2023 John Deere Classic leaderboard: Brendon Todd leads with crowded pack on the chase after Round 3

Todd rode late birdies to surge ahead of the pack on Saturday as he seeks the fourth PGA Tour victory of his career

During a week where it has felt inevitable a first-time winner would be crowned, it is a wily veteran who will enter the final round of the 2023 John Deere Classic alone at the top. Brendon Todd utilized a pair of late birdies in his third round to surge ahead from a congested pack littered with young stars. The result for Todd was a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Alex Smalley, Denny McCarthy and Adam Schenk.

The trio closest to Todd will all be in search of their first victories on the PGA Tour while Todd eyes his fourth. The former Georgia Bulldog holds the sixth career 54-hole lead of his career, having converted to wins on two occasions previously. This opportunity may prove to be the most difficult as a total of 15 players find themselves within four strokes of the lead.

Thirty-six-hole leader Cameron Young still finds himself within shouting distance after a poor third round that saw him sign for an even-par 71. Young was the only player inside the top 15 on the leaderboard to not break par Saturday at TPC Deere Run, and will have little-to-no room for error in Sunday's deciding round. Peter Kuest, former John Deere Classic champions J.T. Poston and Lucas Glover and Honda Classic winner Chris Kirk are among those with a chance to win come Sunday.

The leader

1. Brendon Todd (-16)

The 54-hole leader has holed over 300 feet of putts through three days, mirroring the efforts of past John Deere Classic winners such as Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth. All wielding the flat stick in an effective manner, Todd looks to join them for what would be his first win since the 2019 Mayakoba Classic. Not only has Todd relied on a relatively new putter that was reintroduced into his bag last week, but he also changed the man carrying his bag. These modifications are working wonders through 54 holes even if Todd doesn't know why.

"I don't know, but I sure love when they do," Todd told CBS Sports's Amanda Renner of these changes. "David Clark is my caddie this week, and it has been a dream start for us. We have been getting along well. He's helped me a lot with my game and on-course demeanor, so looking forward to tomorrow with him. And then I put a Scotty Cameron, Newport 2.5, back in. I've used it about 10 events the last two years. It's the second week with it. I'm feeling really good, and we'll just keep rolling."

Other contenders

T2. Denny McCarthy, Alex Smalley, Adam Schenk (-15)

5. Peter Kuest (-14)

T6. Cameron Young, Jonas Blixt, Chris Kirk, J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Kevin Roy, Mark Hubbard, William Mouw (-13)

Young shares the most runners-up without a win (6) in PGA Tour history, and it feels like this week could add to that total after a slow onset and poor finish to his third round. It was a disappointing start for the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year as his first birdie was followed by back-to-back bogeys. The final group lacked any semblance of energy and opened the door to this tournament wide open. The good news is Young continued to roll the rock well highlighted by birdies on 16 and 17 and and finds himself only three adrift. The bad news is he ranked nearly dead last in strokes gained approach, low-lighted by his ugly second into the par-4 finisher that found the water.

Peter Kuest's quest

Kuest Monday qualified into the Rocket Mortgage Classic where a top-10 finish gave him entry into this week's John Deere Classic. Despite the strong effort, Kuest came one stroke shy of securing Special Temporary Membership in Detroit. He entered the week in need of essentially making the cut to lock up Special Temporary Status, and now he has eyes on more. Kuest finds himself in contention for the second straight week and likely to grab his third top-15 finish on the PGA Tour this season in just his fifth start.

"It's just golf, at the end of the day, and we're just trying to put up a score and shoot as low as we can. It's just golf," said Kuest. "I'm not going to try to do anything different at all. I'm going to go out and play and play my game to the best I can, and hopefully it all works out."

2023 John Deere Classic updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Brendon Todd: 33/10
• Denny McCarthy: 18/5
• Adam Schenk: 9/2
• Alex Smalley: 5-1
• Cameron Young: 14-1
• Peter Kuest: 14-1
• Chris Kirk: 22-1
• Mark Hubbard: 25-1
• J.T. Poston: 30-1
• Lucas Glover: 30-1

Outside the hiccup on the par-3 16th, McCarthy was fantastic. He missed his fair share of scoring chances with birdie bids from inside 12 feet, falling by the wayside on four different occasions. He made up for it with long-distance connections with the most notable coming in the form of an eagle on the par-4 14th. The tee-to-green game has looked sturdy the last month, and McCarthy's ability to hole putts with consistency will allow him to enter the winner's circle for the first time in his PGA Tour career.

Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme break down an eventful moving day at TPC Deere Run with plenty of players in the mix. It's storylines, scorecards and betting favorites. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

[Jul 8, 2023 at 5:29 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Todd unable to add another

The par-5 17th is a must-birdie hole, and the leader just failed to take advantage. Todd still leads by a shot, but he would have loved to add some wiggle room heading into tomorrow given the congestion on the first page of the leaderboard.

[Jul 8, 2023 at 5:06 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Denny drops, Todd takes his place

Brendon Todd has joined the lead with a birdie on the 15th. Meanwhile, Denny McCarthy misses his first green in regulation of the day on the par-3 16th and suffers as dropped shot. Alex Smalley must be smiling in the clubhouse at 15 under as it is likely he is at least within one of the lead by day's end.

[Jul 8, 2023 at 4:44 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

The big bird lands for Denny

There goes that man! The putting maestro connects from distance for an eagle on the drivable par-4 14th to jump into a share of the lead at 15 under. Let's gooo Denny boy.

[Jul 8, 2023 at 4:19 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Leaders stalling; Smalley's lead grow

Smalley is in the house with a 9-under 62 and has seen his lead double with an Adam Schenk dropped shot. Smalley now leads by two over a host of competitors including Jonas Blixt who is sprinting to the finish as well as Denny McCarthy who is finding his pace on the greens.

[Jul 8, 2023 at 3:52 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Smalley grabs solo lead

It will be interesting to see how long it lasts as Alex Smalley is the first to reach 15 under for the tournament with a birdie on the par-5 17th. Adam Schenk is behind on the 11th tee at 14 under and is likely to reach somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 under given the accessibility of this back nine. Still, Smalley has a chance to add one more on 18 for what would be a 10-under 62.

[Jul 8, 2023 at 3:27 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Final group makes the turn

Adam Schenk has been joined by Alex Smalley at 14 under as he makes the turn to the easier back side. Denny McCarthy has found some form with the putter with back-to-back birdies to get within one while Cameron Young's back-to-back bogeys have dropped him to 12 under.