Rocket Classic 2025 Picks, Best Bets, and Golf Odds:

Two years ago, Keegan Bradley ran away with victory in his home region to claim the Travelers Championship, setting the course tournament record at 23-under 257 in 2023. This past weekend, Bradley came in through the back door to win his second Travelers. 

He made a 64-footer on the ninth hole to maintain a share of the lead with Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley. Fleetwood eventually gained a two-stroke lead on the back nine. Bradley actually trailed Fleetwood by three strokes before draining a 37-foot birdie putt to cut the deficit to two strokes at the 15th hole.

 

Fleetwood held the lead heading to the final hole. Bradley stiffed his approach to less than six feet on the 18th before carding a birdie. Meanwhile, Fleetwood three-putted and bogeyed 18 to fall into a T-2 with Henley. The Englishman still searches for his first victory on the PGA TOUR, while “Captain America” Bradley cashed a 35/1 ticket for us (we also had Henley for a 1-2 finish) and likely put himself into the position where he has to pick himself for a Ryder Cup spot later this fall.

Bradley is 18/1 this week in his attempt to win consecutive PGA TOUR events at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

Two other potential picks for Bradley this fall are Collin Morikawa (12/1) and Patrick Cantlay (16/1), who are both seeking to end winless droughts and lock themselves into Ryder Cup spots as both are outside the top six in points at present. Both players have also been runners-up in this event – Morikawa in 2023 to Rickie Fowler (45/1 this week) and Cantlay in 2022 to Tony Finau (40/1 this week). 

Ben Griffin (22/1) is also making a strong bid for his first Ryder Cup appearance as he has garnered two PGA TOUR victories this season.

Following on the odds board are Cameron Young (28/1), Hideki Matsuyama (33/1), Harry Hall (33/1), Si Woo Kim (35/1), Wyndham Clark (40/1), Davis Thompson (40/1), Keith Mitchell (40/1), Luke Clanton (40/1), and Max Greyserman (40/1). 

Min Woo Lee (45/1) shared a tie for 2nd here last year with Thompson, Akshay Bhatia (45/1), and Aaron Rai (not in this week’s field). Min Woo saw his big sister Minjee win her third major championship in the last four years at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this past weekend. 

Defending champion Cam Davis (90/1) has won twice here (2021 and 2024). 

The Event

The Rocket Classic, formerly the Rocket Mortgage Classic began as an annual event on the PGA TOUR in 2019 when the Quicken Loans National event was moved from the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area to its current location in Detroit. Players are playing to win a $1.728 million share of a $9.6 million purse.

The Field

156 players are in this week’s field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic:

Note: Tony Finau withdrew Tuesday morning; Joseph Bramlett in as an alternate.

The Course

The Detroit Golf Club is a Par 72, 7,370-yard tree-lined parkland that was originally designed by the legendary Donald Ross in 1916. 

The fairways are Bentgrass/Poa Annua and are relatively wide (35 yards on average), while the rough is a Bluegrass mixture of 4″. 

The greens are a 50/50 Bentgrass and Poa Annua mix and are on the smaller side at a 5,150 sq ft average. The greens feature predominantly back-to-front slopes. The speed is 12 on the stimpmeter, which is around PGA TOUR average.

The course features 87 bunkers and just one water hazard on the 14th hole. 

The Rocket Mortgage Classic is a combination of both courses at Detroit Golf Club. There has been some rerouting for the tournament, including using a hole from the South Course. The South’s first hole will function as the tournament’s third hole and will be played from the North Course’s first hole tee box. Meanwhile, the regular eighth and ninth holes will be No. 1 and No. 2 for the tournament.

Comparable courses to the Detroit Golf Club include TPC Twin Cities, TPC Deere Run, Sedgefield, Oakdale, TPC Toronto, and Silverado.

WXYZ Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, provides a hole-by-hole flyover of the Detroit Golf Club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh09K0f2gK0

Every hole at Detroit Golf Club for the 2022 Rocket Mortgage ClassicThe 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic returns to Detroit Golf Club starting July 26th. Stretching to 7,370 yards, here’s a hole-by-hole look at the course.www.youtube.com

Weather

Detroit began this week in a heat wave, with temperatures topping out at 97 degrees. Temperatures will cool during the event, but it will still be humid. According to the AccuWeather forecast, thunderstorms are likely for Thursday and Friday. 

Rocket Mortgage Classic Recent History

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 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 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 last year. 

However, a shorter hitter like Lashley won the inaugural event here because you can also putt the lights out and be victorious here. 

