Rocket Classic Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Former World No. 1 Amateur Jackson Koivun turned professional just four weeks ago at the John Deere Classic. Most golf observers recognized that his first PGA Tour victory was coming sooner rather than later. It was sooner, with Koivun winning last weekend’s 3M Open at 28-1. Koivun (-25) led the field for Strokes Gained: Approach, was second in Scrambling and third in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Scottie Scheffler rallied to finish second, his fifth runner-up of the year, but finished three back (-22) of Koivun while Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Chandler Phillips and Denny McCarthy finished T-3 at -20.
This week, the PGA Tour stays in the Midwest for the Rocket Classic in Detroit as we are now two events away from the start of the FedExCup Playoffs.
Cameron Young (11-1) heads up the field this week after finishing runner-up at the British Open two weeks ago. Young was runner-up here in 2022.
Chris Gotterup (18-1) is a three-time PGA Tour winner this season, including last month at the John Deere Classic.
Xander Schauffele is making his Detroit debut this week and is priced at 20-1 along with Koivun.
U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and Si Woo Kim are both 22-1.
Russell Henley (25-1), Patrick Cantlay (28-1), runner-up here in 2022, Ben Griffin (33-1), J.J. Spaun (33-1) and Matsuyama (35-1).
Defending Rocket Classic champion Aldrich Potgieter is 80-1.
Other former Rocket Classic winners in this week’s field include Rickie Fowler (50-1), Tony Finau (130-1) and Cam Davis (250-1).
The Event
The Rocket Classic will be held for the eighth and final time this week. The tournament will take place July 30-Aug. 2 at Detroit Golf Club, but amid imminent changes to the PGA Tour schedule, sagging attendance and the struggle to draw marquee players in recent years, Rocket has declined to exercise its option for 2027.
The decision severs Rocket founder and Detroit billionaire booster Dan Gilbert’s decade-plus sponsorship of the PGA Tour. Rocket, and previously under the Quicken Loans banner, has been a title sponsor on the PGA Tour for 13 years, including five years outside Washington, D.C., before the Rocket Classic launched in Detroit in 2019.
Players are playing to win a $1.8 million share of a $10 million purse.
The Field
The 147-player field is the strongest by far in its eight-year history, with four of the top-10 and eight of the top-20 ranked players in the world in attendance, including Cameron Young, Russell Henley, Chris Gotterup, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim and Ben Griffin.
Moreover, 28 of the top 60 in the Official World Golf Rankings are here.
The Course
The Detroit Golf Club is a par-70, 7,328-yard tree-lined parklands that was originally designed by the legendary Donald Ross in 1916.
In previous Rocket Classics, the course played as a par-72, but Detroit Golf Club was redesigned by Tyler Rae, who has worked on many Donald Ross designs to restore them to the original strategy of the designs.
The fairways are Bentgrass/Poa Annua and are relatively wide (33 yards on average), while the rough is a Bluegrass mixture of 3.5 inches.
The greens are a 50/50 Bentgrass and Poa Annua mix and are on the smaller side at a 6,700 square feet average. They measured on average 5,400 square feet in previous years. The greens still feature predominantly back-to-front slopes, but have all been elevated. The speed is 12 on the stimpmeter, which is around PGA Tour average.
The course features 91 bunkers that are larger and deeper than before and no water hazards, as the pond on the 14th has been removed.
The largest change in scoring comes on the former par-5 7th and 17th holes. Both have now been converted into lengthy par-4s, with the seventh measuring approximately 505 yards and the 17th stretching to roughly 537 yards. The seventh hole has undergone the biggest change with the removal of the large tree near the green and a completely relocated green site well to the right of the original green.
There are now four par-4s measuring at least 500 yards, while the closing 18th has been extended to approximately 470 yards after previously playing around 455.
Comparable courses to the Detroit Golf Club include TPC Twin Cities, TPC Deere Run, Sedgefield (Ross design), TPC River Highlands, TPC Craig Ranch, Oakdale, TPC Toronto and Silverado.
WXYZ Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, provides a hole-by-hole flyover of the restored course at Detroit Golf Club.
Weather
Winds look light this week with some potential thunderstorms on the weekend in Detroit.
Rocket Mortgage Classic Recent History
2025: Aldrich Potgieter (-22/266); 110-1*
2024: Cam Davis (-18/270); 65-1
2023: Rickie Fowler (-24/264); 14-1**
2022: Tony Finau (-26/262); 14-1
2021: Cam Davis (-18/270); 150-1***
2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-23/265); 7-1
2019: Nate Lashley (-25/263); 250-1
Playoff win over Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk – *
Playoff win over Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin – **
Playoff win over Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann – ***
The Rocket Mortgage Classic has only been a PGA Tour event since 2019, but looking at the previous winners, you can see big hitters off the tee flourish here like Potgieter, DeChambeau and Finau. Taylor Pendrith and Cameron Young are also fairly long hitters off the tee and they finished co-runner-ups to Finau in 2022, as did Min Woo Lee in 2024
However, a shorter hitter like Lashley won the inaugural event here, and Aaron Rai was runner-up in 2024 because you can also putt the lights out and be victorious here.
Statistical Analysis
Previously, Detroit Golf Club was a fairly straightforward course where it was “bombs away,” and there was very little danger off the tee. Now there are bunkers and ditches that pinch some of the fairway landing areas.
Distance is still important here as the course length is not much different even after the renovation. However, accuracy has a bit more premium than in the past. Total Driving measures both.
Total Driving — Driving Distance Rank + Driving Accuracy Rank (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Jordan Smith 60 (33 + 27)
- Neal Shipley 68 (51 + 17)
- William Mouw 79 (40 + 39)
- Cameron Young 79 (19 + 60)
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju 80 (26 + 54)
- Michael Brennan 81 (3 + 78)
- Xander Schauffele 97 (14 + 83)
- Michael Thorbjornsen 99 (28 + 71)
- Ryo Hisatsune 108 (75 + 33)
- Johnny Keefer 108 (11 + 97)
- Harris English 109 (71 + 38)
- Steven Fisk 109 (45 + 64)
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 110 (59 + 51)
- Rickie Fowler 111 (75 + 36)
- Ryan Gerard 111 (77 + 34)
- Rico Hoey 112 (50 + 62)
- John VanDerLaan 116 (66 + 50)
- Kris Ventura 117 (49 + 68)
- Corey Conners 120 (60 + 60)
- Doug Ghim 121 (80 + 41)
- Sam Stevens 121 (45 + 76)
While the course has changed, plenty of trees have been removed and there are more angles to attack pins, so players will still primarily hit driver off the tee. Here are results of the last two years in those categories:
2025
Aldrich Potgieter (Winner): 7th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee / 3rd in Driving Distance
Max Greyserman (2nd): 8th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee / 6th in Driving Distance
Jake Knapp (4th): 2nd in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee / 1st in Driving Distance
2024
Davis Thompson (2nd): 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee / 13th in Driving Distance
Min Woo Lee (2nd): 15th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee / 3rd in Driving Distance
Erik Van Rooyen (6th): 5th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee / 7th in Driving Distance
Cameron Young (6th): 10th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee/ 8th in Driving Distance
Strokes Gained: Off The Tee — Average Per Round (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Michael Brennan 0.739
- Neal Shipley 0.729
- Jesper Svensson 0.606
- Doug Ghim 0.580
- Chris Gotterup 0.573
- Johnny Keefer 0.572
- Cameron Young 0.548
- Aldrich Potgieter 0.545
- Gordon Sargent 0.509
- Marco Penge 0.506
- Jordan Smith 0.503
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 0.495
- Xander Schauffele 0.494
- Si Woo Kim 0.469
- Kris Ventura 0.424
- Jackson Koivun 0.422
- Taylor Moore 0.399
- Rico Hoey 0.380
- Pierceson Coody 0.376
- Patrick Cantlay 0.361
- Ryo Hisatsune 0.349
- Haotong Li 0.342
Average Driving Distance (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Aldrich Potgieter 330.0
- Michael Brennan 326.5
- Marco Penge 324.4
- Nicolai Højgaard 323.6
- Chris Gotterup 322.6
- Rasmus Højgaard 321.8
- Jesper Svensson 319.6
- Johnny Keefer 319.4
- Pierceson Coody 318.4
- Christo Lamprecht 318.0
- Xander Schauffele 317.9
- Jake Knapp 317.7
- Pontus Nyholm 315.2
- Brooks Koepka 314.3
- Cameron Young 314.1
- Max Greyserman 314.0
- Sebastian Yellamaraju 313.2
- Alejandro Tosti 313.1
- Michael Thorbjornsen 313.0
- Taylpr Pendrith 312.9
- Stephan Jaeger 312.4
- Taylor Moore 312.0
- Jordan Smith 312.0
With more angles to attack the pins after the restoration, iron play even takes on greater importance. Here are the results of the last two years in the category.
Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Ben Kohles 1.134
- Si Woo Kim 0.732
- J.J. Spaun 0.714
- Austin Smotherman 0.687
- Jackson Koivun 0.682
- Brooks Koepka 0.606
- Joel Dahmen 0.601
- Jake Knapp 0.498
- Wyndham Clark 0.494
- Jackson Suber 0.485
- Ryan Gerard 0.452
- Davis Thompson 0.439
- William Mouw 0.422
- Cameron Young 0.421
- Nicolai Højgaard 0.417
- John Parry 0.408
- Johnny Keefer 0.405
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.404
- Max McGreevy 0.382
- Chris Kirk 0.378
- Patrick Cantlay 0.375
- Austin Eckroat 0.374
- Jordan Smith 0.358
- Matt Wallace 0.351
The greens used to be fairly similar in shape (oval), but with the restoration, there is a wider variety of outlines. The rebuilt greens feature more contours and breaks.
Strokes Gained: Putting — Average Per Round (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Akshay Bhatia 0.681
- Vince Whaley 0.680
- Jacob Bridgeman 0.675
- Jake Knapp 0.561
- Erik van Rooyen 0.559
- Eric Cole 0.540
- Peter Malnati 0.538
- Stefano Mazzoli 0.538
- A.J. Ewart 0.534
- Jackson Koivun 0.524
- Harris English 0.507
- Denny McCarthy 0.503
- Beau Hossler 0.460
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.452
- Chandler Phillips 0.450
- Seamus Power 0.436
- Ben Griffin 0.432
- Wyndham Clark 0.426
- Takumi Kanaya 0.407
- Michael Kim 0.395
- Chad Ramey 0.387
- Davis Riley 0.378
- Chris Gotterup 0.376
- Harry Hall 0.371
- Karl Vilips 0.357
- Russell Henley 0.350
With the layout being changed to a par-70 and only two par-5s, the course should play a bit more difficult. While it might not be as much of a birdie-fest as in previous years, there are still several birdie holes.
Birdie Or Better Percentage (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Si Woo Kim 25.85%
- Wyndham Clark 25.78
- Jake Knapp 25.00
- Kevin Yu 24.74
- Akshay Bhatia 24.17
- Jacob Bridgeman 24.17
- Eric Cole 23.82
- Ryan Gerard 23.80
- Chris Gotterup 23.80
- Harris English 23.52
- Cameron Young 23.52
- Tony Finau 23.47
- Stephan Jaeger 23.47
- Pierceson Coody 23.36
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju 23.19
- Austin Eckroat 23.16
- Mac Meissner 23.12
- Jackson Suber 23.06
- Tom Hoge 23.05
- Zach Bauchou 23.00
While the greens are larger targets, they are more heavily bunkered and there are also more pin placements than the course could have in the past. Players will be tested around the greens as well.
Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Ben Griffin 0.458
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart 0.448
- Hideki Matsuyama 0.440
- Mackenzie Hughes 0.438
- Eric Cole 0.395
- Andrew Putnam 0.390
- Brandt Snedeker 0.374
- Wyndham Clark 0.362
- Stephan Jaeger 0.356
- Harry Hall 0.341
- Sungjae Im 0.322
- Keegan Bradley 0.316
- Nick Taylor 0.296
- Michael Thorbjornsen 0.295
- Takumi Kanaya 0.266
- Seamus Power 0.266
- Akshay Bhatia 0.255
- Kevin Roy 0.253
- Gordon Sargent 0.249
- Doug Ghim 0.244
- Patrick Cantlay 0.240
There are three par-4s at over 500 yards and another one just under that at 491.
Strokes Gained: Par-4s 500+ Yards — Average Per Round (2026 PGA Tour season)
- Jackson Koivun 0.693
- Keita Nakajima 0.431
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju 0.395
- Akshay Bhatia 0.393
- Patrick Cantlay 0.363
- Cameron Young 0.356
- Harris English 0.328
- Jackson Suber 0.323
- Kris Ventura 0.303
- Max Greyserman 0.301
- Seamus Power 0.282
- Davis Thompson 0.258
- Doug Ghim 0.241
- Ben Griffin 0.229
- Brandt Snedeker 0.223
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.217
- Adam Svensson 0.215
- Matt McCarty 0.214
- Russell Henley 0.213
- Haotong Li 0.213
- Adrien Saidder 0.213
- Ryo Hisatsune 0.211
- Keegan Bradley 0.204
- Jacob Bridgeman 0.201
Selections
Jake Knapp (36-1, DraftKings)
After finishing 11th or better in seven of his first eight events of 2026, Knapp had a lingering left thumb sprain and wrist issue that flared up at the RBC Heritage. The injury forced him to miss two months.
Since his return at the U.S. Open (missed cut), he has not had many results to write home about, with three of four missed cuts, but that changed last week with a T-13 at the 3M Open where he finished with a closing round of 62.
Knapp was third for Strokes Gained: Approach and fourth for Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
This looks to be a good sign that Knapp is returning to form and is healthy and returns to a venue where he finished fourth last year.
Ryan Gerard (41-1, Circa Sports)
Unlike most in this field, Gerard’s spot in the FedExCup Playoffs is secure with his current ranking of 18th and more than likely a spot at the season-ending Tour Championship.
Gerard is in Detroit to get the win that has eluded him in 2026, as he has three runner-up finishes (Memorial, Sony Open, American Express).
The changes in the Detroit Golf Club have made it more of a strategic driving course, which is more suited to Gerard’s game.
He ranks eighth on the PGA Tour for Par-4 Birdie or Better and 11th in this field for Strokes Gained: Approach.
Akshay Bhatia (45-1, Circa Sports)
Bhatia concluded a disappointing major championship season two weeks ago when he missed the cut at the British Open, missing three cuts out of the four majors.
However, the season has not been a total lost cause for Bhatia with a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational plus top-6 finishes at Phoenix, Pebble Beach and the Travelers.
Bhatia was runner-up here in Detroit two years ago when he ranked second for both Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
He ranks No. 1 on the PGA Tour this season for Strokes Gained: Putting and could be one of the most adept in this field to deal with the changes in the greens.
Davis Thompson (67-1, Circa Sports)
Thompson finished T-7 last week at the 3M Open where he rated second, only behind the eventual winner Koivun, for Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and shot 63-66 on the weekend.
He finished runner-up two years ago here in Detroit.
His history on Donald Ross designs with that runner-up plus three top-25s in the Wyndham Championship in four appearances stands out here. Furthermore, his only major championship top-10 finish to date was at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, another Ross design.
Thompson is 93rd in the FedExCup points and has this week and the Wyndham next week to climb into the top 70.
Ryo Hisatsune (80-1, BetMGM)
Since missing the cut in the season opener at the Sony Open, Hisatsune has made 20 cuts in a row, which includes five top-10 finishes (runner-up Farmers Insurance Open).
He ranks top 10 in this field for Total Driving, No. 16 overall for Proximity to the Hole and has been a proven birdie-maker all season long.
Jackson Suber (82-1, DraftKings)
Suber was widely tipped last week at the 3M Open and proceeded to miss the cut. However, he was off the best performance of his young career at a major where he was the first-round leader at the British Open and was T-6 going into Sunday before finishing T-28, so perhaps he was running on fumes a little bit.
This week, he returns to Detroit, where he was T-6 on debut last year.
He ranks 80th in the FedExCup points, so a high finish this week or next could get him into the top 70.
This could be a good week to buy the dip. After all, before travelling to the UK, he had three top-6 finishes in less than two months leading into that trip.
Johnny Keefer (100-1, FanDuel)
Keefer was also respected in the market last week and also proceeded to miss the cut. Like Suber, Keefer is a younger player probably not used to the overseas travel and then getting right back to the tour grind.
He fits the profile, ranking in the top 10 in this field for Total Driving and top 20 for Strokes Gained: Approach.
Keefer was less than half this price at the 3M last week and even with the stronger field, this is too much of a bounce for a guy that is 73rd in the FedExCup standings and needs one more good event to reach the top 70.
William Mouw (130-1, DraftKings)
Another one who missed the cut last week, despite actually leading the field, even ahead of Koivun, for Strokes Gained: Ball Striking through the first two rounds. Of course, that tells us that he could not make a putt, as he rated dead last in the field.
These greens are going to be new for everyone this week, so players that have struggled lately with the putter will not have as much of a disadvantage as normal.
Mouw is third in this field for Total Driving and 13th for Strokes Gained: Approach.
Placement markets, props, matchups and/or other bets will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks.
