2026 John Deere Classic Power Rankings: Top 10 Golfers To Watch

June 30, 2026

Ian McNeill ranks his top-10 players to watch at the 2026 John Deere Classic from TPC Deere Run. His data-backed insights into who is primed for success.

While this week's field may lack the proven star power of the PGA Tour's recent Signature Events, it more than makes up for it with limitless intrigue. The professional debut of the world's No. 1 amateur Jackson Koivun, the arrival of fellow elite prospect Preston Stout, and a collection of the Tour's most compelling breakout candidates ensure there will be no shortage of storylines in the Quad Cities.

Fittingly, the John Deere Classic has long served as one of the PGA Tour's premier launching pads, and this year's edition feels poised to add another memorable chapter to that tradition.

But which names stand above the rest, and who offers the most value on this week's betting board? Without further ado, here are my top 10 players to watch at the 2026 John Deere Classic.

No. 10 - Johnny Keefer

"Did I make it?"

Yes, you did, Johnny Keefer 🦅pic.twitter.com/4u73BM7CyH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2026

While he didn't carry the same cache as an amateur as many of the young studs in this field, Johnny Keefer's transition to the professional ranks has exceeded even the loftiest expectations. His rookie campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour was one of the most dominant in recent memory. The Baylor product captured two victories while adding ten more finishes of 12th or better in just 23 starts, ultimately posting the lowest scoring average in Korn Ferry Tour history (67.95). He ranked third in Birdie Average, fourth in Total Driving and Ball-Striking, second in Scrambling, and 10th in Putting Average -- a remarkably complete statistical profile for a first-year professional.

Just as importantly, many of those standout performances came under the same conditions players face this week at TPC Deere Run. Keefer won the NV5 Invitational at 26-under in nearby Glenview, Illinois, claimed the Veritex Bank Championship at 30-under, and added top-seven finishes at Holston Hills, Ogden Golf Club, and The Patriot Golf Club -- each of which featured bentgrass greens and a relentless birdie pace to contend.

It hasn't taken long for that success to translate to the top level either. Just five months from his debut in 2026, Keefer's ball-striking has reached another level since the PGA Championship: gaining an average of 7.72 strokes per tournament with his driving and approach play, including a field-leading 9.04 strokes at Shinnecock Hills. His best putting performance of the season also came on bentgrass at TPC Craig Ranch, another encouraging sign as he returns to a surface he saw regularly throughout his five-year career at Baylor.

The ingredients for a breakout have been building for months, and TPC Deere Run has long been one of the PGA Tour's most reliable launching pads for emerging stars. If you're looking for a play down the board, it's hard to find anyone checking more boxes than the 25-year-old San Antonian.

No. 9 - Jordan Spieth

A surprise late entry into this week's field, two-time John Deere Classic champion Jordan Spieth arrives at TPC Deere Run in desperate need of a reset.

After beginning his 2026 campaign with encouraging signs from his ball-striking -- gaining strokes on approach in six consecutive starts from February through April while recording top-12 finishes at Riviera, Bay Hill, Innisbrook, and Augusta National -- the last two months have produced nothing but frustration for golf's golden boy.

In fact, since proclaiming his performance at Augusta "the best I've ever hit the ball around here," Spieth has lost a combined 9.1 strokes on approach over his next eight starts, finishing inside the top 30 just three times.

While there are plenty of red flags in his recent form, Spieth has been sensational at TPC Deere Run throughout his career, winning twice in 2013 and 2015, sandwiching a T7 between those victories, and returning two years ago to finish 26th -- a result that ranked as one of his five best finishes in a disastrous 2024 season.

It's also worth noting that seven of those eight disappointing starts came against the strongest fields in golf, with the lone exception producing a T19 finish at his hometown event, the CJ CUP Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch. Like Deere Run, Craig Ranch is another venue where birdies come in bunches, making it a far more relevant comparison than the championship tests that have dominated Spieth's schedule.

