Congratulations if you were on-board Keegan Bradley at best Monday opening price of 40/1 with bet365/Betfred. Golf Betting System Podcast colleague Barry O’Hanrahan is always encouraging me to add Keegan to my “Post-It Note of Doom,” but Keegan broke into the World’s top 10 with his second Travelers Championship win, which was his 8th on the PGA Tour. He’s now won 2 in his 17 appearances and 3 in his last 44.
This is the seventh Rocket Classic with the 6 renewals so far won by Nate Lashley, Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Davis, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler and Cam Davis. Undoubtedly Quicken Loans were the driving force behind the PGA Tour arriving in “MotorCity” and the Detroit Golf Club will host this tournament through till 2026 at the very least, with a course renovation starting post tournament. Sponsorship comes in the form of Quicken’s online Rocket brand. Players in this week’s field include defending champion Cam Davis; Akshay Bhatia, Wyndham Clark, Luke Clanton, Tony Finau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Ben Griffin, Si Woo Kim, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee and Hideki Matsuyama.
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Course Guide: Detroit Golf Club, is 10 miles north-west of central Detroit. An historic club, established in 1899, we are dealing with a hybrid of 2 courses this week, namely the North (17 holes) and South (3rd hole) course. Both are Donald Ross original courses, which feature his classic architecture, with this week’s championship holes having seen phased modernisation and construction preparation since 2014. It’s a Par 72 test at 7,370 yards, which features the standard breakdown of 4 par-3s, 10-par-4s and 4 par-5s. An old-style, tree-lined course, the course received positive reviews since it made it’s PGA Tour debut in 2019. As per Donald Ross design classics, Detroit features uneven fairway lies, and plenty of front to back contoured and multi-layered undulations within green complexes. Scoring wise it’s lack of length and if the course has receptive greens, leads to very low scoring. The speed of the greens dictate scoring.
Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan: Designer: Donald Ross 1916; Course Type: Classical, Resort, Medium Length; Par: 72; Length: 7,370 yards; Holes with Water In-Play: 1; Number of Sand Bunkers: 87; Acres of Fairway: 30; Fairways: Bentgrass with Poa Annua; Rough: Bluegrass mix 4″; Greens: 5,150 sq.ft average featuring Poa Annua with Bentgrass; Tournament Stimp: 10.5ft.
Course Scoring Average + PGA Tour Difficulty Rank:
2024: 70.54 (-1.46), Rank 32 of 51 courses
2023: 69.92 (-2.08), Rank 43 of 49 courses
2022: 70.40 (-1.60), Rank 38 of 50 courses
2021: 70.55 (-1.45), Rank 40 of 51 courses
2020: 70.05 (-1.95), Rank 38 of 41 courses
2019: 70.11 (-1.89), Rank 42 of 49 courses
Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Detroit Golf Club and how they compare to recent courses that we’ve seen on Tour:
Detroit Golf Club: 250 yards from tee: 34 yards wide; 275:34; 300:35 325:34; 350:33.
TPC River Highlands: 250 yards from the tee: 38 yards wide; 275:36; 300:29; 325:29; 350:28.
Oakmont: 18-28 yards at 300 yards
TPC Toronto: 35-37 yards at 300 yards.
Muirfield Village: 24-25 yards at 300 yards.
Colonial: 25-30 yards at 300 yards.
Quail Hollow: 28-30 yards at 300 yards.
The Dunes Golf and Beach Club: 20 – 25 yards at 300 yards.
Philadelphia Cricket Club: 30-32 yards at 300 yards.
Copperhead: 250 yards from the tee: 24 yards wide; 275:20; 300:21; 325:23 350:19.
TPC Sawgrass: 250 yards from the tee: 31 yards wide; 275:32; 300:30; 325:28 350:20.
Bay Hill: 250 yards from the tee: 32 yards wide; 275:33; 300:33; 325:39 350:29.
PGA National: 250 yards from the tee: 29 yards wide; 275:27; 300:25; 325:27 350:25.
TPC Scottsdale: 250 yards from the tee: 33 yards wide; 275:30; 300:28; 325:27; 350:27.
Pebble Beach: 250 yards from the tee: 33 yards wide; 275:33; 300:29; 325:30 350:26.
Torrey Pines South: 250 yards from the tee: 26 yards wide; 275:27; 300:25; 325:24; 350:23.
Pete Dye Stadium: 250 yards from the tee: 29 yards wide; 275:27; 300:26; 325:26; 350:24.
Waialae: 250 yards from the tee: 34 yards wide; 275:32; 300:34; 325:37; 350:34.
Plantation Course: 250 yards from the tee: 59 yards wide; 275:61; 300:65; 325:60; 350:62.
Course Designer Links: For research purposes other Donald Ross designs include:
Aronimink GC – 2010 & 2011 AT&T National + 2018 BMW Championship
East Course at Oak Hill – 2013 + 2023 PGA Championship
East Lake GC – Tour Championship
Pinehurst Number 2 – 2014 & 2024 U.S. Open
Plainfield – 2011 & 2015 Barclays
Sedgefield CC – Wyndham Championship
Course Overview: Detroit Golf Club is a Donald Ross 1916 original which has received some modernisation work of late. 5 new tees were built in 2018, to add length to the course, but even so a 7,370 yard Par 72 is not long from a PGA Tour perspective. This week, we are dealing with a classical, tree-lined course, with water only featuring on the par-4 14th hole. Greens feature the Donald Ross trademark back-to-front pitch surrounded by tightly mown run-offs into collection areas. The green complexes are constantly watered to make the course player friendly, but player comments all note how contoured the green complexes are here. Downhill putts are difficult to attack so distance control to position approach shots below the pin proves to be critical here. There is lots of movement and contours on green complexes, which feature 80% Poa Annua and 20% Bentgrass within them, so similar to TPC River Highlands last week.
The layout itself features par-5s which are 635 yards (4th), 552 yards (7th), 555 yards (14th) and 577 yards (17th), which means 3 of are reachable to the majority of the field. Even better the longer drivers can attack with mid-irons. But it’s the par-4s which are even more vulnerable with 5 of them measuring in at sub 450 yards. Indeed the 1st (397 yards), 4th (393 yards), 8th (372 yards) and 13th (393 yards) are all sub 400 yards.
So with little wind for 54 holes (at least), warm temperatures, easy to hit fairways with little penalty for missing them and lush receptive greens which are super easy to hit, expect standard low scoring. To highlight the relative ease of approach play, 15(2019), 16 (2020), 11 (2021), 13 (2022), 20 (2023) and 19 (2024) players have hit 80% Greens in Regulation or more since we came to the Detroit Golf Club.
Other points to note are usage of original Ross drainage swales, which cause penalty strokes for those who are flagrant off the tee. Indeed on the 18th, the swale runs down the entire left side of the fairway, before crossing the fairway and routing to the right of the green complex. Holes 14-15-16 represent Area 313 on the golf course, with the ultimate aim of an eagle on the 14th, ace on the 15th and birdie on the 16th all adding up to the Detroit dialling code.
Rocket Classic Winners: 2024: Cam Davis (-18); 2023: Rickie Fowler (-24); 2022: Tony Finau (-26); 2021: Cam Davis (-18); 2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-23); 2019: Nate Lashley (-25).
Shots From the Lead: Below are the Rocket Classic winners since 2019 and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:
Incoming Form of Rocket Classic winners since 2019:
Cam Davis: 48th Travelers/MC US Open/50th Memorial/56th Colonial.
Rickie Fowler: 13th Travelers/5th US Open/9th Memorial/6th Colonial.
Tony Finau: 1st 3M Open/28th Open/13th River Highlands/MC US Open.
Cam Davis: MC Memorial/45th Colonial/59th PGA/26th Quail Hollow.
Bryson DeChambeau: 6th River Highlands/8th Harbour/3rd Colonial/4th Bay Hill.
Nate Lashley: 28th US Open/MC Hamilton/69th Colonial/29th Trinity Forest.
Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats.
My published predictor is available here. Top 10 of my published predictor are: 1) Ben Griffin; 2) Patrick Cantlay; 3) Collin Morikawa; 4) Keegan Bradley; 5) Cameron Young; 6) Hideki Matsuyama; 7) Emiliano Grillo; 8) Harry Hall; 9) Keith Mitchell; 10) Rickie Fowler.
Our brand new predictor model is running alongside, where you can build your own rankings in live time, using the variables listed on the left hand side.
Rocket Classic Winning Prices: 2024: Davis 75/1; 2023: Fowler 14/1; 2022: Finau 14/1; 2021: Davis 150/1; 2020: DeChambeau 7/1F; 2019: Lashley 250/1. Past 5 Renewals Average: 52/1; Average: 85/1.
Historical Weather:
2024: Thursday: Mostly sunny. High of 75. Wind N 6-12 mph. Friday: Mostly cloudy, with light rain in the afternoon. High of 78. Wind S 6-12 mph. Saturday: Mostly cloudy with thunderstorms in the morning. High of 85. Wind WSW 12-15 mph, with gusts to 25 mph. The start of the third round was delayed 2 hours due to inclement weather and wet course conditions. Sunday: Mostly cloudy and breezy. High of 70. Wind NW 10-15 mph, with gusts to 25 mph.
2023: Thursday: Partly cloudy and hazy with scattered showers. High of 84. Wind SSE 8-15 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 88. Wind SW 5-10 mph. Saturday: Mostly cloudy with thunderstorms. High of 84. Wind SW 5-10 mph. Play was suspended due to inclement weather at 2:48 p.m. ET and resumed at 4:30 p.m. (delay of 1 hour, 42 minutes). Sunday: Cloudy with showers. High of 77. Wind ENE 4-8 mph.
2022: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 83. Wind WSW 12-18 mph, with gusts to 30 mph. Friday: Mostly cloudy. High of 81. Wind W 10-15, with gusts to 20 mph. Saturday: Sunny. High of 84. Wind SW 5-10 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind S 7-14 mph.
