The John Deere Classic 2023 – Day 2 Betting Tip and Prediction

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The first day of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run featured a birdie fest as expected but showcased two surprises at the top of the leaderboard, with Jonas Blixt (9-under) followed by Grayson Murray (7-under).

The two long shots weren’t touted to perform well this week, but that’s the beauty of golf. Tournament favorite Denny McCarthy (opened at 14/1) sits in a tie for 23rd at 3-under. Blixt’s round of 63 shows anyone can go low and that the event should provide plenty of entertainment for the next three days.

In this article, we’ll provide a second-round betting tip for a head-to-head matchup.

John Deere Classic Day 2 Prediction: Head-to-head Matchup

The pick provided below is for the 18 holes played on Friday.

Byeong Hun An over Davis Thompson @ 20/31 (-155)

“Ben” An has played excellent this season and, aside from last year, has been a member consistently on the PGA Tour since the 2016-2017 season. The South Korean has won four times worldwide but has yet to on the PGA Tour (lost two playoffs).

Davis Thompson is a rookie and, besides a second-place early in the year, hasn’t been able to put four rounds together. The University of Georgia product has missed seven of his last 13 cuts and hasn’t cracked the top 53 on a leaderboard since January.

An has played in 25 events this campaign and made the cut in 19 of them. He’s also finished T24 or better in five of his last nine events. The Cal Berkeley product missed his last two cuts leading up to the John Deere, but it was due to poor opening rounds. He recorded 69s in both second rounds.

The 31-year-old, An, is averaging 0.83 strokes less during second rounds compared to Thompson. The data below includes every tournament aside from last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Round 2 Scoring Averages

• Ben An: 69.52, 22nd on tour (23 rounds played)
• Davis Thompson: 70.35, 62nd on tour (20 rounds played)

An holds a 3-1-1 record over Thompson in their last five tournaments, where both played in the second round.

An vs. Thompson Last Five Second Rounds

Tournament	An’s Rd 2 Score	Thompson’s Rd 2 Score
Rocket Mortgage Classic	69	69
Travelers Championship	69	70
The Memorial Tournament	71	75
AT&T Byron Nelson	67	66
Wells Fargo Championship	72	75

An opened the first round at the John Deere Classic with a 4-under 67 (T14), and Thompson is 3-under (68, T23).

The South Korean also holds a huge edge in terms of strokes gained this entire season through the Rocket Mortgage Classic. While An has gained strokes, Thompson has lost them.

Strokes Gained: Total

• An: 0.641 (42nd on tour)
• Thompson: -0.052 (109th on tour)

This is also Thompson’s first time playing the John Deere Classic, so he has less course experience. An played once in 2021 and missed the cut but has still played two more rounds which isn’t much, but still slightly helps him navigate the track better.

With An’s overall experience, better performances in second rounds, and an advantage in overall form, the 20/31 (-155) odds on Unibet are decent for him to beat Thompson in round 2. It’s important to remember that both are professionals, and anything can happen during a round of golf.

If you’re interested in seeing their complete tournament logs, full-season results can be seen below.

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