His game may not yet be ready to return to the top of the golfing world, but these comfortable confines and a field featuring only three of the world's top 25 players could provide exactly the spark he needs. If we've learned anything over the past decade, it's that one low round is often all it takes for Jordan Spieth to rediscover the magic.

No. 8 - Keith Mitchell

For the better part of two months, Keith Mitchell has looked like one of the best ball-strikers on the PGA Tour. Converting those elite underlying numbers into victories, however, has proven to be another matter.

No player in this week's field has gained more strokes with their driving and approach play over the last 50 rounds, and Mitchell has only strengthened that standing of late -- averaging 4.87 strokes gained with his driver and irons across his last five starts. That elite ball-striking has already produced a fifth-place finish at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson and a career-best T4 at the U.S. Open, where he paired his trademark tee-to-green brilliance with the fourth-best putting performance of his PGA Tour career (+7.09).

That's ultimately the formula for Mitchell. When the putter merely cooperates, his ceiling rivals anyone in the field.

TPC Deere Run hasn't historically brought out his best work on the greens, with Mitchell losing more than six strokes putting across his first five appearances. Encouragingly, though, he finally reversed that trend a year ago by gaining strokes with the flat-stick for the first time, another subtle sign that this venue may finally be beginning to suit his eye.

Mitchell's inability to capitalize on elite ball-striking has become one of the more frustrating storylines on Tour, but statistically, few players appear more primed for a breakthrough over the remainder of the summer. If the putter heats up for one more week, all the ingredients are in place for him to contend deep into Sunday.

No. 7 - Jackson Koivun

Jackson Koivun goes 2-under on his U.S. Open Sunday with back-to-back birdie putts 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Iaio4bNpQN

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 21, 2026

Nearly 30 years removed from Tiger Woods' iconic "Hello World" press conference in Milwaukee, another of golf's most celebrated amateurs will make the leap to the professional ranks in America's Midwest.

Those who follow the PGA Tour closely already know Jackson Koivun's name. The Auburn standout made five starts on Tour last summer and, outside of a missed cut by a single stroke at Oakmont, never finished worse than 11th.

Those four top-11 finishes would have been worth 338 FedEx Cup points -- more than halfway to the Playoff-threshold in just four scoring starts. The first of those performances came right here at TPC Deere Run, where Koivun rebounded from an opening-round 70 with rounds of 64-68-67 to finish tied for 11th. Only fellow phenom Nick Dunlap gained more strokes putting that week than Koivun's 9.88.

While the putter has long been his calling card, Koivun has quickly proven to be one of the game's most complete young players. Across his next three PGA Tour starts, he gained 7.53, 6.50, and 8.27 strokes ball-striking, before returning to Auburn and winning six of his next 10 collegiate starts -- sweeping the Haskins, Hogan, and Nicklaus Awards for the second time in three years.

His final amateur appearance ended with low-amateur honors at the U.S. Open, where a closing 68 at Shinnecock Hills was bettered by only seven players all day. Between his elite driving accuracy, polished iron play, and world-class putting, there are few obvious weaknesses in Koivun's game. He arrives at TPC Deere Run as the most accomplished professional debutant since Jon Rahm, and it would come as little surprise if he matched -- or even surpassed -- Rahm's third-place finish in his first PGA Tour start as a professional.

No. 6 - Keegan Bradley

Fresh off a valiant, albeit unsuccessful, bid to win a third title in four years at TPC River Highlands, Keegan Bradley makes a rare trip to the Midwest for his first John Deere Classic appearance in a decade.

While Deere Run hasn't been a regular stop on his schedule, the similarities between this week's test and many of Bradley's favorite venues should make for a seamless transition. From the pure bentgrass greens to the positional driving and wedge-heavy approach play, TPC Deere Run mirrors many of the layouts where the Vermont native has built his career.

The greens, in particular, deserve attention. This marks just the third event of Bradley's 2026 season on pure bentgrass -- comfortably his most successful putting surface throughout his career. He has already gained 1.9 and 3.8 strokes putting in his two previous starts on bent this season, and over the past four years ranks 10th in this field in Strokes Gained: Putting on the surface.

