Detroit Golf Club hosts the third running of the Rocket Mortgage Classic this week. The event is one of the final North American tune-ups for the 2021 Open Championship, which is set for July 15-18 in England. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings and odds for the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Bryson DeChambeau, entering the week at No. 6 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings, returns as the defending champion and prohibitive betting favorite. He’s coming off a T-19 finish at last week’s Travelers Championship.
Detroit Golf Club was designed by Donald Ross and is a par 72 measuring 7,370 yards. The front nine plays tough with tight, tree-lined fairways, but the back nine is open and provides plenty of scoring opportunities.
2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic: Fantasy Golf Top 20
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 11:11 a.m. ET.
20. Brendon Todd (+6600)
Bounced back from a missed cut at the U.S. Open with a T-30 finish in a quality field at the Travelers Championship. No. 1 on Tour in driving accuracy and should avoid the trouble on the front nine but will need to score on the back.
19. Si Woo Kim (+5000)
Missed the cut in this event in 2019 but tied for 57th last year. He’s 32nd on Tour in par-5 birdies or better percentage and has the distance to take advantage of the four par 5s.
18. Bubba Watson (+4000)
Finished in a tie for 19th last week with a disappointing Sunday round of plus-3 73. He missed the cut in both runnings of this event but should be motivated to get right ahead of The Open.
17. Emiliano Grillo (+5000)
Three top-10 finishes in 2021, highlighted by a T-2 showing at the RBC Heritage. Comes in off of back-to-back missed cuts but tied for 39th in this event last year with 0.87 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round.
16. Jason Day (+2800)
Missed the cut at Detroit Golf Club last year but tied for 10th at the Travelers Championship. He was first among those who made the cut with 0.92 SG: Around-the-Green per round.
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15. Cameron Tringale (+4000)
Has gained 1.55 total strokes per round across eight rounds at Detroit Golf Club over the last two years. He tied for 30th in 2020 and for fifth in 2019.
14. Gary Woodland (+5000)
The 2019 U.S. Open champ seemed to be rounding into form prior to a missed cut at the Memorial Tournament and a T-50 finish at Torrey Pines. The weaker field should lead to a better finish as an under-the-radar play at inflated odds.
13. Keegan Bradley (+4000)
Has been undone by 0.49 strokes lost per round with the putter this season but is seventh among qualified golfers in SG: Approach. Tied for 45th here last year in another poor putting performance and just needs to be neutral with the flat stick.
12. Max Homa (+5000)
Back-to-back missed cuts at the US Open and Travelers Championship following a strong T-6 showing at the Memorial Tournament. He has two T-6 finishes and five missed cuts in his last seven events as a boom-or-bust fantasy option.
11. Doc Redman (+5000)
His 1.93 strokes gained on the field per round at Detroit Golf Club are the most among those with the maximum of eight career tournament rounds played here. The 2019 runner-up tied for 21st last year and has excelled on these greens.
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10. Garrick Higgo (+4000)
Still 39th in the Official World Golf Ranking despite back-to-back missed cuts at the US Open and Travelers Championship after winning the Palmetto Championship in just his second career start on the PGA Tour. He can rely on his putter at the relatively unimposing venue.
9. Matthew Wolff (+2500)
Last year’s runner-up to DeChambeau averaged 1.51 SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.52 SG: Putting per round. The two went on to finish in the same order at the 2020 U.S. Open. Wolff returned to play after a lengthy layoff with a T-15 finish at Torrey Pines but missed the cut last week.
8. Jason Kokrak (+2500)
His missed cut at the U.S. Open was his first through 14 events this year and followed his victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He tied for 29th in this event in 2019 despite struggling with his putter. He has been one of the Tour’s top putters over the last year.
7. Hideki Matsuyama (+1800)
April’s Masters champion tied for 21st at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic while ranking third in the field with 1.86 SG: Tee-to-Green per round. He struggled on and around the greens but needs to be only a little better than average in those areas to show well in this field.
6. Joaquin Niemann (+2500)
Tied for fifth in 2019 but didn’t play last year. He’s tied for 28th in par 5 birdie or better percentage and shouldn’t be punished as harshly as usual for his often wayward driver.
5. Sungjae Im (+3500)
Slipped to 46th in the Golfweek rankings with a modest two top-10 finishes through 19 events to start 2021. All four of his missed cuts on the year have come since his T-8 finish at The Honda Classic. He has averaged 0.68 strokes gained per round at Detroit Golf Club and should bounce back to form before long.
4. Patrick Reed (+1400)
Missed the cut here last year but tied for fifth in 2019. Tied for 25th last week with 1.95 SG: Tee-to-Green per round following a T-19 finish at the U.S. Open.
3. Will Zalatoris (+2500)
Bound to be one of the most motivated golfers in the field while still in need of a PGA Tour victory in order to obtain full PGA Tour status and be eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs. Enters the tournament at No. 18 in the Golfweek rankings and is among the leaders in SG: Approach for the season.
2. Webb Simpson (+1800)
Averaging 1.08 SG: Tee-to-Green per round and has been excellent on and around the putting surfaces. Tied for eighth in his debut at Detroit Golf Club last year.
1. Bryson DeChambeau (+750)
The top-ranked player in the field has an implied win probability of 11.76% in the full-field event. He can’t be bet at these low odds, but he’s a strong fantasy selection with the wide-open back nine well-suited to his aggressive angles off the tee.
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