Fantasy Island: John Deere Classic

Jay Williamson glanced out of his hotel room window on Saturday of last year’s John Deere Classic and saw “Air Deere,” the jet tournament officials chartered to shuttle players across the Atlantic for the British Open. The journeyman was so inspired he finished tied for second to earn his first trip to the Open Championship.
 
Point is, Deere week is all about trusting omens.
 

 
Pick a Foursome: Kenny Perry won a playoff to take last year’s John Deere Classic and sidestepped an exemption into the British Open on his way to Ryder Cup glory. This time around he’s bound for Turnberry, which should please the golf gods, and fresh from a victory at the Travelers Championship. Hard not to pick KP.
 
As for Glover, he played well in his U.S. Open follow-ups and TPC Deere Run sets up well for him if he can maintain his energy.
 
Picks: Kenny Perry, Lucas Glover, Zach Johnson, N/A
 
Note: One player from four categories based on the World Golf Ranking (1-10, A; 11-20, B; 21-30, C; 31-40, D). Points awarded on money earned ($1 = 1 point).
 

Salary Cap: Zach Johnson is on the board of directors for the John Deere, is picking up his game in time for a playoff run and has a respectable record in Silvis, Ill. As for Beckman, the Deere has a history of producing last-minute British Open intrigue (see Williamson’s whirlwind ride to Royal Birkdale last year) and he’s due following a solid week at Congressional and T-12 last year at the Deere.
 
Lee qualified for the Deere with his top-10 finish at the AT&T National, but he’s running out of sponsor exemptions – as a non-member he gets just 12 starts – and needs a big week
 
Picks: Kenny Perry, Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Cameron Beckman, Danny Lee (Total: $9.34 million)
 
Note: Five players with a $10 million cap based on 2008 earnings. Rookies without 2008 earnings will be priced at $250,000. Standings based on overall team earnings.
 

Pick One: Kenny Perry. At 49 years of age, Perry dedicated himself this year to reaching 20 Tour wins and has added two more titles to his total (FBR Open and Travelers). TPC Deere Run is almost as familiar to him as that Kentucky blue grass, with just one finish out of nine starts outside the top 25.
 
Note: Players must be picked before the start of the season and used only once. Standings based on total earnings.
 
In addition to my PGA Tour Pick One, the GolfChannel.com staff will be offering up their picks to win. A player can be picked a maximum of five times. We will be keeping a running tally of the monies earned each week. The participants include: Jay Coffin, Editorial Director; Mercer Baggs, Editorial Manager; Brian Koressel, Senior Producer; Dena Davis, Assistant Editor; Erik Peterson, Travel Editor; Jerry Foltz, special contributor.
 
STAFF PICKS:

	Name	Player Pick	Reason	Money
	Rex Hoggard	Davis Love III	DL3 is playing well (T-5, T-16 in his last two starts), is gearing up for Turnberry and, after watching close friend Lucas Glover win the U.S. Open, motivated to get on the board.	$2,831,602
	Jay Coffin	Kevin Sutherland	Not as much of a stretch as you’d think. Sutherland has finished in the top 10 three of the last six years and has only missed two cuts on Tour this year.	$4,976,839
	Mercer Baggs	Kenny Perry	I’m sure I’m not alone in this pick, but there don’t seem to be a lot of options this week.	$5,606,561
	Erik Peterson	Kenny Perry	Will rise above murmurs of, ‘Shouldn’t you be, like, prepping for a major right now?’	$4,679,052
	Brian Koressel	Kenny Perry	John Deere and Kenny Perry go together like Jack and Diane, apple pie and ice cream, rum and coke, etc...	$4,833,599
	Dena Davis	Ryan Moore	The former U.S. Am champ had the best summer EVER in '05. Four years later, he's (finally!) putting together another nifty summer. He'll have lots to say about what he did over summer vacation when he notches his first tour win Sunday.	$4,360,949
	Jerry Foltz	Robert Allenby	He breaks back into the winners circle this week after so many past disappointments. Kind of like my year of fantasy picks.	$4,322,307

 

Related Links:

Full Coverage - John Deere Classic

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