Rocket Mortgage Classic Power Rankings: The 10 Best Golfers at the Detroit Golf Club

Last week: Scottie Scheffler +400 gave us our 10th outright win and third in a row by winning The Travelers. Tom Kim +4000 gave us a longshot hope before falling in a playoff to Scheffler.

This week marks the beginning of a lull in the PGA Tour schedule prior to The (British) Open Championship in four weeks.  The Tour stops in Detroit, Michigan for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, better known as the Rickie Fowler Open as he is the host. Last year, we cashed on Rickie winning at +1400 and Troy Merritt finishing Top 20 at +700.

As expected, the field is light this week, but there are some “name” favorites including Tom Kim, Cam Young, Akshay Bhatia, Robert MacIntyre, Min Woo Lee, and of course, Rickie Fowler. This week, the players must go low as winning scores typically finish on average of around -25. I’ve got a list of 20 that I need to pare down to 10.  Here goes.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club (DGC) Power Rankings

10. Tom Kim +1200, Cam Young +1400, Akshay Bhatia +2000

OK. I’m cheating a bit here as I’ve got three golfers at number 10. The reason I’ve bunched these three is purely situational, and it’s basically the same reason why these are the oddsmakers’ top three favorites this week. All three contented hard last week and each had a chance to win and arguably should have.  I just think it is emotionally difficult to come back the next week and reperform. And, the pot odds are simply terrible; however, keep an eye on them for live betting purposes.

9. Robert MacIntyre +4000

You have to like a guy who shot 14-under last week to finish T-16, won two weeks prior at the Canadian Open, yet is only +4000 per the oddsmakers. Perhaps it is because he has no course history, but he’s all the way up to 34th in total strokes gained and ninth in scoring average.

8. Maverick McNeely +2800

McNeely is a popular pick this week. Everyone is waiting for him to finally break through after an injury-plagued 2022. In his last tournament, he finished T-7 at the Canadian Open which was this third Top 10 this year. He ranks eighth in total strokes gained and fourth in scoring average, so I expect him to go low this week. He has a T-8 here in 2020 and a T-14 in 2021.

7. Aaron Rai +2800

Rai has had a nice season as he searches for his first win on Tour. He has seven Top 25s including two Top 10s one of which was a 20-under T-4 finish at the Byron Nelson. He ranks 11th in total strokes gained and 11th in scoring average. Rai played here last year and finished T-9.

6. Alex Noren +2800

I know what Noren does best and that is to get off to a good start. I’ve picked him three times for FRL and he’s finished second each time. So, if you’re going to bet anybody for FRL this week, he’s your guy at +4500. What I also like about Noren this week is that 1) he’s finished T-9 and T-4 in his last two starts at DGC, and 2) he ranks fifth in scoring average this year.

5. Rickie Fowler +4000

It was a year ago that Rickie finally broke his victory drought; however, since then it seems he has lost his way again. In his 17 starts this year, he only has two Top 20 finishes. One of those was last week when he shot 13-under and finished T-20. Maybe that bodes well this week for the defending champ. Considering the strength of field, he’s getting great pot odds.

4. Stephen Jaeger +2800

Jaeger has quietly had a good season on Tour. He has a win at Houston and two Top 3s.  He ranks 43rd in scoring average, 22nd in birdie average, and 44th in putting average. In his last two starts here, he has finished T-9 in 2023 and solo fifth in 2022.

3. Taylor Pendrith +2800

Pendrith has been the best Canadian on Tour this year. Including his win at the Byron Nelson, he has four Top 11 finishes and three other Top 25s in his last nine starts. He ranks 35th in scoring average, 27th in birdie average, and fifth in putting average. In his two DGC starts, he has a T-2 in 2022 and a T-14 last year.

2. Min Woo Lee +2000

What I don’t like about MW Lee this week is that he has not played DGC before, but what I do like is the fact that he can go low. He shot 20-under at The Amex (T-21), and his recent form has been good. In his last five starts, his worst finish was T-26 at the PGA. He’s one to watch here and at The (British) Open in July.

1. Will Zalatoris +3300

Surprise! It seems the experts and the oddsmakers have forgotten about Willie Z. I mean I get it. His last good tournament was The Masters way back in April where he finished T-9, but this is a perfect contrarian, off the radar, pick for me. He does have some success at DGC. He has a T-7 in 2021 and a T-20 in 2022 in his only two starts here.

Longshot Plays at The Rocket Mortgage Classic

Chris Kirk +5000

Kirk just missed the Top 10. What I like about him is his performance consistency at DGC.  In his four starts at DGC, he has finished T-14, T-17, T-12, and T-21.

Nicolai Hojgaard +5000

Hojgaard finished T-21 here last year. He’s been a popular weekly pick, but not this week for some reason. Perhaps because he’s finished 50th or worse in six of his last seven starts; nevertheless, I like his chances ad his odds.

Taylor Moore +5500

Moore has played well in his last two starts here. He finished T-4 last year and solo sixth in 2022. The problem with him is that his best finish in his last four tournaments was last week when he finished a lowly T-68. I’m hoping he can regain his form from earlier in the year.

Cam Davis +6600

The Aussie won here in 2021 as well as finishing T-17 and T-14 the last two years. That’s a pretty good track record.

Nick Dunlap +6600

I’ve been waiting for a tournament where it’s wide open and scores will be low. This week is perfect for Dunlap and Jake Knapp (below). Dunlap shot 29-under in winning The Amex earlier this year. He ranks eighth in putting average and 22nd in birdie average.

Jake Knapp +10000

Like Dunlap above, Knapp struggles on tight courses and thrives on wide open courses. Here’s another Tour winner who can bomb it and go low. If his putter gets hot, he has a shot.

Troy Merritt +12500

Last year, I picked Merritt as a longshot and for a Top 20. He cashed the Top 20 finishing T-17. Add that to his previous T-14, T-2, and T-8 finishes and I think we have the same scenario. Merritt is +500 for at Top 20 finish.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.