Behind him is a group of four players who will aim to spoil Thompson’s repeat bid.
The results have been spotty, but this week we’ve finally seen Homa enjoying himself on the golf course.
Joining Homa chasing Thompson are David Lipsky, Emiliano Grillo and Brian Campbell.
Davis Thompson (-15): Last year, Thompson shot a final-round 64 as the 54-hole leader to win by four shots.
Max Homa, David Lipsky, Brian Campbell, Emiliano Grillo (-14) T6.
The 2025 John Deere Classic’s Moving Day was chaotic, with eight players tied for the lead at one point due to strong winds that made scoring challenging. But with the defending champion back on top of the field, five players broke away from the pack as the last groups walked around TPC Deere Run.
The goal of Davis Thompson is to become the first man to win the TPC Deere Run twice in a row since Steve Stricker’s three-year run from 2009 to 2011. Thompson hit the turn even on his day, but he found an extra gear on the back side after making a couple scratchy bogeys on the front nine. With back-to-back birdies to finish his round at 67, the 2024 winner went 4 under on his back nine and took the lead at 15 under.
Four players are positioned behind him and will try to thwart Thompson’s attempt to repeat. At 14 under, Max Homa, the six-time PGA Tour champion seeking his first victory in over two years, is the group’s star. Homa changed almost every aspect of his game over the past two seasons, including his swing, gear, caddie, and attire, in an effort to find the form that would make him a rising star. Despite inconsistent results, we finally witnessed Homa having fun on the golf course this week.
Homa highlighted his outstanding play off the tee after his first-round 63, and he continued to play well with the driver into the third round. With his consistently strong iron play and his ranking in the top five in strokes gained off the tee, Homa has a great chance to win for the first time since early 2023. However, he hopes to warm up the putter on Sunday because he was unable to accomplish much from a distance on Saturday due to windy conditions. In any case, it must feel good for Homa to be among the last tee times in Round 4 of a golf tournament.
Brian Campbell, Emiliano Grillo, and David Lipsky join Homa in pursuing Thompson. On Saturday, Grillo and Campbell both made birdies on the 18th hole to enter the tie for second place, while Lipsky shared the lead for the majority of the day before Thompson passed him at the end of the third round. Due to the last groups’ frantic finish, the group tied for fifth on the leaderboard at 12 under has a two-shot lead over the next four.
We’ll see if this top group can manage to maintain that gap with the rest of the field after last week’s nerve-wracking Rocket Classic. Having won on the same course the year before, Thompson should feel very confident, and that comfort could be crucial. Lipsky is the only player in that top five who hasn’t been proven yet; Homa has won six times, Grillo has won twice, and Campbell has already won this year.
The one in charge.
1. Davis Thompson (-15): Thompson led the 54-hole field with a final-round score of 64 to win by four shots the previous year. If he manages himself that well a year ago, those who are pursuing him must think he won’t crumble under the weight of leading this year. Having said that, Thompson might have to repeat that performance if he hopes to raise the large deer trophy on Sunday. The course is expected to receive rain this evening, which should result in some amazing scoring conditions for the final round. The winds are also not expected to be as significant as they were on Saturday.
candidates.
T2. Emiliano Grillo, Brian Campbell, Max Homa, and David Lipsky (-14).
T6. Austin Eckroat, Camilo Villegas, Seamus Power, and Kurt Kitayama (-12).
The T10. Kevin Roy, Cameron Champ, Jackson Koivun, Chris Gotterup, and Matt Kuchar (-11).
With the scoring conditions that ought to be in place, it’s difficult to think that someone could win after falling more than four paces behind. Someone in this group should put some pressure on Thompson by going low. On Thursday, Homa’s opening 63 demonstrated that he is capable of being that guy. He has been among the most accurate and long-range players this week, and he could easily pursue Thompson for his seventh career win if he can cash in a few from 10 to 15 feet on the greens.
To put himself in the running, Kitayama shot 66 on the day, but he’ll probably need to beat that by a shot or two on Sunday. Champ and Roy had the lead at different points on Saturday, but they were unable to finish the round on a high note, and they now have a lot of work to do if they want to place in the winner’s circle.
Updated odds and selections for the 2025 John Deere Classic.
BetMGM odds.
Thompson, Davis (9/4).
Homa, Max (9/2).
(5-1) Emiliano Grillo.
Nine-One Brian Campbell.
David Lipsky (10-1).
It seems like Thompson’s week to go back-to-back, but Homa will definitely be the most popular pick heading into Sunday. Although Campbell isn’t as long off the tee as Thompson and Homa, he has some value at 9-1 because of how consistently he has played iron and put.
