Many of the PGA Tour's top stars are taking this week off before two big weeks in the United Kingdom, so there is another opportunity for a breakthrough at the 2023 John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. The Scottish Open is next week, followed by the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in Merseyside, England. With the elite players heading across the pond early, the 2023 John Deere Classic field will lack star power, but there are plenty opportunities for PGA Tour bettors.

Caesars Sportsbook lists Denny McCarthy as the 14-1 favorite in its latest 2023 John Deere Classic golf odds, with Russell Henley and Cameron Young both right behind at 16-1. The only other golfers shorter than 30-1 are Ludvig Aberg (22-1), Adam Hadwin (22-1) and Adam Schenk (28-1). (Head to SportsLine for all of your golf coverage, including LIV)

J.T. Poston went wire-to-wire to win last year, finishing 21-under to win by three strokes. He is one of eight former John Deere Classic champions scheduled to tee off Thursday at TPC Deere Run. They include 2018 winner Michael Kim, who went 27 under par that year to set the tournament scoring record and win by eight strokes. Steve Stricker won the tournament three years in a row from 2009-11, going 68 under par over that span.

In this John Deere Classic betting guide, we'll take you through what you need to know about the rest of the field of competitors, the course itself and any projected weather considerations before diving into SportsLine's full slate of expert picks for the event. That includes outright winners with top longshot plays as well as first-round leader, matchup and finishing position best bets. 

You'll also find our projected leaderboard, One and Done picks, DFS picks and Fantasy rankings from our stable of experts, including Mike McClure, Sia Nejad, Jim Holliman and Eric Cohen.

• Mike McClure is a professional DFS player and SportsLine predictive data engineer, specializing in advanced statistical analysis. His golf proprietary model is up almost $10,000 on its best bets since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020, nailing tournament after tournament.
  
• Sia Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He's had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets. He also has been on fire on head-to-head matchups since the Charles Schwab Challenge, going 15-4 (+9.05 units) over that span.
• Eric Cohen is an avid golf bettor who correctly predicted the winner of three of the past four majors and nailed Scottie Scheffler's first career victory in Phoenix last year. He is a regular guest on "The Early Wedge" SportsLine golf show on YouTube.
• Jim Holliman is a longtime writer and editor who has played the game for nearly three decades, and he has a strong feel for how the players fit each course. He has nailed four winners since the Masters, including Rickie Fowler (14-1) last week, and has a knack for finding longshots to help fantasy golf players.    

John Deere Classic full picks: Model | Fantasy | DFS | Nejad | One and done

So, which players are our experts backing in fantasy golf and betting for the 2023 John Deere Classic? Who should you be counting on to cash in on outrights, head-to-head matchups and finishing-position wagers? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the best bets and analysis from SportsLine's top experts for the 2023 John Deere Classic!