2026 John Deere Classic: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 2
The 2026 John Deere Classic is officially underway, with TPC Deere Run producing the low scores we’ve all come to expect from this event. Zac Blair and Lucas Glover hold a share of the lead at 8-under-par, proving that accurate ball-striking and a hot putter continue to be the recipe for scoring in the Quad Cities. Pre-tournament favorites Chris Gotterup (-5), Tom Kim (-4), and Michael Thorbjornsen (-3) remain towards the top of the odds board through the first 18 holes, with plenty of time to gain ground on the leaders.
Looking ahead, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 2 gets underway on Friday. Conditions were largely calm on Thursday, but there will be a slight uptick in wind on Friday. Ahead, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 2 breakout.
Take a look at some of the best pillar players for the 2026 John Deere Classic DFS contests and live betting opportunities.
DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy
DraftKings Golf Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.
Round 2 John Deere Classic Showdown Pillar Plays
As expected, birdies have been easy to come by at TPC Deere Run, as the birdie barrage has continued on from the Travelers Championship last week. TPC Deere Run has a reputation for being a pure birdie fest, but we saw in round 1 that these greens are no easy task to hold when playing from out of position. That places a heightened importance on driving accuracy and ball-striking, as the leaders, Zac Blair and Lucas Glover have displayed in the opening round. Looking ahead, it is going to take a combination of driving accuracy, elite wedge play, and a streaky putter to go low at TPC Deere Run.
Identifying value players who check each of these boxes can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 2 Showdown lineups for these reasons.
Tom Kim ($9,200)
The archetype of a player who tends to find success at TPC Deere Run is accurate off the tee and accurate on approach. That is what the two co-leaders – Lucas Glover and Zac Blair – share in common, and Kim would be right there beside them had he gotten anything going on the greens on Thursday. Kim ranks 7th in terms of both Driving Accuracy and SG: APP through the opening round, and he is the only player to rank top-10 in both categories.
The hot start with his irons continues a trend we’ve seen for months now from Kim. He ranked top-10 in SG: APP leading into this week over his last 36 rounds, and has been in complete control of his game of late with three top-15 finishes over his last five starts. Having gained strokes on the greens in each of his last three starts, I’m confident he can bounce back with his putter in round 2.
Kevin Yu ($7,200)
The 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship winner is always a threat to go low in easy scoring conditions. He validated that once more on Thursday with an opening round of 66, and he’ll go into Friday positioned T9, just three strokes off of the lead. Success at TPC Deere Run is nothing new to Yu, who’s finished T21, T20, and T6 over his first three John Deere Classic appearances.
The metrics look sustainable once again for Yu, as he ranks 3rd in SG: OTT, and top-20 in SG: Ball Striking, Driving Accuracy, Driving Distance, and SG: Putting. The putter is the true x-factor for Yu, who has struggled throughout the season on the greens. If this positive putting round is the sign of changing tides on the greens for him, however, he has room to make a real charge up the leaderboard in round 2.
Preston Stout ($6,900)
All of the focus going into this week was on former World No. 1 Amateur, Jackson Koivun. By officially turning professional this week, Koivun has handed over the World No. 1 Amateur reigns to Preston Stout, and he looks like he intends to hold that title for a while. Stout’s ball-striking looked as good as it could on Thursday, ranking 1st in the field in SG: OTT, 5th in SG: Ball Striking, and 8th in SG: T2G.
The data on Stout is limited, considering he is still an amateur playing full-time at Oklahoma State. One thing is for certain, however: he is Tour-ready off the tee, and simply needs to polish up his short game to gain more consistency. He’ll enter round two just three strokes off the lead at 5-under-par.
Live Bets To Consider Entering Round 2
Round 2 Matchup: Ben Kohles over Michael Brennan
Best Available odds: -104
I was lukewarm on Michael Brennan leading into this week, as he’d shown an ability to separate with his driver, but left very little room for optimism elsewhere from the fairway to the green. He’s proven me wrong through the opening round, ranking 5th in SG: APP, but his short game still gives me pause that he can sustain his current standing at T9 on the leaderboard going forward.
Kohles, on the other hand, looks to be a perfect fit for TPC Deere Run in the midst of what may be the hottest form of his career. He’s finished 1st, T29, T23, and T19 over his last four starts between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour, and has sustained this stretch of form with elite accuracy with his driver and irons. That is the formula at TPC Deere Run, so it’s no wonder he’s jolted out to an opening round of 6-under-par.
Leader After Round 2: Kevin Yu
Best Available odds: +3000
Someone is going to go low in round 2, and history tells us the co-leaders are very unlikely to shoot the low round of the day again on Friday. If that’s true, it opens up the opportunity for many players currently inside the top-20 to make a charge for the top of the leaderboard after round 2. Kevin Yu, who currently sits at T9 and three strokes off the lead, is the player who I believe has the best opportunity to chase down the leaders.
The forecast calls for heavy overnight showers, meaning the course will play calm and soft for players Friday morning before the afternoon heat sets in to firm up the course for the second wave. That should give a two-fold advantage to Yu, who has an early Friday tee time and possesses the carry distance and approach prowess to capitalize on soft conditions.
Best of luck with your John Deere Classic DFS lineups and bets!
Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES
