After witnessing a heartbreaking defeat by Tommy Fleetwood, missing his chance at his first PGA Tour win, the PGA Tour heads to the Motor City for the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Hosted again at the historic Detroit Golf Club, the tour is making its seventh stop at this course. Known as a high-scoring, birdie fest event, this is a tournament fans can get behind and cheer on birdies, rather than pars!
With Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Keegan Bradley headlining the field, there is not much star power this week. What fans can expect is a weekend full of birdies and momentum swings. As one of the more accessible scoring events on the calendar, this week presents a prime opportunity for both top-tier players and emerging talent to contend deep into Sunday.
Detroit Golf Club is a classic Donald Ross design measuring just over 7,300 yards for a par 72. It is known to be one of the, if not the, flattest golf courses in the USA tour.
This course features generous fairways, without much penalty when you miss them, but also small, undulating greens that challenge approach play and test putting precision.
With four par 3, four par 5s and several short par 4s, the layout rewards distance, aggressive shot-making, and ability to make putts consistently. I expect to see some drama late on Sunday, as we could have numerous players in position to win this event.
We discuss key stats that correlate to success every week, and usually, they are the same no matter what course you play. Find the fairway, hit the greens in regulation, and make your putts.
Success at Detroit Golf Club strongly hinges on these exact metrics. Strokes Gained: Total, which ranks 11th in importance compared to other Tour stops. Strokes Gained: Putting is another crucial factor, ranking 16th, due to the slick, sloping greens.
Secondary statistics also reveal that players who perform well at this course usually accel on approach shots from 150–275 yards out of the rough (ranked 3rd in importance here), as well as those who rack up Total Birdies (5th), Total Putting (6th), and maintain a solid Par 3 Scoring Average (9th), have a clear edge at this course.
Morikawa enters the Rocket Mortgage Classic in solid form but looks to get last week back as he failed to finish inside the Top 40. He should have success this week, gaining strokes both off the tee and with his irons.
His elite ball-striking is perfectly tailored to the demands of Detroit Golf Club, particularly with the emphasis on approach shots from the rough—one of his sneaky-strong areas. If Morikawa’s putter is behaving we should see him late on Sunday inside the Top-10.
Consistency is Cantlay’s calling card, and I am not sure there is a more frustrating golfer to place wagers on. He is someone I never trust; having said that, I agree with the bookmakers that he should be one of the favorites to win this.
I think he has a good shot this week, and a Top 20 should cash for him. He can score low, and that makes him dangerous on a course like this, where the winning score often reaches the low 20s under par.
He ranks high in Birdies or Better and Birdie Average, both key metrics this week. Cantlay ranks outside the Top 60 in strokes gained putting, and he has to putt well to win a scoring event like this one.
Bradley is coming off a win last week, and I will always be an advocate to fade a golfer after they win an event unless their last names are Scheffler, McIlroy, or Rahm.
Bradley has been spectacular this year, and the Ryder Cup Captain has put himself in position to be a player/captain in that event coming up later this season.
Detroit Golf Club suits his current game well, and he has played well here in the past. His iron play remains sharp, and he can outgun most of the players in this field.
Hall has been one of my favorite players to back over the past couple years. His putter is among the best on Tour, and that’s a major advantage this week.
On Tour, Hall ranks 1st in Putts Per Round, 1st in Total Birdies, 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting, 5th in Birdie or Better %, 4th in Birdie Average, and 12th in Par 3 Scoring. Hall has 6 straight finishes inside the Top 40, T9, T24, T6, T19, T20, T33, and I believe he keeps it rolling here!
While he may not be in contention to win, his ability to convert birdie chances and avoid big mistakes makes him a solid player every week. He ranks high in bounce back, so when he does make a back shot or score a negative score, he has a high chance to get it back. A +105 Wager on him to finish Top 30 has been locked in as well as he could find a T10 this week.
Greyserman is one of the better under-the-radar iron players in the field. He quietly has 5 straight Top 40 finishes, T36, T23, T25, T22, T33, and he has a chance to stand out against this lower-level field.
He ranks 8th in Total Birdies, and ranks inside the Top 50 in Birdie Average, Putting Average, Strokes Gained Putting, Driving Distance, all categories that can help him follow up a T31 here last season and possibly improve on that number.
Bhatia has three Top 10s this season and is looking to capture a win after placing 2nd here last year. He's usually a solid bet to place at a course where he had prior success the year before, as seen in the research.
His game suits this course very well, ranking 24th in Strokes Gained Approach to Green, 15th in Strokes Gained Putting, 44th in Strokes Gained Total, 28th in Proximity, 27th in Approach from within 200 yards, and 13th in Putting Average.
He has 8 Top 40 finishes this season, and after a T54 and Missed Cut in his last two events, he is looking to get back into the Top 40. With a place he found recent success, he could use this week to get himself back on another roll! A +125 wager has been placed on him as well to finish Top 30!
Knapp has two Top 10s this season and is one of the most explosive young players on Tour. He ranks 29th in Driving Distance, 22nd in Strokes Gained Putting, 62nd in GIR%, 27th in Approach within 200 yards, 47th in Scrambling, and 37th & 34th in Putting Average and Scoring Average.
He is looking to build momentum off a T27 at the RBC Canadian, and he has 9 Top 40 finishes this season, while placing T31 in his only trip here last year. At plus money, he brings strong upside for a Top 40 ticket in this field with less star power.