Congratulations if you were on-board Keegan Bradley at Monday odds of 80/1 to win the Travelers Championship. With 2 wins in the season now and up to 7th in the Team USA Ryder Cup qualification standings, he’s created a real question for Zach Johnson, heaping pressure on some established names into the bargain.
This is the fifth Rocket Mortgage Classic with the 4 renewals so far won by Nate Lashley, Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Davis and Tony Finau. 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. Sponsorship comes in the form of Quicken’s online Rocket Mortgage brand. Players in this week’s field include Quicken-sponsored Rickie Fowler, plus defending champion Tony Finau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa, Cameron Young and South Koreans Sungjae Im and Tom Kim.
Get up to 12 places each way at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with bet365’s ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion on golf.
bet365 have recently launched their innovative ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion on golf, following on from its success on horse racing over the past few years.
bet365 Golf Each Way Extra – Up to 12 places for Each Way Golf bets on selected tournaments. Each Way Extra gives you the option to increase or decrease the number of places when you are betting pre-event on the To Win Outright market on selected Golf events – add places on to your Each Way Golf bets for extra security at lower odds, or increase the price by removing places. Bet restrictions apply. Registration required. For further details of how Each Way Extra works on golf click here.
The number of Each Way Extra places offered on an event can be viewed on the Each Way Extra coupon or on the bet slip as per the example below:
Odds above used for illustrative purposes and were correct at 15:00BST 26.6.23, but are naturally subject to fluctuation.
To access the different options and odds, simply select the ‘Each Way Extra’ market from the selected golf coupon to see the additional place terms that are available on your chosen event before the first group tees off. Once you’ve selected a price and the corresponding number of places from the Each Way Extra coupon, it will then appear on your bet slip.
If you don’t have a bet365 sports account then customers who sign up with bet365 via Golf Betting System receive their up to £30 in free bets account opening offer using bonus code SPORT30:
✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way
bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad
Before we go into the detail surrounding the Rocket Mortgage Classic, we always have new visitors to Golf Betting System. Welcome and let me point you in the direction of our weekly Golf Betting System podcast (published every Tuesday of the golfing calendar), the Steve Bamford Golf Channel on YouTube and our hugely popular, +6,200 strong, private Group on Facebook – you can Join Here.
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 its 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, its lack of length and receptive greens leads to very low 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 Hazards: 1; Fairways: Bentgrass with Poa Annua; Rough: Bluegrass mix 4″; Greens: 5,150 sq.ft average featuring Poa Annua with Bentgrass; Tournament Stimp: 10.5ft. 2019: 70 .11 (-1.89), Difficulty Rank 42 of 49 courses. 2020: 70.05 (-1.95), Difficulty Rank 38 of 41 courses. 2021: 70.55 (-1.45), Difficulty Rank 40 of 51 courses. 2022: 70.40 (-1.60), Difficulty Rank 38 of 50 courses.
Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Detroit Golf Club and how they compare to recent courses 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.
North Course – LACC : Average 43 yards wide.
Muirfield Village: 250 yards from the tee: 34 yards wide; 275:32; 300:28; 325:24; 350:27.
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.
Riviera: 250 yards from the tee: 33 yards wide; 275:27; 300:26; 325:26 350:28.
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 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’s lots of movement and contours on green complexes, which feature 80% Poa Annua and 20% Bentgrass within them, so similar to TPC River Highlands where they play The Travelers.
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 more powerful drivers. But it’s the par-4s which are 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 no wind, warm temperatures and lush receptive greens accepting darts, greens are also super easy to hit, with 15 (2019), 16 (2020), 11 (2021) and 13 (2022) players hitting 80% Greens in Regulation or more. Scrambling here is also very easy, so all-in-all the course without tough weather is there for the taking.
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 Mortgage Classic Winners: 2022: Tony Finau (-26); 2021: Cam Davis (-18); 2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-23); 2019: Nate Lashley (-25).
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: Tony Finau, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im, Justin Thomas, Kevin Yu, Harry Hall and Cam Davis.
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.
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.
