Racing Post's John Deere Classic first-round preview and free golf betting tips

Where to watch John Deere Classic

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm Thursday

Best bets

Keith Mitchell to win 1:51pm threeball
3pts 6-5 Hills

Chez Reavie top-10 finish
2pts 13-2 Hills

Stephan Jaeger first-round leader
1pt 50-1 Coral

John Deere Classic first-round preview

Many of the big names may be missing at this week’s John Deere Classic, but it still promises to be a week of low scoring and birdies galore.

Three of the last four events at TPC Deere Run have seen the winner score -21 or lower, including last year’s victor J.T Poston, who won by three strokes after firing 263 across the four days.

One man who looks set to take advantage of the lack of star names this week is Keith Mitchell, who currently ranks second on the PGA Tour’s Total Driving stats.

The man from Chattanooga heads into the event fresh, having had time off following his T20 finish at last month’s US Open.

Mitchell, who finished seventh in his first appearance in this event in 2018, has three top-10 finishes to his name this year and will have his eyes fixed on claiming a second Tour title.

The 31-year-old has been partnered with Russell Knox, who has missed six cuts in his last nine tournaments, and Mark Hubbard for the first two rounds – teeing off on Thursday 1:51pm UK time.

Another player heading to Illinois in consistent form is Chez Reavie, who has missed just one cut in his last 10 events.

The three-time PGA Tour winner finished T4 at the Travelers Championship last month and backed that up with by finishing T29 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which could have been much better but for a final round 71.

A good week at the John Deere Classic could see Stephan Jaeger move into the top-100 of the world rankings.

The German finished T9 in Detroit last week, where he started with a 69 and finished the tournament with a 63, firing four birdies and an eagle in his last five holes on Sunday.

A week earlier, Jaeger started the Travelers Championship with a 66 and will hope a flying start this week can aid his bid for a first PGA Tour success.

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