After Keegan Bradley’s win at the Travelers, next on the calendar is the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which will be played at Detroit Golf Club (par 72, 7,370 yards, bentgrass/poa greens). Since this tournament’s inception in 2019, the par-72 Donald Ross design has been the lone home of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Tony Finau is the defending champion of this event, winning a year ago with a -26. This is full field of 156 golfers, and there will be a normal cut of top 65 and ties following the first 36 holes. Let’s look at Stokastic’s Top Golfers Tool to find the best leverage PGA DFS picks for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Leverage scores compare a golfer’s ownership to their salary-weighted odds to finish in the top 6 of the tournament. It is one of many metrics in Stokastic’s tools that use the fantasy point and ownership projections to find the top PGA DFS plays each week.
PGA DFS Picks & Leverage: Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit Golf Club is one of the easiest venues these players will face all season, and with the course expected to play soft due to Detroit seeing heavy rain recently, it is safe to expect another birdie fest this year. While any length of golfer can succeed at Detroit Golf Club, being in compelling form with both irons and putter is a must, as two of the four winners here, including Finau, have finished the tournament inside the top 15 in both strokes gained on approach and putting. Also, the four par 5’s are some of the easiest of any PGA Tour venue, so strong par-5 players will be a target as well. All four Rocket Mortgage champions ranked top 5 in par-5 efficiency during their wins at Detroit Golf Club.
Cameron Davis
Stokastic PGA Optimizer Leverage Ranks: DraftKings: 2nd, FanDuel: 51st
Davis got back on track last week at the Travelers after missing three straight cuts, finishing 33rd at TPC River Highlands, including a closing-round 7-under 63 on Sunday, which tied his career-low score on the PGA Tour. Davis will now look to build off this brilliant round at Detroit Golf Club, where he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic two years ago and then finished 14th last season. Davis ranks 16th in par-5 efficiency over his last 50 rounds, and if he can find some rhythm with his flat stick on these greens he knows well at Detroit Golf Club, he has the potential for a top-10 finish this weekend.
With Stokastic projecting him to come with single-digit ownership on both DraftKings and FanDuel, Davis is a sharp target for GPPs.
Byeong Hun An
Stokastic PGA Optimizer Leverage Ranks: DraftKings: 26th, FanDuel: 55th
After missing the cut at the Travelers, An should return to form in Detroit, where he has never missed a cut in two appearances and placed 13th in 2019. Regardless of the missed cut last week, An still gained strokes with his irons and has been pristine with his ball striking overall, ranking second in strokes gained tee to green and 19th in strokes gained on approach over his last 24 rounds. Plus, An is an elite par-5 scorer — ranking 20th in par-5 performance this season — and his setback at the Travelers is only his fifth missed cut in 23 starts this season.
He has generated nine top-25 finishes this year and is an outstanding option for GPPs, with Stokastic projecting him for single-digit ownership on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Dylan Wu
Stokastic PGA Optimizer Leverage Ranks: DraftKings: 8th, FanDuel: 22nd
With Stokastic slating him to be around 1% owned on both DraftKings and FanDuel, Wu has a ton of appeal for GPPs. The reasons for the low expected ownership are that Wu is coming off a missed cut at the Travelers last week and he missed the cut in his Rocket Mortgage debut last season.
That being said, Wu missed both of these cuts by one stroke, and before last week’s mishap, he had made 12 of his previous 15 cuts, with eight of these finishes being 32nd or better. Wu ranks 26th in strokes gained on approach and fifth in par-5 efficiency over his last 50 rounds, and he is an excellent sleeper pick for a top-25 finish.
Carson Young
Stokastic PGA Optimizer Leverage Ranks: DraftKings: 20th, FanDuel: 32nd
Young finished 15th in his debut at TPC River Highlands last week while gaining over three strokes on approach and with his putter, marking the seventh time in his last eight starts he has collectively gained strokes in both major categories. Young has now advanced to the weekend in nine of his last 13 starts at standard stroke play events, with seven of these finishes being top-30s. Most notably, he finished third at the Puerto Rico Open, which like the Rocket Mortgage Classic is played on an easy par 72 that yields very low scoring.
Young has never competed at Detroit Golf Club before, but his deadly combination of strong work with his irons and putter is a match made in heaven for this track. As he showed in his first attempt at TPC River Highlands, Young has the prowess to shine in his debut at a low-scoring event. Another top-20 finish is certainly possible for Young, and he is expected to be less than 5% owned on both DraftKings and FanDuel according to Stokastic’s projections.
