood +18000
Zac Blair +20000
Ryan Palmer +20000
Robby Shelton +20000
Peter Malnati +20000
Matt NeSmith +20000
Kevin Streelman +20000
Joe Highsmith +20000
Hayden Buckley +20000
Brandon Wu +20000
S.Y. Noh +25000
Nico Echavarria +25000
Nicholas Lindheim +25000
Henrik Norlander +25000
David Lipsky +25000
Chez Reavie +25000
Wilson Furr +30000
Wesley Bryan +30000
Scott Piercy +30000
Ryan McCormick +30000
Rafael Campos +30000
Callum Tarren +30000
Bill Haas +30000
Roger Sloan +35000
Kyle Westmoreland +35000
Harrison Endycott +35000
Erik Barnes +35000
Austin Smotherman +35000
Tyson Alexander +40000
Tom Whitney +40000
Kevin Chappell +40000
Jackson Buchanan +40000
Dylan Frittelli +40000
Austin Cook +40000
Adam Long +40000
Sean O'Hair +50000
Richy Werenski +50000
Martin Trainer +50000
Paul Barjon +60000
James Hahn +60000
Camilo Villegas +60000
Ryan Brehm +70000
Anders Albertson +70000
Scott Gutschewski +100000
Kevin Kisner +100000
Josh Teater +100000
Brandt Snedeker +100000
Tracy Vest +250000
Blaine Hale Jr. +250000
Ben Taylor +250000
Andrew Landry +250000
Raul Pereda +500000
Nick Watney +500000
