The British Open is just over a week away and several golfers are tuning up by participating in the John Deere Classic where Steve Stricker is the sportsbook fave. Stricker will try to defend his championship in the tournament. 
Tim Clark and Zach Johnson are the co-second choices at 14-1, with Stricker the fave at 12-1 at the offshore sportsbook in golf betting.
Sportsbook odds also list KJ Choi with a shot as he is 17.5 to 1. This is a crucial tournament since there are just two openings outstanding to get into the British Open. The top finishing player at the John Deere Classic who is not already in the British Open will receive a spot. The other spot is going to go to the top finishing player at the Scottish Open who isn’t already in the lineup.
It looks to be a select few contenders to win the John Deere Classic this week. There are just 3 competitors ranked in the leading 20 in the world and just seven in the leading 50 playing at this year’s John Deere. Steve Stricker is a logical fave since he is the 4th ranked player in the world, but Tim Clark might be a better pick. He is in 7th place in the FedEx Cup standings and 5th on the PGA Tour money list. It makes sense that he is 2nd on the odds board. Stricker is still favored though since he won the tournament last year. Kenny Perry won this event two years ago while the rest of the past winners of this tournament are not familiar names.
A year ago it was Stricker taking the title with Johnson finishing 2nd. Johnson has said that he truly wants to win this week so he may be a good pick in a tournament that he considers his 5th major. Last week’s 4th place finisher Charlie Wi may be in contention again this week and he has appealing odds of 37-1 at the offshore sportsbook.
As well as being ranked 4th in the world, Stricker has made the cut in all 11 tourneys he’s played and has 4 leading 10 finishes, including a win in the Northern Trust Open 4 months ago. He took 6 weeks off in April and May to relax a painful right shoulder and has played in only two tourneys since returning to the tour. The injury interrupted a promising year for Stricker, but rest followed by therapy was the only cure, so he simply had to sit out.
Not to be overlooked this week are former champ Kenny Perry at 22-1 and Rickey Fowler who is also 22-1. Bubba Watson has played well this year and he may be a profitable choice at odds of 29-1. One long shot that might have a shot is former champ Jonathan Byrd. He has odds of 58-1 to win this week.
The John Deere Classic begins on Thursday and proceeds through Sunday.
CBS picks up the coverage over the weekend while the Golf Channel has live coverage of the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.
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