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PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 John Deere Classic

By Chris Aliperto

SILVIS, IL - JULY 15: A general view of the 18th hole during the fourth and final round of the John Deere Classic held at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Cohen/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
SILVIS, IL - JULY 15: A general view of the 18th hole during the fourth and final round of the John Deere Classic held at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Cohen/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) /
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CROMWELL, CT – JUNE 23: Zach Johnson of the United States on the first tee during the Third Round of the Travelers Championship on June 23, 2018, at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CROMWELL, CT – JUNE 23: Zach Johnson of the United States on the first tee during the Third Round of the Travelers Championship on June 23, 2018, at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 John Deere Classic

10. Zach Johnson – (108)

If his form was better, Johnson honestly would have had a legitimate chance at being top five at the very least this week. The way Zach Johnson has played at the John Deere Classic and TPC Deere Run over the years is some of the best course history you will ever see. However, the fact that his best finish in 2019 was his T-16 at the RBC Heritage and that was his only top-20 this calendar year has to make you pump the brakes on the expectations here this week at least a little bit.

Looking at the last ten years here, Johnson has never missed a cut, and his worst finish was in 2016 where a score of 9-under par was only good for a T-34 finish. Last year was a down year for his standards as well, as he T-16 at 14-under par. Enough about the bad though because the good is downright amazing. Johnson has finished top-five or BETTER here SEVEN times in this ten year run. That includes a win in 2012, and three runners-up.

This one could go either way folks, as last time recent form met course history like this, recent form defeated Bubba Watson in this same predicament. It will be interesting to see if the 43-year-old can dig up some nostalgia at a course he loves this week.

9. Lucas Glover – (75)

Another crafty veteran as I am noticing this is the crafty vet before the rookie slide. I am giving youth the nod over experience this week, as of course it is very hard not to follow the odds for one thing, and it is also hard to ignore just how well those kids are playing. We will get there though, as Lucas Glover is starting to round into form after a couple of missed cuts.

The Glove was playing really well for a stretch earlier in the season, grabbing top-tens week after week in the early goings, and he started to slow down slowly as the year progressed. After he T-16 at the PGA Championship, he hit his worst stretch of the season.

Glover followed a T-52 at the Memorial with missed cuts at the U.S. Open and at the Travelers Championship, but after a week off, he found himself back inside the top-ten once again last week at TPC Twin Cities with a T-7 finish at the 3M Open.

8. Brian Harman – (88)

If the kids were not playing so well, Harman may have also had a chance at a top-five ranking this week. The only problem is, Harman has been around long enough to know that the good can come just as easy as the bad. Despite that, he is playing really great golf over the last couple of months, and is coming into the John Deere Classic as a past champion in this event as well.

Harman won here back in 2014 and T-10 back in 2017. Of the 156 golfers in this field, really only Zach Johnson before him and maybe Ryan Moore have better course history. On top of that, Harman has missed just one cut in his last six events, and that was sandwiched between two top tens. The first was a T-8 at the Travelers Championship, and he T-7 last week at the 3M Open.

7. Kevin Streelman – (85)

The theme continues. Streelman also was flirting with a top-five ranking as he continued his solid stretch of golf last week with a T-34 at the 3M Open. The finish could have been better, but as others were going low, Streelman only managed rounds of 69 and 70 on the weekend. The 40-year old has not missed a cut since the Valspar Championship marking eight straight, and he has three top-tens along the way.

In our ten year John Deere Classic sample size, Streelman has teed it up eight times here with mixed results. He has missed three cuts, with the last coming in 2015, and he has also has notched three top-tens. Streelman finished 16-under par here last year, and the T-7 finish was his best overall.

One last aspect holding him out of the top-five this week, is the fact that he may be coasting a bit. Word broke today that John Daly being refused a cart for the Open Championship has led to his withdrawal, and that opened up a spot for Streelman to take part in his only major championship this season. I am sure that was a goal after failing to qualify for the first three, and this should be interesting to see how he approaches this week.

6. Charles Howell III – (55)

Sitting with a ranking of number 55 in the world at the moment, Chuckie Three Sticks as I like to call him is the highest overall ranked golfer in this 156-man field. This is quite the anomaly, as there always seems to be at least one or two big names in every field to at least draw a crowd, but with the Open Championship just a week out, most who have qualified will sit this one out.

Howell T-23 last week at the 3M Open, and after a slight rough patch, he has now made the weekend in three straight, and is trending in the right direction. Here at TPC Deere Run, Howell has played in eight of the last ten years, but just once in the last three. He has only missed one cut here in that span, and his best finish was a T-5 back in 2011. His last John Deere Classic was 2017, and a score of 12-under par was good for a T-19 finish.

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