Forecast Weather Forecast: The latest weather forecast for Detroit, Michigan, is here.
PGA Tour officials aren’t scared of a birdiefest here in Detroit, and this week’s weather forecast looks just fine to deliver their wish. Wind won’t be a factor. The course had 47mm (1.9 inches) of rain deposited on it across Friday and Sunday just gone, with a 90% chance of further rain on tournament Monday. Rain could also feature over the weekend, so expect cut in the fairways at the very least come Thursday. So with a course that’s lush enough and temperatures that will be in the 27-30 degree Celsius (81-86 Fahrenheit) vicinity throughout, birdies will be the key here this week.
Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the Wells Fargo Championship / Italian Open 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) Ludvig Aberg; 2) Kevin Yu; 3) Doug Ghim; 4) Sam Bennett; 5) Byeong Hun An / Ryan Palmer; 7) Beau Hossler; 8) Austin Eckroat; 9) Stephan Jaeger / Sepp Straka; 11) Brent Grant / Garrick Higgo / Matthew NeSmith; 14) S.H. Kim / C.T. Pan / Alex Smalley / Sam Stevens / Vince Whaley; 19) Lucas Glover / Vincent Norrman; 21) Akshay Bhatia / Trevor Cone; 23) Cam Davis / M.J. Daffue / Brandon Matthews.
Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Hideki Matsuyama; 2) Mark Hubbard; 3) Nate Lashley; 4) Tom Kim / Ryan Palmer; 6) Collin Morikawa; 7) Alex Smalley; 8) Tano Goya; 9) Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Rickie Fowler; 11) Gordon Sargent; 12) Doug Ghim; 13) Jonathan Byrd; 14) Chez Reavie / Adam Schenk; 16) Zac Blair; 17) Byeong Hun An / Charley Hoffman; 19) Austin Eckroat; 20) Adam Hadwin / Martin Laird / J.J. Spaun; 23) Carson Young; 24) Tony Finau / Patton Kizzire / David Lipsky / Henrik Norlander.
Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Jonathan Byrd; 2) Ludvig Aberg; 3) Aaron Baddeley; 4) Harry Higgs; 5) Doug Ghim; 6) Rickie Fowler; 7) Tony Finau; 8) Beau Hossler; 9) Hideki Matsuyama; 10) Harry Hall; 11) Alex Noren / Matthias Schwab / Davis Thompson; 14) Keegan Bradley; 15) Byeong Hun An; 16) Harris English / Gordon Sargent / Robert Streb; 19) Richy Werenski; 20) Adam Long; 21) Thomas Detry / Luke Donald / Austin Eckroat / Stephan Jaeger / Kevin Yu.
Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Doug Ghim; 2) Hideki Matsuyama; 3) Ludvig Aberg; 4) Rickie Fowler; 5) Ryan Palmer; 6) Byeong Hun An / Austin Eckroat / Alex Smalley; 9) Kevin Yu; 10) Tony Finau; 11) Jonathan Byrd / Collin Morikawa; 13) Thomas Detry; 14) Stephan Jaeger; 15) Akshay Bhatia; 16) Sepp Straka; 17) Tom Kim / Aaron Rai; 19) Sam Stevens; 20) Gordon Sargent; 21) Vincent Norrman; 22) Joseph Bramlett / Mark Hubbard; 24) Nate Lashley; 25) Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Andrew Novak.
Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Satoshi Kodaira; 2) Justin Suh; 3) Chez Reavie; 4) Ryan Brehm; 5) Carson Young; 6) Max Homa; 7) Augusto Nunez; 8) Aaron Baddeley / Keegan Bradley; 10) Nicolai Hojgaard; 11) Kevin Roy; 12) Harrison Endycott; 13) Robby Shelton; 14) Rickie Fowler; 15) C.T. Pan; 16) Adam Long; 17) Trevor Cone; 18) Harris English / Justin Lower; 20) Dylan Frittelli; 21) Peter Malnati / Adam Svensson; 23) Luke Donald / Nick Hardy; 25) Sungjae Im.
Top 25 SG Total: 1) Rickie Fowler / Doug Ghim; 3) Hideki Matsuyama; 4) Ludvig Aberg; 5) Jonathan Byrd; 6) Austin Eckroat; 7) Ryan Palmer; 8) Alex Smalley; 9) Thomas Detry; 10) Keegan Bradley / Max Homa / Gordon Sargent; 13) Joseph Bramlett / Lee Hodges; 15) Satoshi Kodaira; 16) Aaron Baddeley / Collin Morikawa; 18) Chez Reavie; 19) Byeong Hun An / Augusto Nunez / Sepp Straka; 22) Harris English / Aaron Rai; 24) Nate Lashley / Carson Young.
For a summary of the Strokes Gained Performances from this week’s field here at Detroit Golf Club since 2019 click here.
Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the Strokes Gained Stats of the Rocket Mortgage Classic winners here at Detroit Golf Club since 2019 gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this old-style Ross-design test:
Strokes Gained Tournament Trends:
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: 17th, SG Approach: 18th, SG Around the Green: 13th, SG Tee to Green: 4th, SG Putting: 10th.
Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the winners of the Rocket Mortgage Classic back to 2019 gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this old-style, classical test:
2022, Tony Finau (-26). 309 yards (34th), 82.1% fairways (3rd), 91.7% greens in regulation (1st), 29’10” proximity to hole (5th), 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), 34’9″ proximity to hole (68th), 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), 37’6″ proximity to hole (69th), 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), 30’10” proximity to hole (19th), 84.6% scrambling (3rd), 1.58 putts per GIR (2nd).
Tournament Skill Averages:
Driving Distance: 22nd, Driving Accuracy: 25th, Greens in Regulation: 11th, Proximity to Hole: 40th, Scrambling: 12th, Putting Average 15th.
Let’s take a view from players as to how Detroit Golf Club sets up and what skill sets the course favours:
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.”
Path to Victory: Below are the end of round positions for the winners of the Rocket Mortgage Classic since 2019:
Shots From the Lead: Below are the Rocket Mortgage Classic winners since 2019 and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:
2022 – Tony Finau: Round 1: level, Round 2: 1 back Round 3: level.
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 – Max Homa, Brandt Snedeker.
3 – Collin Morikawa, Jimmy Walker.
2 – Scott Piercy, Chez Reavie, Nick Watney.
1 – Aaron Baddeley, Keegan Bradley, Cameron Champ, Cam Davis, Jason Dufner, Harris English, Tony Finau, James Hahn, Tom Hoge, Russell Knox, Nate Lashley, Luke List, Hideki Matsuyama, Scott Stallings, Justin Thomas, Kevin Tway, Erik van Rooyen, Richy Werenski.
Naturally we have seen 4 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, 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-19 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 of 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 The American Express 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 12 months ago.
So we have seen 3 bombers 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 Kisner, Merritt and Snedeker, showing that shorter, steady players can compete around here. However the course is also powerless if a world-class bomber plays at their best here.
My Final Rocket Mortgage Classic Tips Are As Follows
I’ll hold my nose about the price and take Rickie Fowler this week to break his winless streak at a Rocket Mortgage Classic he has plenty of experience at.2023 has already seen Justin Rose and Jason Day end winless droughts in weaker events at 25/1 and 18/1 respectively, and I can see that trend continuing with Rickie this week.
An ever-present here since the tournament started in 2019 due to his Rocket Mortgage sponsorship, Fowler bounds into Detroit this week on the crest of a wave form-wise, partly instilled by Butch Harman who has been working with the 34 year-old in 2023. The legendary Harman has stated that his protégé Fowler will win again on the PGA Tour this year and I’m a believer too. Detroit Golf Club could be just the spot.
Across my 8-week Strokes Gained Analysis in this field Fowler ranks 1st for Current Form, driven by 4th for Tee to Green and 14th for Strokes Gained Putting metrics. That manifests itself in form which going back to the Texas Open reads 13/5/9/6/MC/14/15/10. 5th at the U.S. Open where he shot an historic opening round -8/62, I was more interested in last week at the Travelers Championship.
At a TPC River Highlands course where he had never had a top 10 finish with MC/MC across his last two 2021 and 2022 visits, Rickie, most likely disappointed after his Sunday at Los Angeles Country Club, took himself out of the firing line by shooting 70 in Round 1 in Connecticut. From there his current confidence came to the fore again shooting -5/65 on Friday and a magnificent -10/60 on Saturday, tying low round of the week with Denny McCarthy.
From experience with Rickie and his 5 PGA Tour wins to date, they tend to be obvious in terms of confidence-building results prior and 3 of the 5 have come off 10th, 9th and 4th place finishes the outing before. RESULT: Winner
✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way
bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad
Ludvig Aberg 1.5pts EW 50/1 (8EW, 1/5) with William Hill
On a course where top-class driving can unlock opportunities both on the short par-4s but also on a full set of reachable par-5s, Ludvig Aberg is another to follow this week.
The much talked about Amateur ex-World Number 1 has arrived on the PGA Tour with a fanfare and has settled in very quickly. 25th at the RBC Canadian Open was followed by 24th last week at the elevated Travelers Championship. Opening rounds of 67-65 at TPC River Highlands had the talented Swede in the top 10 heading into the weekend and his 65 on Saturday, when grouped with Corey Conners and Austin Eckroat, highlights real maturity. 24th across the week from a Strokes Gained perspective included 4th for Off the Tee, 4th for Around the Green and 23rd for Tee to Green.
The field this week at the Rocket Mortgage is of a far lower grade which will suit Aberg, who has already won 4 individual Amateur titles in 2023 including the Big 12 Men’s Championship. The 23 year-old, who attended Texas Tech University, is high-grade stuff and I think he’ll start to show that in Detroit this week. RESULT: T40
✅ Bet £/€10 Get £/€30 in free bets for new customers using code R30 and this qualifying link
✅ For further details read our William Hill promo code page
✅ One of the earliest bookmakers to publish odds most weeks on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ Offered 10 places each-way 1/5 odds at the 2023 US Open
William Hill New Customer Offer: 18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 17.10.2022. 3x £10 free bets. Free bets expire after 30 days. New customers signing up through mobile or tablet device only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply. begambleaware.org. #Ad
Austin Eckroat 1pt EW 66/1 (8EW, 1/5) with William Hill
Austin Eckroat has really impressed me of late, and I think he’ll love the Detroit Golf Club set-up with wide fairways where he can use his strength: his top-level off the tee game. 23rd for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, 16th for Total Driving and 67th for Driving Distance – All Drives across the season, the fact he also ranks 24th for Driving Accuracy highlights a player who is undoubtedly strong in the driving department. Long and straight works everywhere and his rise in 2023 has been astronomical.
On a one-way road back to the Korn Ferry Tour in his rookie season, it took the alternate level Corales Championship for Austin to find a spark. 7th after 54 holes, he finished 5th after a closing -4/68 showed fortitude, when experiencing his first PGA Tour Sunday in contention. 3 Eagles and 18 Birdies was some effort as the Oklahoma State University graduate bagged his first real cheque and haul of FedEx Cup Points.
But a move to Bentgrass-based greens has been the true catalyst for Austin who now finds himself with a good chance of making the FedEx Cup Playoffs via a top 70 FedEx Cup Regular Season position. May saw Eckroat jump up the leaderboard considerably at the AT&T Byron Nelson the week before the PGA Championship. A Friday -6/65 was followed by a Saturday -8/63 and the 24 year-old found himself in the Sunday final group with Marty Dou and Jason Day. Naturally Day went on to win, but Austin showed what he’s made of firing a -6/65 to bag 2nd spot, under real PGA Tour pressure.
Since then 16th at Colonial, 30th at Muirfield Village, an unbelievable 10th at the Los Angeles Country Club-hosted U.S. Open, and 24th at TPC River Highlands have all come in the toughest of fields. What’s more Eckroat can shoot low scores. A closing round -5/65 at the U.S. Open was second only to Tommy Fleetwood. He started well with a -3/69 on Thursday at Muirfield Village which was T3 best score of the day, and even last week in Connecticut he shot 4 rounds at 68 or less. RESULT: MC
✅ Bet £/€10 Get £/€30 in free bets for new customers using code R30 and this qualifying link
✅ For further details read our William Hill promo code page
✅ One of the earliest bookmakers to publish odds most weeks on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ Offered 10 places each-way 1/5 odds at the 2023 US Open
William Hill New Customer Offer: 18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 17.10.2022. 3x £10 free bets. Free bets expire after 30 days. New customers signing up through mobile or tablet device only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply. begambleaware.org. #Ad
Whilst DeChambeau, Davis and Finau have won 3 of 4 renewals here, there is still hope for the short hitters. The first ever winner here Nate Lashley is hardly the longest and we also saw Troy Merritt in a play-off here with Joaquin Niemann and Cam Davis in 2021. With that in mind, I’m happy to roll with Chez Reavie again.
Reavie is the sort who likes courses where Driving Accuracy actually gains Strokes Off the Tee. That can work at Detroit Golf Club. 8th (2017) and 3rd (2019) at Waialae CC (Sony Open); 2nd (2018) and 3rd (2019 U.S. Open) at Pebble Beach; 2nd (2018) and 4th (2019) at TPC Scottsdale (WM Phoenix Open); 1st (2019), 8th (2022) and 4th (last week) at TPC River Highlands (Travelers Championship); 1st (2008) at Glen Abbey (RBC Canadian Open); 5th (2011) at TPC Deere Run (John Deere Classic); 4th (2017), 6th (2018) and 6th (2020) at TPC Southwind (St Jude); 3rd (2020) at Silverado (Fortinet Championship); 4th (2016) at El Camaleon (WWT Championship). All courses where short, straight hitters with a strong wedge game can compete. So theoretically Detroit Golf Club should suit Chez well this week.
Despite his heroics at the Travelers Championship last week where he finished 4th, he still finds himself well outside the magical top 70 which gains entry into the end of season FedEx Cup PlayOffs. So the motivation to play well will still burn this week, especially as he defends his Barracuda Championship soon enough. A 2-time winner on Bentgrass Poa Annua mix greens, Chez across my 8-week Strokes Gained tracker ranks in this field 14th for Approach, 3rd for Putting and 18th for Current Form. RESULT: T29
✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way
bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad
Kevin Yu is a player to definitely keep an eye on. I know that Golf Betting System podcast colleague Paul Williams has been hot on Yu since his promotion to the PGA Tour from the Korn Ferry Tour back in September and rightfully so.
Originally from Taiwan, the University of Arizona graduate rookie finished 3rd at the Bermuda Championship, 20th at the Sony Open and 7th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before disappearing with a knee injury. Back at the Travelers for the first time since the start of February he played very nicely shooting 65-67 to sit 10th heading into the weekend, eventually finishing 49th.
Season-long stats need to be taken with a pinch of salt with the 4 months of inactivity built into them, but what is clear is that Yu is a classy sort. 3rd for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, 9th for Tee to Green and 2nd for Greens in Regulation, he also sits 14th for Birdie Average. A brilliant driver of the ball who is also a top-notch ball-striker will work well at a course such as Detroit Golf Club, and I’m more than willing to give the Scottsdale, Arizona a resident a whirl this week. RESULT: MC
✅ Bet £10 Get £10 Free Bets & £10 Casino Bonus for new mobile customers using this qualifying link
✅ For further details read our Boylesports Sign Up Offer page.
✅ Regularly extending full-field PGA Tour events to a market-beating 10 places each-way
✅ Offered up to 12 places each-way 1/5 odds at all 4 Majors in 2023
BoyleSports UK New Customer Offer: New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. £20 in FREE Bets (FB) as £10 in sports bets & a £10 casino bonus (CB). Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. FB applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. FB 7-day expiry. 1 FB offer per customer, household & IP address only. Account & Payment restrictions. 14 days to accept £10 CB, then active for 3 days. CB 5x wagering & max redeemable £100. Game restrictions apply. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. 30 days to qualify. 18+. T&Cs apply. #Ad