2021: Thursday: Partly cloudy with showers. High of 80. Wind NNE 8-14 mph, with gusts to 20 mph. Due to inclement weather, play was suspended from 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Due to darkness, the first round was suspended at 9:02 p.m. with 27 players left on the golf course. Preferred lies were in effect during the first round. Friday: The first round resumed at 7:15 a.m. Friday and was completed at 8:15 a.m. The second round began as scheduled at 6:45 a.m. Partly cloudy. High of 76. Wind N 10-15, with gusts to 25 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 83. Wind SW 8-14, gusting to 18 mph. Sunday: Mostly sunny. High of 90. Wind NW 4-8 mph, switching to SE 5-10 mph in the afternoon.
2020: Thursday: Sunny. High of 91. Wind N 4-8 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 90. Wind N 4-8 mph. Saturday: Sunny. High of 89. Wind ENE 6-12 mph. Sunday: Sunny. High of 90. Wind SSE 5-10 mph.
2019: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 89. Wind S 5-10 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 90. Wind WNW 5-10 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 86. Wind NW 7-14 mph. Sunday: Mostly sunny. High of 85. Wind NNE 6-12 mph.
Weather Forecast: Latest weather forecast for Detroit, Michigan is here.
Hot, humid temperatures will greet the players in Michigan this week. 30-35 degrees Celsius – 86-95 Fahrenheit – will be in situ across the week. With that level of heat it’s almost automatic that the risk of thunderstorms is part of the forecast, as is the threat of rain pre-tournament. 10-20 mph westerly breeze could also be in-play. Winning score here will be shaped by the strength of that wind and whether they allow the greens to release over the weekends.
Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the CJ Cup Byron Nelson which includes both PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, where recorded. Player rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:
Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Norman Xiong; 2) Chris Gotterup; 3) Aldrich Potgieter / Michael Thorbjornsen; 5) Patrick Fishburn; 6) Jesper Svensson; 7) Rickie Fowler / Rico Hoey; 9) Patrick Cantlay / Collin Morikawa; 11) Ricky Castillo; 12) Hayden Buckley / Cameron Champ / Ryan Gerard; 15) Keith Mitchell; 16) Keegan Bradley / Luke List; 18) Rasmus Hojgaard; 19) Austin Eckroat / Trey Mullinax; 21) Max Homa / Thomas Rosenmueller / Cameron Young; 24) Ben Griffin / William Mouw.
Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Emiliano Grillo; 2) Norman Xiong; 3) Luke Clanton; 4) Ben Griffin; 5) Tony Finau; 6) Antoine Rozner; 7) Si Woo Kim; 8) Chris Kirk; 9) Matt Kuchar; 10) Steven Fisk / Ben Kohles / Kurt Kitayama; 13) Hideki Matsuyama; 14) Keegan Bradley; 15) Joel Dahmen / Austin Eckroat / Keith Mitchell; 18) Max Greyserman; 19) Matt Fitzpatrick; 20) Rickie Fowler; 21) Henrik Norlander / Victor Perez / Jackson Suber; 24) Lee Hodges; 25) Akshay Bhatia.
Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Aaron Wise; 2) Keegan Bradley; 3) Andrew Putnam; 4) Tony Finau; 5) Beau Hossler / Kurt Kitayama; 7) Alex Noren; 8) Davis Riley; 9) Ryo Hisatsune; 10) Ryan Gerard / Tom Kim; 12) Joe Highsmith / Si Woo Kim; 14) Byeong Hun An / Patton Kizzire / Philip Knowles / Ashton McCulloch; 18) Wyndham Clark / Rikuyu Hoshino / Kevin Velo; 21) Alejandro Tosti; 22) Harry Hall / Collin Morikawa; 24) Sami Valimaki; 25) Patrick Cantlay / Mark Hubbard / Taylor Moore / Matt Wallace.
Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Norman Xiong; 2) Keegan Bradley; 3) Emiliano Grillo / Kurt Kitayama; 5) Keegan Bradley; 6) Antoine Rozner; 7) Ryan Gerard; 8) Si Woo Kim; 9) Ben Griffin; 10) Ricky Castillo / Alex Smalley; 12) Tony Finau / Steven Fisk / Vincent Whaley; 15) Patrick Cantlay; 16) Collin Morikawa; 17) Max Greyserman; 18) Matt Fitzpatrick / Rasmus Hojgaard / Michael Thorbjornsen; 21) Rickie Fowler; 22) Cameron Young; 23) Chris Kirk / Max McGreevy; 25) Austin Eckroat / Matt Kuchar / Hideki Matsuyama / Jesper Svensson / Kevin Velo.
Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Cristobal Del Solar; 2) Harry Hall; 3) Danny Willett; 4) Ben Martin; 5) Gordon Sargent; 6) Cameron Young; 7) Ben Griffin; 8) Ashton McCulloch; 9) Max Homa; 10) Matt Fitzpatrick; 11) Cameron Champ / Garrick Higgo / Mark Hubbard; 14) Brice Garnett; 15) Rickie Fowler / Will Gordon; 17) Alex Noren / Thorbjorn Olesen; 19) Keegan Bradley; 20) Akshay Bhatia / Patrick Rodgers; 22) Stephan Jaeger / Webb Simpson; 24) Hideki Matsuyama / Andrew Putnam.
Top 25 SG Total: 1) Keegan Bradley; 2) Ben Griffin; 3) Harry Hall; 4) Matt Fitzpatrick / Antoine Rozner / Cameron Young; 7) Chris Gotterup; 8) Si Woo Kim; 9) Emiliano Grillo; 10) Mark Hubbard; 11) Rickie Fowler / Max Greyserman / Ben Martin / Collin Morikawa / Thorbjorn Olesen; 16) Alex Smalley / Vincent Whaley; 18) Tony Finau / Keith Mitchell; 20) Patrick Cantlay / Kevin Roy / Andrew Putnam; 23) Norman Xiong; 24) Cristobal Del Solar / Alex Noren.
Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the Strokes Gained Stats of the Rocket Classic winners here at Detroit Golf Club gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this north-eastern parkland test:
Strokes Gained Tournament Trends:
2024, Cam Davis (-18). SG Off the Tee: 28th, SG Approach: 12th, SG Around the Green: 9th, SG Tee to Green: 5th, SG Putting: 19th.
2023, Rickie Fowler (-24). SG Off the Tee: 30th, SG Approach: 2nd, SG Around the Green: 14th, SG Tee to Green: 3rd, SG Putting: 12th.
2022, Tony Finau (-26). SG Off the Tee: 2nd, SG Approach: 6th, SG Around the Green: 9th, SG Tee to Green: 1st, SG Putting: 15th.
2021, Cam Davis (-18). SG Off the Tee: 34th, SG Approach: 9th, SG Around the Green: 5th, SG Tee to Green: 4th, SG Putting: 22nd.
2020, Bryson DeChambeau (-23). SG Off the Tee: 1st, SG Approach: 51st, SG Around the Green: 26th, SG Tee to Green: 4th, SG Putting: 1st.
2019, Nate Lashley (-25). SG Off the Tee: 29th, SG Approach: 6th, SG Around the Green: 13th, SG Tee to Green: 3rd, SG Putting: 2nd.
Strokes Gained Tournament Skill Averages:
SG Off the Tee: 21st, SG Approach: 14th, SG Around the Green: 13th, SG Tee to Green: 3rd, SG Putting: 12th.
Across the 2021 to 2024 Rocket Classic renewals, statistically from a Stroke Gained perspective the winners gained on average 2.63 strokes per round from Tee to Green (73%) and 0.99 Putting (27%). With a sub stroke per round figure for Strokes Gained Putting, more emphasis this week is on Tee to Green for victory rather than a red hot putter.
Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the winners of the Rocket Classic gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this parkland test:
2024, Cam Davis (-18). 302 yards (28th), 76.8% fairways (7th), 79.2% greens in regulation (20th), 73.3 % scrambling (19th), 1.72 putts per GIR (16th).
2023, Rickie Fowler (-24). 310 yards (24th), 62.5% fairways (62nd), 84.7% greens in regulation (4th), 54.5 % scrambling (71st), 1.61 putts per GIR (5th).
2022, Tony Finau (-26). 309 yards (34th), 82.1% fairways (3rd), 91.7% greens in regulation (1st), 100 % scrambling (1st), 1.73 putts per GIR (35th).
2021, Cam Davis (-18). 299 yards (7th), 71.4% fairways (29th), 76.4% greens in regulation (24th), 76.5 % scrambling (16th), 1.69 putts per GIR (15th).
2020, Bryson DeChambeau (-23). 351 yards (1st), 58.9% fairways (58th), 77.8% greens in regulation (13th), 68.8 % scrambling (29th), 1.63 putts per GIR (7th).
2019, Nate Lashley (-25). 300 yards (44th), 73.2% fairways (11th), 81.9% greens in regulation (4th), 84.6% scrambling (3rd), 1.58 putts per GIR (2nd).
Tournament Skill Averages:
Driving Distance: 23rd, Driving Accuracy: 28th, Greens in Regulation: 11th, Scrambling: 23rd, Putting Average 13th.
For a summary of the Strokes Gained Performances from this week’s field here at Detroit Golf Club click here.
Let’s take a view from players as to how Detroit Golf Club sets up and what skill sets the course favours:
Cam Davis (2024): “Honestly, where my head space has been at, I wasn’t thinking too much at all, I was just doing may stuff. Yeah, it’s just nice to see a couple of putts go in from a bit of distance away. Playing the par 5s well obviously helps out here because they are reachable. So yeah, honestly, just last two days I built my scores and today I had one or two less mistakes that turned into one or two shots better. Yeah, playing pretty much the same, which is nice
It does help being comfortable here. Obviously having what I know what game plan does work around here, so that’s a mystery that I don’t have to deal with that you have to most other events, every other event for me, but from there it’s kind of going about your business and not trying to force it to happen. It’s been a lot of hard work to get myself back to a space where I can let the good golf come again.
