The John Deere Classic Preview: Harman Has the Edge

Timing is everything in life, and especially in sport. When athletes get into "the zone", it isn't some magical place that they've unlocked, but simply means that their timing is perfect for whatever task they are trying to accomplish. Hitting a ball in baseball or making a jump shot in basketball is all about timing. Sure, there are other components, but it's almost impossible to accomplish the goal if the timing is off.

Golf is certainly no exception to the timing rule. In fact, it's as important in golf as any sport out there. It's also why golfers can look like Tiger or Jack one week, then look like a complete hack the next. Hot streaks in golf are all about timing, and nobody knows that better than Xander Schauffele. With his win at the Greenbrier, Schauffele successfully avoided becoming the next in a long line of young golfers that looked really good for a month or so but never parlayed their hot streak into a win.

The most recent golfer to fall into that category was Kevin Tway, who turned his hot streak into three top-5s and five top-20s, but he hasn't cracked the top-30 in his past four starts. He wasn't the first guy to get hot and fall off, though — before Tway there was Ollie Schniederjans, who turned his hot streak into a couple top-10s and a top-25, but he hasn't reached those heights since.

That's not to say that guys like Tway and Schniederjans have missed their chance at continued success on the PGA Tour, but their path is much more difficult that Schauffele's from here on out. Schauffele's win provides him entrance to some of the biggest events on the PGA Tour over the next two seasons.

This week: The John Deere Classic - TPC Deere Run - Silvas, IL

Last Year: Ryan Moore shot a final-round 67 on his way to a two-stroke victory over Ben Martin.

Players to Consider:

Brian Harman

With three top-3s, six top-10s and nearly $4 million in earnings this season, Harman could be considered the best player in the field this week. Throw in that he won this event in 2014, when he wasn't nearly the player that he is now, and he's certainly the favorite. It'll be interesting to see how he handles himself with the proverbial target on his back this week.

Steve Stricker

Once upon a time, Stricker dominated this event, winning three consecutive years from 2009-2011, and although his performance here since hasn't been great, he's shown a spark we haven't seen over the past couple years. Stricker enters this week with five top-25s in nine starts this season.

Zach Johnson

Johnson hasn't been great this season, but if he's going to play well anywhere, it's going to be at the John Deere (he has six top-3s in his past eight starts here). His track record is off the charts, but he's been off his game the entire season, so his selection here isn't as easy as it's been in years past.

Kelly Kraft

With such a thin field, it's hard to find any sleepers this week, but Kraft hasn't made a name for himself yet, so he certainly qualifies. Kraft has played this event just once and finished in the top-5 last year. He's also coming off a good showing at the Greenbrier last week.

Johnson Wagner

Johnson has always been a "horses for courses" kind of golfer, and that's one reason why he's a player to consider this week. Johnson has finished in the top-7 here three consecutive years and his game was in pretty good shape as of two weeks ago when he finished in the top-5 at the Quicken Loans National.

Players to Avoid:

D.A. Points

PGA Tour vets look at events like the John Deere as easy pickings because nearly all the best players in the world are absent, but it's been anything but easy for Points here. Points has played this event 11 times and he's made the cut just once.

John Huh

Huh is another player that can't seem to figure out this course. He's started here four times but has made the cut just twice, never finishing better than T50.

Patton Kizzire

Kizzire will be making his first start at this event, and while that's usually something to worry about, in Kizzire's case, it might help him snap out of his funk. However, he's finished worse than 50th in eight straight starts, so it's probably best to avoid him at all costs.

Willy Wilcox

Wilcox posted a top-10 at this event in 2015, but his form was much better than it is now. Wilcox has only two top-25s this season, but one was at the Zurich Classic when he had a partner.

Hunter Mahan

Mahan has played like a decent PGA Tour professional over the past couple weeks with a T27 at the Greenbrier and a T17 at the Quicken Loans National, but his resurgence may come to an end this week at the John Deere. Mahan has made the cut here just once in four starts.

ONE-AND-DONE GOLFER

Last week:

Webb Simpson (T14) - $124,250; Season - $6,631,435

This week:

Brian Harman - There are a lot of good options from Stricker to Johnson and Ryan Moore, who I couldn't find room for, but Harman has the best combination of recent form and track record at this event.

YAHOO PICKS

Points: 3368

Rank: 22,730

This Week:

Group A: Kevin Streelman, Vaughn Taylor

Group B: Danny Lee, Kevin Kisner, Steve Stricker, Ryan Moore

Group C: Brian Harman, Zach Johnson

SURVIVOR PICK
Last week:

David Hearn - (T14); Streak - 3

This week:

Steve Stricker - Stricker has made the cut here in 13 of 15 starts and his form has been solid for the better part of the season, so there's little chance that he misses the cut this week.