Ben Coley's golf betting tips: John Deere Classic preview and best bets
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When the John Deere Classic was moved back a week in the schedule, it would've been reasonable to suggest we might get a stronger field for this half-a-century-old mainstay of the PGA Tour. At the very least, organisers might have hoped that with the Open Championship now a fortnight away, not only have they not got to worry about getting players onto the charter flight to the UK, but that they might enjoy some time in the spotlight.

Not a bit of it. This tournament, the one which kickstarted the careers of Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau, is among the weakest of the season to date. Now that Daniel Berger has withdrawn, it suffers the ignominy of stark incongruity: this is a full-field, regular schedule PGA Tour event which does not feature a single member of the world's top 50. There are five of those in the Irish Open, and more in LIV's Portland event.

One win is of course more than most, and the Valspar Championship that Hadwin captured at Copperhead is a good guide to TPC Deere Run, but as 18/1 shots go he makes very little appeal. This might be one of the worst fields you're ever likely to see on the world's premiere golf circuit, but as betting heats go there really is a lot to like, and the tricky bit is narrowing down a shortlist which ought to include a good 20 or 30 players.

Top of mine is SCOTT STALLINGS, who arrives in excellent form and with an explosive quality which marks him down as an ideal type for this low-scoring test.

Stallings was near last after the opening round of the Travelers Championship last week but then carded rounds of 64, 68 and 63 to climb to eighth, a performance which should add further layers to his confidence following fourth place at the Charles Schwab back in May.

That effort in Texas, which saw him shoot a second-round 64 to lead at halfway, came on the heels of achieving his goal for 2022: to qualify for the US Open, which was held in his home state. Perhaps his failure to make the weekend at Brookline bled into last Thursday, but 15-under for the final three rounds was the best golf in the field.

Runner-up to DeChambeau here five years ago, Rodgers has shown how well he can score at Deere Run, with a round of 64, three 65s and a couple of 66s across his last four visits. He'd shown it too way back in 2012 when opening with a round of 67 and then shooting four sub-70 rounds for 15th a year later.

The fact all of those recent efforts, including second place in 2017, came despite poor iron play tells you that he's been able to put his two main strengths to use, driving the ball really well and holing more than his share of putts. They remain his major weapons but there's been a definite upturn in his approach work this year, and it's that which can prove the foundation of his long-awaited breakthrough.

This is Hardy's hometown event, hailing as he does from Illinois, and it could not come at a better time. He's recovered from surgery following an injury sustained in April and has been a factor on every start since, finishing second on the Korn Ferry Tour, then 35th in Canada, 14th at the US Open, and eighth last week.

Hardy was T2 heading into the weekend of the Travelers and right in the thick of things in a major championship before that so he should be razor sharp for what's his third John Deere Classic start, the first two seeing him make the cut and bag a couple of low rounds to demonstrate what he can do here.

One of the standout rookies heading into this season, he's had to watch Cameron Young, Davis Riley and Theegala doing most of the contending but this self-confessed slow burner is really coming to the boil now, helped by the fact he's found greater rhythm in his swing as a result of the injury he incurred.

The fact his putter is rolling is no bad thing – there are echoes of DeChambeau in that his season-long ranking remains poor, but doesn't reflect how he's putting right now – and this quality driver should have plenty of chances to attack a course he knows well, and with a full house of fans back to support him.

Sticking with the local theme, that's an added bonus to the profile of DAVID LIPSKY, who I strongly suspect will love this place.

A former college player at Northwestern, like Fitzpatrick (well, ish), Lipsky at last makes his debut in this event having taken the circuitous Asian Tour-DP World Tour path, finally deciding last year to dedicate himself to earning PGA Tour status which he did comfortably via the Korn Ferry circuit.

At 82nd in the FedEx Cup standings, unlike Hardy he's already locked up his card for next season so it's been a solid campaign, and two narrow missed cuts on his last two starts probably mask that fact a little. Ultimately he's done very little wrong and he'd have sailed through in Connecticut but for making a mess of the 15th hole on Sunday, where he took five shots to get down from 40 yards.

Haas has been quietly putting together a decent campaign and has made 11 of his last 13 cuts, no mean feat and something well beyond so many in this field. The thing lacking is a big finish and he'll need one soon enough, as at 157th in the FedEx Cup standings he's on course to burn his one-time career money exemption.

This is a serious drop in grade though and having ranked 11th in strokes-gained approach last week, there are some clear indications things are really starting to improve. That ranking would've been higher but for a poor first round, and across the final three he was second, 10th, and eighth with his irons, again in much better company.

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