US TOUR:KENNY PERRY is the headline act at this weekend's John Deere Classic with most top players already in Europe preparing for next week's British Open.

The American has been the hottest golfer on the PGA Tour for the last two months, losing a play-off for the Atlanta Classic in mid-May before winning twice in five starts.

The 47-year-old clinched his 11th Tour title with a one-shot victory at the Buick Open nine days ago and by his own admission has never been in better form.

"This is probably the longest sustained stretch in my career where I've played tremendous golf each and every week," he said ahead of this week's event in Silvis, Illinois.

"These last two months I've just played unbelievable golf. I've been on the leaderboard every week I've been playing.

"I've always been a streaky player. That has just kind of been the history of my career. When I get hot, I get hot. In 2003 when I won back-to-back (the) Colonial and Memorial, two weeks later I won Milwaukee and I finished third in the Open . . . in between."

Perry posted eight consecutive top-10 finishes that season. This year, he has had five top 10s in 18 starts, four in his last six outings.

"It's just all happened so fast in the last two months. I've got a lot of confidence and I love . . . the way I'm playing right now." he said.

The world number 20 is the highest-ranked player in the field at the TPC Deere Run. Other big names scheduled to tee off in today's opening round are the 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson and three other former major winners: Tom Lehman, Rich Beem and David Duval.

Johnson, a native of nearby Cedar Rapids in Iowa, is back in action for the first time since last month's US Open after recovering from a wrist injury.

"The state of my game is rusty but, at the same time, my expectations are minimal," said the 32-year-old American on Tuesday. "I've played here so many times so I know the golf course.

"I'm just going to try to get the rhythm and the tempo of the game back and hit quality shots . . . I'm going to go out there and have fun, and if I can do that, usually good things happen."

Another American, Jonathan Byrd, defends the title he claimed last year by one shot to qualify for his first British Open.

The leading player finishing in the top five at Deere Run not yet exempt secures an automatic berth for the British Open.