Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds and Predictions

By Dave Shields

The PGA Tour heads to Detroit this week for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club. This is one of the newer stops on the PGA Tour, having launched last year. It replaced the Quicken Loans National tournament on the PGA calendar.

Last year, Nate Lashley won his first PGA Tour event, taking the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 25-under. He dominated the field, winning by 6 shots over second-place Doc Redman at 19-under and 7 shots over Rory Sabbatini and Wes Roach.

The Detroit Golf Club is one of the oldest courses in the country, established in 1899. It is designed by renowned golf course designer Donald Ross. It is a 7,334-yard par-72 track. The signature stretch on the course is known as Area 313, which refers to the Detroit area code. Area 313 includes the par-5 14th, the par 3 15th, the par 4 16th.

The Field

Last week’s champion at the Traveler’s Championship in Cromwell, Conn., Dustin Johnson, is not in the field this week. Johnson earned himself a week off notching his 21st career PGA Tour victory and first since February 2019.

But there is plenty of firepower in the field, including 3 of the top 10 players in the world – Webb Simpson (No. 6), Patrick Reed (No. 7), and Bryson DeChambeau (No. 10).

DeChambeau, who has 6 straight top 10 finishes, is the favorite at 7-1. Webb Simpson, who won two weeks ago the RBC Heritage, is next at 11-1, followed by Patrick Reed and Tyrell Hatton at 16-1. Hideki Matsuyama is next at 18-1, followed by Viktor Hovland at 20-1 and Sungjae Im at 25-1. Rickie Fowler follows at 30-1, while Tony Finau is 33-1 and Kevin Na is 35-1. Scottie Scheffler and JT Poston are 40-1 while last year’s runner up, Doc Redman is 45-1.

Harris English, Rory Sabbatini, and Bubba Watson are all 50-1. As for last year’s winner, Lashley is listed at 150-1.

The Picks

Bryson DeChambeau (7-1). DeChambeau is the hottest player on tour, even though he hasn’t won anything. He has placed in the top 10 in his last 6 tournaments. One of these events, he’s going to break through, and with the slightly less competitive field, he should be able to take care of business here. He is ranked No. 10 in the world rankings, but he is overdue for a win as he has not won on the PGFA Tour since November 2018.

Rory Sabbatini (50-1). Sabbatini is quietly playing some very good golf right now. He finished tied for 11th last week at the Traveler’s with a score of 13-under and that’s after finished 14th at the Charles Schwab Challenge three weeks ago and 21st two weeks ago at the RBC Heritage. Last year here at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he finished in a tie for second. Sabbatini obviously has had some success on this course, and given his recent good play, consider him a strong contender for his 7th career PGA Tour win.

Hideki Matsuyama (18:1). Let’s be honest, Matsuyama has not been playing well as of late. He missed the cut at the RBC Heritage two weeks ago, and in his last tournament before the pandemic he finished in a tie for 56th. His world ranking has dropped to 23rd, but he has a chance here to get back on track. Last year at the Rocket Mortgage Classic he was 15-under and finished in a tie for 13th. Matsuyama is due for a bounce-back tournament and given his past track record here, I like him to make a run here and be in contention.

First round action begins Thursday with the first tee off at 6:45 a.m.