I got things going pretty quickly at the beginning of the round, which kind of really settled me down. Yeah, I played a lot of really solid golf. I think everyone’s going to find it difficult to make putts out there at the moment. I made a couple early, which was nice to kind of not feel like I had to really push hard.
It felt like there was a point where there’s nothing I can do. Honestly, the putts were very frustrating to see miss. It was almost more frustrating to see both of the 3-woods I hit on 14 and 17 come up short. I couldn’t have hit either of them any better. For that ball to roll back in the water on 14, when I finished on 18, I was already 1 thinking back to that hole going, jeez, I reckon if that ball stays up, it’s a very different turn out to the event. The fact that all of that didn’t go my way, I felt like I left six or seven shots out there just purely based on I felt like bad breaks. The greens are bumpy, they’re hard to make putts on. I felt it was almost a spectacular round, but it ended up just being enough.
I love old-school design. Donald Ross golf courses to me visually are very fun, I love the greens, I love the way the fairways meander through the tree lines and I love the shapes of the bunkering. For some reason I’ve never done well on a course like this before and I don’t know what’s changed. Obviously my game plan worked really well in 2021. I’m a different golfer and it’s a different game plan, the weather was completely different. I don’t know, something about having to shape the ball around a bit. You can be in the fairway and still have to bend it around trees, I feel like that’s something I’ve always been more comfortable with. And also the only thing that has to be going well more than anything else is the driver off the tee here and for some reason, yeah, I’ve managed to get the ball in play quite well out here. ”
Rickie Fowler (2023): “That’s just when you get soft poa, greens get bumpy and you get footprints and soft spikes kind of leave craters. Yeah, it’s tough. And there were some pins that were on quite a bit of slope so when the greens get a little bumpy and there’s that much movement, there’s not a whole lot you can do. You just sometimes hit and hope; hopefully it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t.
I think I hit a handful of shots to nearly gimme and that was definitely nice. With the softer conditions, starting to kind of dry out a little bit, but the greens get pretty beat up. Even yesterday morning they were already starting to get a little bouncy. Being in the afternoon, you know, guys dealt with it yesterday and we had it today. Not having to really think about anything outside of like three feet, even two feet starts to get a little dicey. Like I said, having a few tap-ins for birdie, that always makes things a little easier.
Yeah, it was a nice day. You know, even with the little delay in there, sometimes those can be a good thing, bad thing. Feel like we picked up right where we left off and kind of kept going out there. We really — 10 is the only hole I really got out of position, pulled one left and got a pretty big kick off a tree, but managed to make a good bogey and get out of there. Just continued to swing well, give myself looks. Definitely taking advantage of the par 5s that are on the back. Being able to two-putt for a birdie, those are always nice to have..”
Tony Finau (2022): “I hate saying easy. Those are just words I don’t like using, but it was nice to have hit as many fairways as I did to kind of open up the green for me today. Yeah, it’s cool, I didn’t know that fact before today, that I haven’t hit all 18 greens, so to be able to do that here today is pretty cool.”
“Yeah, this course protects itself. It did rain last night, but if it didn’t rain, the course is pretty firm. Mid teens to high teens have won this tournament. If you finish in the high teens you’re in a pretty good spot for the week. If it stays soft, it may be lower than that for the week. I think it’s just a forgiveness thing. After playing the U.S. Open you kind of beat yourself up all week and then you kind of hit a bad shot on a day like today and your ball may stay on the green and not roll off into some ankle-high rough. I think mentally it’s a little bit more forgiving.”
“Yeah, I was in the fairway and I knew I needed to take advantage of this par 5 after letting a few putts slip by and not converting on 4, the other par 5 on the front nine. I hit a really nice 4-iron. I had to get all of it to get it to the hole and hit it right in the middle of the green and was able to two-putt that to kind of keep the momentum up on a solid round. Then it was nice to just get a bonus birdie on 8 after a poor wedge shot, but that’s why we call our putter the equalizer.”
“Well, I think bombers do well every course. I think if we look, it doesn’t matter what golf course we’re playing, if you hit it far, you have an advantage not only off the tee, but into the greens you’re hitting shorter shots. If you’re hitting it into the rough, you’re hitting more lofted clubs out of there, you’re able to create speed out of the rough. I always feel like guys that bomb it have the advantage and this golf course is no different.”
“Yeah, I think that’s a big reason I’ve been hitting so many greens. I’m just hitting a lot more fairways (3rd for Driving Accuracy) than I’m accustomed to or than I have in the past. This golf course really opens up to you if you hit it in the short grass and it definitely has for me these first three rounds.”
Cam Davis (2021): “I’m hitting my irons pretty solid. Everything’s just sort of in a good place and everything working together pretty well kind of leads to a little less stress on the golf course, leaving me in better positions. And it’s nice to make a couple of putts every now and then to keep the momentum going. I’ve missed the cut the last two times I played here, so I wouldn’t say necessarily it’s a place that fit my eye straightaway, but this year I’ve kind of figured out a slightly different way to play the golf course and that’s try and put the ball in the fairway.”
Bryson DeChambeau (2020): “Well, the conditions are really nice, they’re beautiful. Greens are beautiful, fairways are perfect. It’s a golf course that I enjoy. I do really well on country club-style golf courses, so I’m looking forward to another great week.The greens have a lot of the slopes are from back to front. Layout seems like it’s fairly tight, a lot of rough. I think there’s a lot of bunkers that are around like 290, so hopefully I’ll be able to clear those and take those out of play. So, sorry, Mr. Ross, but, you know, it is what it is. And I like the style of golf courses, it just seems to fit me. They’re like country club style. I grew up on Belmont Country Club, which is very similar to that style of course, so I’m comfortable with it. I really enjoy those types of courses and I feel like I thrive on them, so this course is none the different.”
“I’m again trying to be the casino and give myself the best opportunity to win. Having 9-iron into those par 5s, it’s definitely nice to be able to attack par-5 flags rather than kind of move away from them. There’s a couple holes where I can get it up close to the green and just chip it on there and make a putt. I’ve just got to keep hitting my driver good and getting more comfortable with the driver and if that happens, it’s going to be a fun week.”
Nate Lashley (2019): “Yeah, like you said, there is a lot of undulation. I got it under the hole on most holes and had a lot of uphill putts with not a lot of break, so I was able to knock those in. Yeah, there’s some putts out there. I made a really nice putt on 4 from the fringe, too. A putt I was just trying to get close and it happened to fall in. So yeah, putted really well today. Game feels good and hopefully can continue this through the week.”
“I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of tricky holes out there or really overly difficult holes. If you hit the fairways here, you can really score. I think that’s, you know, the name of the game. If you hit it in the fairway, you’re going to have a lot of birdie putts. But the greens, the greens do have quite a bit of slope, some of them around the holes that have a lot of undulation. If you get it on the right spot, though, and get it in the right tier, you can make a lot of birdies.”
“It’s nice when you have one of these weeks at a course you can score on, and if you play well, you get rewarded. Some of the weeks the courses are so tough, people don’t really realize it. You could hit good shots all day and shoot over par. A lot of the weeks the courses are really difficult, so it’s a nice change coming here. You hit good shots and you can shoot a good score.”
Brandt Snedeker (2019): ” I seem to like Donald Ross courses. That’s the whole reason why I showed this week. When I saw the golf course we were playing I knew I wanted to be up here. So I did a great job of putting the ball in the fairway off the tee, and from there I could be aggressive. Had a lot of wedges in my hand, hit some great short irons and then obviously played to my strength. I’m a good putter, I love poa annua greens. We had perfect greens this morning. Made a lot of putts, which you’ve got to do around here. So I’m excited about hoping to build on that for tomorrow and kind of making sure I have the same M.O. tomorrow.”
Patrick Reed (2019): ” I think the biggest thing is it’s a shot-making golf course. You have to work the ball both ways, you can flight it, take it up in the air. There’s a bunch of different shots, especially when the wind blows, that you have to play. It’s not just see a number, hit a number. You have to use the contours of the greens, use the wind in a bunch of different areas. I love being creative and having to work the ball around. A place like this kind of suits me and I feel real comfortable over the ball. The golf course is pure, it’s in great shape, and it’s a birdie fest. You’ve got to go out and shoot low, got to go out and make birdies, especially this time of year, you know, after a U.S. Open, which normally par is a good score. And then on top of it you’re leading into another major, The Open coming up. And so you’re sitting there and to have a week like this where you can go out and make a bunch of birdies, if you’re hitting fairways, hitting wedges in there close, make a bunch of putts, you know, make a lot of birdies gives you confidence moving forward. I think it’s a great.”
For the record, here’s the breakdown of pure Poa Annua and Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
4 – Keegan Bradley, Max Homa, Brandt Snedeker.
3 – Collin Morikawa.
2 – Cameron Davis, Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland.
1 – Aaron Baddeley, Akshay Bhatia, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Champ, Wyndham Clark, Nick Dunlap, Tony Finau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Emiliano Grillo, Patton Kizzire, Matt Kuchar, Nate Lashley, Luke List, Andrew Putnam, Erik van Rooyen.
Naturally we’ve seen 6 renewals of this tournament with two defined game-shape camps of winners. 2019 saw 250/1 shot Nate Lashley pretty much lap the field, shooting an incredible -25/263. A second season player, Nate had only scored a single PGA Tour top-10 finish in Puerto Rico in the April prior to winning here. He was outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup, but arrived in Detroit as an alternate, buoyed by 28th place at the Pebble Beach-hosted U.S. Open on his last outing. An opening 67 at Pebble had him in 6th place at the end of Thursday and he hung around admirably, ranking 6th for Greens in Regulation, 6th for Strokes Gained on Approach and 14th for Strokes Gained Tee to Green. Clearly on the crest of a wave confidence-wise, Lashley arrived in Detroit on Wednesday evening as a last gasp alternate and recorded a huge win for the bookmakers. Since his win he’s gone on to finish 3rd at TPC Scottsdale, 3rd at Torrey Pines, 4th at Old White TPC, 5th at Pebble Beach, 7th at Waialae plus 3rd and 7th Grand Reserve CC (Puerto Rico). His single win on the Korn Ferry Tour had been at -20/268 at the 2017 Corales Championship.
