Lining up some bets for the John Deere Classic

The PGA Tour is in a bit of a dead spot right now with many superstars taking some time off ahead of the Open Championship, but that doesn't mean we can't make money on some lesser-known players. With the John Deere Classic starting on Thursday morning, let's target a pair of big-money props for a fun sweat throughout the holiday weekend.

Mowing the lawn with John Deere Classic props

Denny McCarthy top North American (+1800 FanDuel )

If you follow our golf content, you know we're on McCarthy to win the John Deere Classic outright at 22/1. This is a different market that takes out Sungjae Im and reigning champion Sepp Straka, the two biggest favorites to win this week.

TPC Deere Run is an easy golf course that can produce a putting contest, and McCarthy is arguably the best putter in this field. The American ranks second on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained from putting and first in total putting. It's no wonder he's finished T6 at the John Deere Classic in back-to-back years. McCarthy is also coming off his best approach week since the Valero Texas Open in April, so we love his chances of contending for a win this week.

Kevin Yu top-10 finish (+400 FanDuel )

Yu is one of the worst putters on the PGA Tour. The 25-year-old ranks 161st out of 172 players in strokes gained from putting this season. So, why in the world are we backing him in a putting contest?

Well, Yu gained a career-high 7.24 true strokes from putting at last year's John Deere Classic to rank No. 1 in the field and finish T6. He's gained strokes on the green four times this year when he makes the cut, and he finished inside the top 10 in three of those tournaments. Yu is such a solid ball striker that he can contend whenever the putter decides to cooperate, and he clearly has an affinity for these greens at TPC Deere Run.

In the news ...

LeBron James returns to the Lakers on two-year, $104 million deal — In the least shocking news of the offseason, James agreed to a two-year, $104 million max contract to return to the Los Angeles Lakers less than a week after the team drafted his son, Bronny , in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. LeBron and Bronny are set to become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA simultaneously, and they'll do it while wearing the same purple and gold jersey. The Lakers are +3000 to win the NBA title in 2025.

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese to team up for the first time at WNBA All-Star Game — Clark and Reese have become bitter rivals on the basketball court, but they'll have to put their competitive differences aside when they team up at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. Both star rookies were selected to the All-Star roster on Tuesday night, with Clark leading all players in fan voting and Reese finishing fifth. They will both suit up for Team WNBA on July 20. In a two-woman race for WNBA Rookie of the Year, Clark is -600 and Reese is +350.

Netherlands, Turkey advance to quarterfinals in Euro 2024 — Two more countries punched their tickets to the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 on Tuesday. Netherlands knocked off Romania, 3-0, and Turkey upset Austria , 2-1, as +330 underdogs. They will face off against each other in the next round, with the Dutch favored at -385 to advance. England (+350) is still the favorite to win the tournament, but Spain (+390) and Germany (+440) aren't far behind.

Note: Bark Bets is taking off for the Fourth of July. See you Friday!

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty