Draws and Fades: Cameron Young poised to chase down bogey-free Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai in Detroit

Can Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai maintain the rage at what sets up to be a blockbuster weekend at Detroit Golf Club?

Bhatia is yet to flinch, backing up his sublime 8-under 64 with a tidy 67 to move to 13-under at the halfway point of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He remains bogey-free for the tournament, a critical factor in his success, and is the +260 favorite from here.

Rai, yet to win on the PGA TOUR, birdied his final two holes for a 65, also moving to 13-under to share the lead. Much like Bhatia, he is bogey-free and playing impressive golf through the halfway point and is now +333 to win.

The two leaders are also the top two in Strokes Gained: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green.

The duo sits two shots clear of Taylor Montgomery (68), Troy Merritt (64), Erik van Rooyen (64) and Cameron Young who all moved to 11-under on Friday.

Young, the pre-tournament second favorite behind Tom Kim (missed cut) had seven birdies and just one bogey to move into +500 in the outright market via BetMGM Sportsbook.

Van Rooyen finished with an absolute flourish on Friday, birdieing six of his last eight holes including five in a row, to move into position for a third PGA TOUR win.

Merritt ranked a lowly 161st in the FedExCup entering the week with a T9 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson his lone top-10 this season. But he’s always loved Detroit Golf Club, finishing T17-T14-T2-T8 in his last four starts here.

Montgomery saw his approach game heroics from Thursday leave him in the second round but to his credit fought hard via his hot putter to stay in the mix. It’s his first made cut since a T11 at THE PLAYERS Championship in March.

Former Rocket Mortgage Classic winner Cam Davis (2021) moved into position for a tilt at a second title, shooting a 66 to move to 10-under. The Australian was joined by Eric Cole (68) and Joel Dahmen (64) in a tie for seventh.

Here are the latest outright odds from BetMGM Sportsbook.

• +260: Akshay Bhatia (-13, T1)
• +333: Aaron Rai (-13, T1)
• +500: Cameron Young (-11, T3)
• +1400: Erik van Rooyen (-11, T3)
• +2000: Cam Davis (-10, T7)
• +2500: Troy Merritt (-11, T3)
• +2500: Taylor Montgomery (-11, T3)
• +2800: Eric Cole (-10, T7)
• +3300: Min Woo Lee (-8, T15)

Draws

Cameron Young +500

Under pressure coming out in the afternoon wave sitting eight shots off the pace set by Bhatia, Young gradually clawed his way up the leaderboard with a tidy 66 to get within two shots. With some rain possible over the weekend, Young’s power could become a bigger factor than it already is and as such he is the value at the top of the board. With just one bogey in two rounds, he’s limiting his mistakes and is yet to three-putt. He ranks second on the Par-5s and is sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green.

Cam Davis +2000

Despite not playing that well of late when it comes to results (zero top-10s this season) Davis becomes a risk-reward play at this point in the tournament. When he won at Detroit Golf Club in 2021 he also entered without any great form to speak of but had an affinity for the course and ultimately rode that to victory. He’s outpointing his season ranks in all Strokes Gained metrics by miles – which could also point to a major crash over the weekend – but if you think someone in the chase pack can hunt down the leaders at the top with some value attached to their name, this might be the guy. Joel Dahmen (+5000) is another guy who could find some old magic in an otherwise ho-hum year. At least he’s coming off a T10 at the RBC Canadian Open.

Fade

Aaron Rai +333

For loyal readers of my column, Benny and The Bets, you might be confused given I advocated Rai for a Top-5 finish this week. I still think he should cash those tickets, but the fact is, I’m not convinced he’s ready to win yet. Rai is a beautiful striker of the ball and sits second in SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach this week, but under the pressure of final rounds, his putter can cool off. He’s 16th in SG: Putting so far this week but 118th on the season. And while his third-round scoring average is good this season, it dips in the final round. Most of all, he’s 108th in Driving Distance and if the rain comes, he could be giving up even more real estate to other players in the final round.