Just as importantly, Bradley's trademark ball-striking has begun to round into form. After a slow start to the year, he has gained an average of 2.5 strokes on approach across his last six starts while continuing to rank among the field's most reliable drivers.

Fresh off a closing 64 at River Highlands, where he gained 3.44 strokes on approach, Bradley appears to be peaking at exactly the right time. On a course that rewards elite wedge play and precise positioning far more than overwhelming power, Captain Keegan has all the tools to contend once again.

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No. 5 - Tom Kim

Tom Kim makes a vital birdie on 16 to get within two shots of the U.S. Open lead

📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/Xz2dvd1SXl

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 21, 2026

While many in the golfing world bemoaned his absence at last week's Travelers Championship, Tom Kim will get the opportunity to build on the momentum from Shinnecock at another of the Tour's premier short courses.

While he can't boast the same history around Deere Run as he can around River Highlands, this week's 7,300-yard layout should suit Kim's game to a tee. His resurgence over the past two months has been fueled by the return of his elite iron play, as the 24-year-old has gained an average of 4.21 strokes on approach across five starts since the beginning of May.

That stretch ranks first in this week's field in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 50 rounds. Even more encouragingly, his missed cut here a year ago was far more promising than the result suggests. Kim still gained more than five strokes on approach over just two rounds while posting a positive short-game performance, with an uncharacteristically poor week off the tee ultimately proving his undoing.

There's little reason to expect that driving performance to repeat. Kim has long been one of the Tour's most accurate and dependable drivers, and with his iron play once again operating at an elite level, TPC Deere Run looks tailor-made for a bounce-back. After looking increasingly comfortable in contention at Shinnecock Hills, this feels like an ideal opportunity for him to convert that momentum into another Sunday run.

No. 4 - Eric Cole

Eric Cole has made a habit of teasing breakthrough performances throughout the summer, and while stringing four rounds together has remained elusive, few players in this field have consistently put themselves in contention as often.

Between a runner-up finish at the Charles Schwab, a top 10 in his first Signature Event appearance of the season at Muirfield Village, and back-to-back first-round leads in Canada and at the Travelers Championship, Cole has repeatedly shown that the top end of his game is capable of competing with anyone.

The underlying numbers only reinforce that belief. Over the last four months, Cole leads this week's field in Strokes Gained: Total, ranking first Around-the-Green, first in Putting, and ninth in Approach. That's about as complete a statistical profile as you'll find at TPC Deere Run, where elite wedge play, birdie-making, and a sharp short game have historically separated contenders from the pack.

The lone question is whether Cole can finally finish the job. Since emerging from the mini tours three years ago, he has piled up runner-up finishes and top fives while repeatedly knocking on the door of his first PGA Tour victory. Closing out tournaments has proven to be the final hurdle, but there may not be a better venue for him to clear it than Deere Run. If Cole once again gives himself a chance on Sunday, his all-around game suggests it's only a matter of time before the breakthrough finally arrives.

While TPC Deere Run has built a reputation as the domain of precision players and elite wedge specialists, the course has quietly rewarded plenty of power over the years as well.

Kurt Kitayama ranked fourth in the field in Driving Distance during his top-five finish here last season, while Davis Thompson, Luke Clanton, and Michael Thorbjornsen all overpowered the layout en route to podium finishes in 2024. And two years before, Chris Gotterup announced himself on the national stage for the very first time: parlaying an opening-round 65 into a fourth-place finish in the Quad Cities while gaining 3.78 strokes off the tee and an eye-popping 13.16 strokes from tee to green.

A balky putter ultimately kept Gotterup from lifting the trophy that week, but the version returning to Deere Run is a far more complete player. In the four years since that breakthrough performance, he has climbed as high as fifth in the Official World Golf Rankings, collected four PGA Tour victories, and transformed his putting from a weakness into a legitimate weapon. His Strokes Gained: Putting ranking has jumped 65 spots over the last year (101st to 36th), and he enters this week having gained strokes on the greens in seven consecutive starts.