Statistical Analysis

There are no hazards or forced layups off the tee, so players are free to use the driver off the tee frequently.

Strokes Gained: Off The Tee – Average Per Round (2025 PGA TOUR season)

  1. Rico Hoey 0.662
  2. Aldrich Potgieter 0.637
  3. Keith Mitchell 0.595
  4. Jesper Svensson 0.576
  5. Collin Morikawa 0.542
  6. Luke List 0.517
  7. Isaiah Salinda 0.495
  8. Chris Gotterup 0.478
  9. Alex Smalley 0.452
  10. Kurt Kitayama 0.448
  11. Michael Thorbjornsen 0.437
  12. Steven Fisk 0.413
  13. Thomas Rosenmueller 0.408
  14. Ricky Castillo 0.369
  15. Patrick Cantlay 0.356
  16. Davis Thompson 0.354
  17. Keegan Bradley 0.353
  18. Alejandro Tosti 0.335
  19. Trey Mullinax 0.332
  20. Max McGreevy 0.326

Average Driving Distance (2025 PGA TOUR season)

  1. Aldrich Potgieter 326.6
  2. Jesper Svensson 317.8
  3. Michael Thorbjornsen 316.0
  4. Kurt Kitayama 315.8
  5. Rasmus Højgaard 314.9
  6. Chris Gotterup 314.4
  7. Keith Mitchell 314.4
  8. Alejandro Tosti 314.1
  9. Trey Mullinax 313.6
  10. Min Woo Lee 313.5
  11. Gary Woodland 312.2
  12. Wyndham Clark 311.9
  13. Luke List 311.6
  14. Trevor Cone 311.5
  15. Isaiah Salinda 311.5
  16. Cameron Young 311.5
  17. Steven Fisk 311.3
  18. Kris Ventura 309.5
  19. Jeremy Paul 308.8
  20. Taylor Moore 308.7
  21. Thomas Rosenmueller 308.7

It is difficult for players to separate much from each other solely off the tee, so approach play becomes of even greater importance. 

Strokes Gained: Approach – Average Per Round (2025 PGA TOUR season)

  1. Henrik Norlander 0.815
  2. Collin Morikawa 0.705
  3. Jackson Suber 0.617
  4. Patrick Cantlay 0.537
  5. Antoine Rozner 0.496
  6. Doug Ghim 0.467
  7. Keegan Bradley 0.465
  8. Akshay Bhatia 0.458
  9. Victor Perez 0.458
  10. Sami Valimaki 0.437
  11. John Pak 0.410
  12. Lee Hodges 0.409
  13. Ryan Gerard 0.406
  14. Andrew Putnam 0.402
  15. Ben Griffin 0.396
  16. Hideki Matsuyama 0.386
  17. Steven Fisk 0.351
  18. Thorbjørn Olesen 0.344
  19. Emiliano Grillo 0.342
  20. Stephan Jaeger 0.320

Players will have a large number of wedges into the greens because they can drive the ball off the tee with fairly reckless abandon. Therefore, we can look at the proximity buckets for these shots. 

Proximity To The Hole Gained 75-100 Yards – Average Yards Per Round (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Gordon Sargent 7.19 (14 Rounds)
  2. Jackson Suber 4.58
  3. Zach Johnson 4.36
  4. Doug Ghim 4.15
  5. Harry Hall 3.59
  6. Justin Lower 3.47
  7. Henrik Norlander 3.34
  8. Tom Kim 3.31
  9. Jesper Svensson 3.08
  10. Hideki Matsuyama 2.96
  11. Si Woo Kim 2.90
  12. Matt Kuchar 2.89
  13. Mark Hubbard 2.80
  14. Trey Mullinax 2.77
  15. Emiliano Grillo 2.73

Proximity To The Hole Gained 100-125 Yards – Average Yards Per Round (Last 36 Yards)

  1. Adam Hadwin 7.12
  2. Ben Cook 5.70 (10 Rounds)
  3. Adam Svensson 5.51
  4. Philip Knowles 5.22
  5. Lee Hodges 4.76
  6. Alejandro Tosti 4.58
  7. Joel Dahmen 4.45
  8. Emiliano Grillo 4.19
  9. Quade Cummins 3.92
  10. Lanto Griffin 3.86
  11. Davis Riley 3.80
  12. Rasmus Højgaard 3.50
  13. Jacob Bridgeman 3.45
  14. Danny Walker 3.42
  15. Max McGreevy 3.29

Proximity To The Hole Gained 125-150 Yards – Yards Per Round (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Seamus Power 10.90
  2. Keegan Bradley 8.95
  3. Lee Hodges 8.54
  4. Collin Morikawa 7.76
  5. Joel Dahmen 6.68
  6. Stephan Jaeger 6.42
  7. Camilo Villegas 6.40
  8. Tom Kim 6.27
  9. Kevin Velo 6.27 (22 Rounds)
  10. Gary Woodland 5.58
  11. Emiliano Grillo 5.49
  12. Patrick Cantlay 4.95
  13. Luke Clanton 4.52
  14. Tony Finau 4.42
  15. Greyson Sigg 4.26

The greens at the Detroit Golf Club rate as the 10th most difficult greens over the last five years on which to gain strokes putting, but close to 40% of all strokes gained on this course come with the putter.

Strokes Gained: Putting – Average Per Round – Bentgrass/Poa Greens (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Harry Hall 0.75
  2. Kevin Kisner 0.74
  3. Vince Whaley 0.57
  4. Brandt Snedeker 0.54
  5. Zach Johnson 0.52
  6. Kris Ventura 0.51
  7. Jacob Bridgeman 0.49
  8. Aaron Baddeley 0.45
  9. Erik van Rooyen 0.44
  10. Matt Fitzpatrick 0.44
  11. Quade Cummins 0.44 (11 Rounds)
  12. Lanto Griffin 0.41
  13. Ben Silverman 0.41
  14. Justin Lower 0.41
  15. Ricky Castillo 0.41 (9 Rounds)
  16. Luke Clanton 0.38 (25 Rounds)
  17. Davis Riley 0.37

Detroit Golf Club is one of the easier courses on the PGA TOUR and players are rewarded with being aggressive and hunting for birdies. 

Opportunities Gained (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Alejandro Tosti 44.5
  2. Luke Clanton 40.8
  3. Joel Dahmen 31.4
  4. Collin Morikawa 28.6
  5. Ricky Castillo 27.9
  6. Thorbjørn Olesen 23.9
  7. Lee Hodges 22.1
  8. Adam Schenk 21.8
  9. Akshay Bhatia 21.1
  10. Emiliano Grillo 19.8
  11. Davis Thompson 18.7
  12. Keith Mitchell 18.6
  13. Chris Kirk 14.4
  14. Carson Young 14.3
  15. Jackson Suber 14
  16. Tom Kim 13.9
  17. Rico Hoey 13.7
  18. Jake Knapp 12.1
  19. Charley Hoffman 12

Birdie Or Better Percentage (2025 PGA TOUR season)

  1. Keith Mitchell 25.53%
  2. Harry Hall 25.17
  3. Jesper Svensson 24.51
  4. Collin Morikawa 24.42
  5. Danny Walker 24.42
  6. Jake Knapp 24.34
  7. Alex Smalley 23.87
  8. Trey Mullinax 23.83
  9. Isaiah Salinda 23.83
  10. Patrick Cantlay 23.82
  11. Erik van Rooyen 23.81
  12. Akshay Bhatia 23.71
  13. Michael Thorbjornsen 23.71
  14. Stephan Jaeger 23.48
  15. Wyndham Clark 23.18
  16. Hayden Springer 22.92
  17. Si Woo Kim 22.91
  18. Kurt Kitayama 22.88
  19. Rasmus Højgaard 22.83
  20. Rico Hoey 22.82

The quartet of Par 5s at Detroit Golf Club are amongst the easiest on the PGA TOUR and players must take advantage. 

Strokes Gained Par 5s (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Cameron Champ 18.1
  2. Jesper Svensson 17.5
  3. Keith Mitchell 15.8
  4. Ben Griffin 15
  5. Kevin Yu 14.8
  6. Lee Hodges 14.8
  7. Thorbjørn Olesen 13.7
  8. Isaiah Salinda 13.3
  9. Davis Riley 12.3
  10. Steven Fisk 12.1
  11. Wyndham Clark 10.4
  12. Matt Wallace 10.1
  13. Jeremy Paul 9.8
  14. Si Woo Kim 9.8
  15. Jake Knapp 9.7
  16. Taylor Moore 9.2
  17. Chandler Phillips 8.9
  18. Danny Walker 8.6
  19. Norman Xiong 8.6
  20. Max McGreevy 8.5

Four of the 10 Par 4s are under 400 yards. 

Strokes Gained Par 4s 350-400 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Ben Griffin 15.3
  2. Jake Knapp 11.7
  3. Andrew Putnam 10.6
  4. Sam Ryder 10.4
  5. Wyndham Clark 9.8
  6. Rico Hoey 8.7
  7. Patrick Cantlay 8.5
  8. Zach Johnson 8.4
  9. Emiliano Grillo 8
  10. Aaron Wise 7.6
  11. Paul Waring 7.3
  12. Byeong Hun An 7.3
  13. Ben Kohles 6.8
  14. Patrick Rodgers 6.7
  15. Camilo Villegas 6.5
  16. Trey Mullinax 6.3
  17. Si Woo Kim 6.1

The average winning score of the Rocket Mortgage Classic has been slightly less than 21 under par. Detroit Golf Club is a birdie-fest, and the course is gettable.

Strokes Gained: Total – Easy Scoring Conditions (Last 36 Rounds)

  1. Ben Griffin 49.3
  2. Collin Morikawa 45
  3. Max Greyserman 43.7
  4. Alex Smalley 42.1
  5. Luke Clanton 39.3
  6. Stephan Jaeger 36
  7. Si Woo Kim 34.5
  8. Michael Kim 34.2
  9. Doug Ghim 31.9
  10. Alex Noren 30.3
  11. Patrick Cantlay 28.8
  12. Akshay Bhatia 28.6
  13. Joe Highsmith 27.9
  14. Kevin Roy 27
  15. Max McGreevy 26.9
  16. Ryo Hisatsune 25.1
  17. Harry Hall 24.5
  18. Hideki Matsuyama 24.3
  19. Lee Hodges 22.8
  20. Rickie Fowler 22.3

Selections

Cameron Young 28/1 FanDuel
After consecutive Top 4 finishes at the RBC Canadian Open and U.S. Open, it looked like the time to jump back in on Young. While opening with a double bogey, Young carded a 5-under 65 and looked to be a contender after Round 1 but drove the ball poorly and fell to a T-52 finish. Perhaps he had a bit of a U.S. Open hangover, having been somewhat in the mix. This week, he comes to a course that is tailor-made for him as he has finished 2nd (2022) and 6th (2024) at the Detroit Golf Club in two appearances.

Davis Thompson 40/1 FanDuel
Thompson finished in a four-way tie for second here last year. He finished second for Strokes Gained: Approach and third for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green but only finished T-25 at the Travelers due to ranking just 65th out of 67 on the greens. Last year, this was right around the time that Thompson got hot and we cashed a 25/1 winner with him last summer at the John Deere Classic. 

Wyndham Clark 44/1 Circa Sports
It has been an eventful last couple of weeks for Clark. He took out his frustrations by destroying a couple of lockers after the US Open. Then, he kind of apologized last week before the Travelers Championship, but for many observers it fell short. Clark finished T-17 last week with rounds of 64 and 66 in the first and third rounds.  He has finished 8th (2022) and 17th (2019) here. 

Matt Fitzpatrick 45/1 DraftKings
After a poor start in 2025, Fitzpatrick split with long-time caddie Billy Foster. It has taken a little bit to get used to a new caddie (Daniel Parratt) on the bag, but Fitzpatrick is starting to show improved form. The Englishman has made seven of his last eight cuts, including a Top 10 finish at the PGA Championship. He has a sense of urgency now to make a late charge for the European Ryder Cup team. 

Emiliano Grillo 80/1 Circa Sports
After a tough start to 2025, Grillo has seemingly found something with four consecutive Top 25 finishes and has made nine of his last 10 cuts. The Argentine is the only player in this field that ranks in the Top 15 for all the wedge proximity (75-100 yards, 100-125 yards, 125-150 yards) buckets. He has also contended in several events on the Midwest swing with finishes of 2nd (2022) and 3rd (2020) in the 3M Open and 2nd in the John Deere Classic (2022). 

Jesper Svensson 105/1 Circa Sports
Svensson ranks second in this field for Driving Distance and Strokes Gained: Par 5s, along with third for Birdie Or Better Percentage, and 4th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee. The Swede has made 11 of 15 cuts in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR but has only carded one Top 10 in the season opener at the Sony Open in Hawaii. His T-18 in his last start at the RBC Canadian Open was his best result since, but the big hitter off the tee should flourish on this course. 

Lee Hodges 110/1 FanDuel
Hodges earned his best finish of 2025 in his last start, finishing ninth at the RBC Canadian Open. He missed several weeks with a rib injury and looks to be slowly returning to the form in which he started 2025 with Top 10s in Hawaii and at Torrey Pines. While he does not have great form here in Detroit, he did win the 2023 3M Open in the Twin Cities by seven strokes, so he is capable of going low in these Midwest birdie-fests. Placement markets, matchups, and/or other futures will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks. 

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