2020 saw Bryson DeChambeau arrive off post-Covid resumption form of 6th at the Travelers Championship, 8th at the RBC Heritage and 3rd at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He was the 7/1 favourite. Bryson had already won 5 PGA Tour titles and won by 3 shots from Matthew Wolff and by 5 from Kevin Kisner. 2021 saw another long driver in the form of Cam Davis win this, triumphing in a 3-man play off over Joaquin Niemann and Troy Merritt. Cam came to Detroit off a missed cut at the Memorial Tournament with form prior to that reading 45-59-26. His previous top-10 finish had been in January at PGA West finishing 3rd and understandably he won the Rocket Mortgage at 150/1.
2022 saw Tony Finau go back-to-back, winning the 3M Open in Minnesota the week prior to taking the Rocket Mortgage out at 14/1 in Michigan. An opening -8/64 saw him lead after Thursday and from there he shot -26/262 to beat Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young by 5 shots. Power off the tee clearly got the job done.
2023 saw an emotional victory for Rickie Fowler at 14/1. His win came off cracking form of 13/5/9/6/MC/14/15/10. Not known as a bomber, Rickie ranked 27th on the PGA Tour for Driving Distance arriving in Detroit and he defeated shorter sorts in Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a 3-man play-off.
In reality this should be renamed the Cam Davis Classic as 2024 saw him win in Detroit for the second time adding to 14th (2022) and 17th (2023). So 2 wins and 2 further top-17 finishes in his last 4 straight visits. Inbound form of 48/MC/50/56/MC/38/49 was hardly inspiring, but in the main that had come at Signature event level. Upsides were visible however, qualifying for the U.S. Open and shooting an opening -5/65 (T6 best round) on Thursday at the Travelers the week before.
So we have seen 5 long drivers win in Detroit as well as a shorter sort, whose strengths are approach and putting. At just south of 7,400 yards, I categorise this as a medium length golf course, which is classical in nature and tree-lined. It’s meant to be a throwback test with a runaway victory for Nate Lashley in 2019, plus places for the likes of Bhatia, Hadwin, Kisner, Merritt, Morikawa Rai and Snedeker, showing that shorter, steady players can compete around here. However the course is also powerless if a world-class driver plays at their best here.
My Final Rocket Classic Tips Are As Follows:
Ben Griffin 2pts EW 20/1 (8EW, 1/5) with William Hill
Ben Griffin has to be up there for most improved player on the PGA Tour in 2025. J.J. Spaun after his U.S. Open triumph undoubtedly leads the way; Sepp Straka has been insane in 2025 winning a couple of titles, but Griffin has undoubtedly had a career year, now finding himself in the world’s top 20 players, Datagolf rankings top 15 and 8th in the qualification process for Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup Team USA squad. With 2 PGA Tour wins already in 2025, many would say the 29 year-old, South Carolinian is a lock for Keegan Bradley’s team, but Griffin’s schedule includes the Rocket this week and the John Deere Classic next week, so he’s undoubtedly motivated to keep playing courses he knows suit in the build-up to the Open Championship.
8th at the PGA Championship, 1st at the Charles Schwab Challenge, 2nd at the Memorial Tournament and 10th at the U.S. Open, Ben is undeniably playing the best golf of any player in this field over the last 6 weeks and he must be looking forward to a 3rd visit to the Detroit Golf Club. 33rd (2023) and 31st (2024) here at the Rocket Classic, he’s undoubtedly now longer off the tee, more accurate off the tee, more consistent with his irons, and a better putter than he was 12 months ago. Add in a new-found level of confidence, the ability to win, and his desire to qualify for the Ryder Cup, and I think Ben Griffin goes extremely well this week in Michigan.
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Cameron Young 2pts EW 25/1 (10EW, 1/5) with Ladbrokes
Is this the perfect timing for Cameron Young? He’s finally in great nick, arriving at a tournament with a weak field, on a course where he has finished 2nd (2022) and 6th (2024). You get the feeling that his maiden PGA Tour win will be at a short price in a weak field, and you have to say this week looks primed. With favourites Morikawa and Cantlay in indifferent form and Bradley coming off an emotional win, the slightly lesser names may get their chance. Ben Griffin has obvious chances, but so again so does Young.
He’s a bomber who is putting very nicely at the moment and that’s a combination that can work nicely here at the Detroit Golf Club. Up to 17th in the Ryder Cup Team USA standings, he’s a late player on the scene driven by 7th at the Truist Championship, 4th at the RBC Canadian Open and 4th at the U.S. Open across his last 6 performances on the PGA Tour.
