It was a year ago when Jordan Spieth, now an international PGA superstar, won a PGA tournament. And it was his first. Even with his lack of wins, his number of runner-ups and top 10 finishes are uncanny. The young man is certainly going to help Tom Watson with the run for the Ryder Cup. But first, TPC Deere Run is on his mind.
The par 71 course is played by some of the best in the business a week before the British Open, and is well known for being dominated by Steve Stricker for 3 years in a row a few years ago. Stricker, after falling in the final round last week at the Greenbrier Classic, will be trying to start a new streak in a group with Spieth and Stewart Cink.
However, probably no one could be hungrier this week than Zach Johnson, the 2012 champion in the Quad Cities. Johnson lives nearby, and he’ll feel at home. He needs something to jolt his poor season, in which he’s been cut early multiple times. The hope is that John Deere 2014 will be the tournament that the former Masters winner needs to get back on track.
This course has some of the most beautiful scenery on the PGA Tour. It attracts not only top golfers, but their families just to enjoy their time in the beautiful area.
This course is challenging, but not unplayable by any means. Keep it in the fairway at all costs. If there's water, you can guarantee that the greens will slope sharply toward it. This course will make you exercise complete course management skills. You will be under pressure at every given turn, and you must be wary of these twists and curves in the course. Simply put, these golfers can’t let the scenery mesmerize them. They must be paying attention to the task at hand at all times.
Will Spieth conquer the Quad Cities again, or will there be a surprise winner looking for a last-minute trip to England for the Open Championship? We expect this to be a highly competitive tournament, and not one to miss.
Tournament Field (Top Picks To Win Tournament In Bold):
Robert Allenby, Jason Allred, Benjamin Alvarado, Alex Aragon, Eric Axley, Sang-Moon Bae, Ricky Barnes, Cameron Beckman, Charlie Beljan, Matt Bettencourt, Kris Blanks, Jason Bohn, Justin Bolli, Steven Bowditch, Scott Brown, Jonathan Byrd, Chad Campbell, Patrick Cantlay, Miguel Angel Carballo, Roberto Castro, Bud Cauley, Alex Cejka, Greg Chalmers, Kevin Chappell, Daniel Chopra, Stewart Cink, Tim Clark, Chad Collins, Ben Crane, Brian Davis, Brendon de Jonge, James Driscoll, Ken Duke, David Duval, Harris English, Derek Ernst, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano, Martin Flores, Kevin Foley, Brad Fritsch, Tommy Gainey, Scott Gardiner, Brice Garnett, Robert Garrigus, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover, Retief Goosen, Jason Gore, David Gossett, Paul Goydos, Luke Guthrie, Brian Harman, David Hearn, Russell Henley, J.J. Henry, Jim Herman, Tim Herron, Justin Hicks, Morgan Hoffmann, Charles Howell III, John Huh, Billy Hurley III, Steven Ihm, Ryuji Imada, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Jerry Kelly, Troy Kelly, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner, Ben Kohles, Aaron Krueger, Bronson La'Cassie, Doug LaBelle II, Neal Lancaster, Scott Langley, D.H. Lee, Danny Lee, Richard H. Lee, Spencer Levin, David Lingmerth, Edward Loar, Andrew Loupe, Davis Love III, Jamie Lovemark, Will MacKenzie, Peter Malnati, Steve Marino, Ben Martin, Troy Matteson, Scott McCarron, William McGirt, George McNeill, John Merrick, Troy Merritt, Bryce Molder, Ryan Moore, Kevin Na, Jordan Niebrugge, Sean O'Hair, Joe Ogilvie, Jeff Overton, Greg Owen, Pat Perez, John Peterson, Tim Petrovic, D.A. Points, Ted Potter, Jr., Dicky Pride, Alex Prugh, Jim Renner, Tag Ridings, Wes Roach, Patrick Rodgers, John Rollins, Andres Romero, Rory Sabbatini, John Senden, Heath Slocum, Chris Smith, Jordan Spieth, Scott Stallings, Kyle Stanley, Shawn Stefani, Robert Streb, Kevin Streelman, Steve Stricker, Chris Stroud, Brian Stuard, Daniel Summerhays, Andrew Svoboda, Hudson Swafford, Josh Teater, Michael Thompson, Nicholas Thompson, David Toms, Cameron Tringale, Kevin Tway, Tyrone Van Aswegen, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Camilo Villegas, Johnson Wagner, Boo Weekley, Charlie Wi, Will Wilcox, Tim Wilkinson, Lee Williams, Cameron Wilson, Mark Wilson, Bobby Wyatt.
Writer's Pick: Bud Cauley -
This writer had arrived to the Greenbrier Classic 10 minutes to late on Sunday, and missed Cauley's superb hole-in-one on the 18th green. Cauley is obviously picking up his pieces from the past few years, and is starting to gain a lot of momentum. If he wins this weekend, he'll put himself into the British Open, a great feat for the 24-year-old. It would be his first win on the PGA Tour, just as last year was Spieth's first win on Tour, here at TPC Deere Run. A trend being set? This writer is buying into it.