When a player with Gotterup's tee-to-green firepower finds confidence with the putter, he can unlock some truly legendary upside. In the six tournaments of his career where he has gained five or more strokes on the greens, he has won three times and added a third-place finish at the 2025 Open Championship.

Even last year's return to Deere Run hinted that another breakthrough could be coming. Gotterup gained strokes putting here for the first time in three appearances while once again adding more than four strokes off the tee. Given the form he's bringing into this week, there's every reason to believe his progression at the John Deere Classic is only continuing. Few players in this field possess a higher ceiling.

📫

J.T. Poston has surged into a tie for 3rd after his 6th birdie of the day! pic.twitter.com/Z46Wn6jgxC

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

After a win at Muirfield Village and a T4 at the U.S. Open, you could certainly forgive J.T. Poston if he thought himself too big-time for the John Deere Classic. Yet, in spite of a career-best climb all the way to 32nd in the World Golf Rankings, Poston has committed to return to the site of his 2nd PGA Tour win four years ago.

It's no surprise why Poston has found such an affinity for TPC Deere Run. His game, built around elite putting, a deft short game, and precision over power, mirrors the blueprint that has defined so many champions in the Quad Cities. From Steve Stricker to Zach Johnson and Ryan Moore, the through-lines between those former winners and Poston are impossible to ignore.

While the putter has been a constant throughout his career, Poston's ceiling has always been determined by his ball-striking. Leading into his Signature victory at Muirfield Village, he gained strokes on approach in six of seven starts, and despite a disappointing closing 76 at last week's Travelers Championship, he still ranks inside the top 10 in this field in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 36 rounds while sitting comfortably inside the top 30 in Total Driving.

Time will tell just how long this latest surge continues, but TPC Deere Run asks many of the same questions as venues where Poston has consistently excelled, including Sedgefield, Summerlin, and Harbour Town. With his putter remaining one of the most reliable weapons in the field, it would come as little surprise to see him contend for a second victory of 2026 -- and join the illustrious list of two-time John Deere Classic champions.

While many of this week's favorites saw their prospects shrink over the weekend at TPC River Highlands, Ben Griffin shone through: logging rounds of 64-66-67-67 in a week where he was consistently amongst the top chasers to Viktor and Scottie.

For those paying attention to Griffin in recent months, his stint at the top of a Signature Event leaderboard won't come as a surprise. After a stunningly slow start to a 2026 season following his breakout 2025 campaign, the UNC Tar Heel has logged six finishes of 17th or better in his last eight starts -- four of which have come against Major and Signature Event fields.

It's a welcome return to form for a player who looked every bit like one of the 10 best golfers on the planet by the end of last season. And while his short game carried the load for much of the spring, June has seen the reemergence of Griffin's patented iron play. Since the Charles Schwab, he has gained a combined 6.71 strokes on approach in four starts -- ranking 24th in this week's field.

Perhaps the most encouraging part of Griffin's resurgence, however, is that his ball-striking has been the only thing holding him back for much of 2026. Despite an uncharacteristically quiet season with his irons, he still ranks fourth in this field in Strokes Gained: Total over the last 36 rounds thanks to one of the game's premier short games. Griffin sits third in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and fourth in Putting over that span, a combination that has consistently kept him in contention while the rest of his game rounded back into form. That formula reached its peak here at TPC Deere Run two seasons ago, where Griffin produced the best short-game performance of his PGA Tour career -- gaining nearly 11 strokes on the field with his chipping and putting en route to a fifth-place finish.

With his elite scrambling and putting continuing to provide one of the highest floors in this field, and his iron play beginning to resemble the level that made him an automatic qualifier for the U.S. Ryder Cup team last fall, Griffin arrives at one of his favorite venues looking every bit the player who closed out 2025 as one of the game's fastest-rising stars.

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