A 67.50 scoring average here is T1 with Taylor Moore of those that have played more than once at the Rocket Classic, and when you look at our Rocket Classic Strokes Gained rankings he sits in the top 8 for Strokes Gained Ball Striking, Off the Tee, Around the Green and Tee to Green.
The win has to come at some point, and this could just be the week.
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Harry Hall 1.5pts EW 30/1 (10EW, 1/5) with Ladbrokes
Harry Hall is another to respect this week in Michigan. 4 top-10 finishes in 2025 has been a superb haul for the Cornishman who now works with the swing coach legend that is Butch Harmon. 8th at The Sentry and 9th last week at the Travelers Championship came at Signature events, whilst 10th at Waialae and 6th at Colonial show a liking for short- to medium-length tree-lined assignments. These 4 results in themselves tie in very nicely with the likes of Cam Davis, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler who have won here across the last 5 renewals.
It’s also worth noting that Hall is a PGA Tour winner. He won the 2024 ISCO Championship at Keene Trace in Kentucky on a scoreable 7,328 yard, Par 72, featuring Bentgrass greens last August. Korn Ferry wins at the Wichita Open (2021) and NV5 Invitational (2022) also add credence to Hall’s challenge this week. These wins came in Kansas and Illinois – Mid-West States, as is Michigan – coming on short- to medium-length courses, featuring similar agronomy (Bent/Poa Annua mix greens in the case of the NV5 Invitational).
Wider fairways this week will suit, as will the fact that Hall unbelievably sits T4 across 2025 on the PGA Tour for Birdie Average – level with Keith Mitchell. Harry was 31st here 12 months ago before finishing 15th at the John Deere Classic and 1st at the ISCO Championship.
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Matt Fitzpatrick 1.5pts EW 40/1 (8EW, 1/5) with bet365
The fact that Matt Fitzpatrick is playing the Rocket Classic highlights that the 2022 U.S. Open champion hasn’t had the 2025 he’d wished for to this point. With only 8 events left before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he finds himself 74th in the standings, with the top 70 being the cut-off point for the opening FedEx St. Jude Championship in the first week of August. Needs must on the PGA Tour and Fitzpatrick needs a top result and quickly to avoid not making the Playoffs and inevitably not making Luke Donald’s Team Europe side.
But there have been green shoots in recent outings. 8th at the Quail Hollow-hosted PGA Championship was a huge step in the right direction. 17th last week at the Travelers Championship was a career-best finish at TPC River Highlands, which featured an eye-catching -7/63 on Saturday.
6th for Driving Distance, 12th for Driving Accuracy, 2nd for Total Driving, and 1st for Ball Striking in old money at TPC River Highlands, he was positive across all facets from Tee to Green – ranking 14th overall – only being held back from a top-10 finish by losing half a stroke per day on the greens. In general his putting has been far better of late, and across my 8-week Strokes Gained tracker he ranks 4th in this field for Current Form.
I personally watched Fitzpatrick win his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2015 British Masters played at Woburn and wins across Valderrama (2021), Brookline (2022), and Harbour Town (2023) highlight a player who can win on short- to medium-length, tree-lined golf courses across a range of different agronomies. I’m hopeful that Matt gets on very nicely with Detroit Golf Club this week.
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We’ve seen excellent results at U.S. Opens in the past catapult players into the winner’s circle. Nate Lashley was the inaugural winner here in 2019 and arrived in Detroit after finishing a high-profile – 6th after Round 1 – 28th at the Pebble Beach-hosted U.S. Open. Rickie Fowler was at the other extreme finishing 5th at the Los Angeles Country Club 2023 U.S. Open, then finishing 13th at the Travelers Championship before winning here with that wonderful winning pose. He was 14/1.
Chris Kirk I doubt jumps to the top of many lists this week, but he’s the sort who could win here after finish 12th at Oakmont a fortnight ago. Course form is excellent with 21st (2020), 12th (2021), 17th (2022), 14th (2023) and 44th (2023). 5 straight appearances highlight a liking for the Detroit Golf Club track – that translates to a rank of 9th in this field for Total Strokes Gained at the Rocket Classic of players who’ve played here multiple times and 9th for Tee to Green. To add a little more, Chris has also been 4th (2020), 6th (2021), 9th (2022) and 11th (2023) heading into Sunday, so he clearly likes the place.
At 87th in the Official World Golf Rankings, he’s out of position – 101st on the FedEx Cup standings – so needs results quickly to make the FedEx Cup PlayOffs. He also intriguingly made the decision to miss the Signature event Travelers Championship last week straight after his 12th at the U.S. Open, deciding instead to play the Rocket Classic and John Deere Classic back-to-back. The decision I’m presuming was purely a case of scheduling with his record at TPC River Highlands reading MC-58-MC-63.
Top 25 for Strokes Gained Tee to Green and top 10 for Strokes Gained on Approach across my 8-week trackers, we need the putter to fire a little better on greens he knows so well.
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