Horses for Courses: Rocket Mortgage Classic
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The Rocket Mortgage Classic returns to the Detroit Golf Club for the fourth consecutive season. This year it's becomes the penultimate chance to secure playing privileges for the 2022-2023 season.
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Those lingering outside the top 125 on the FedExCup points list will have one final chance next week in Greensboro to take care of business.
Similar to last week, the winning score here has DECREASED over the first three editions. Usually the more information the better the scoring but that hasn't been the case at Detroit Golf Club. The Donald Ross design debuted in 1916 and will be the first of two consecutive weeks (Sedgefield) his tracts will be used on TOUR.
The stock Par-72 stretches 7,370 yards and annually ranks as one of the most gettable courses on TOUR. Anytime these guys get four Par-5 holes to attack red figures will be prevalent. There's room to move it off the tee so scoring clubs will give chances to attack. The 5,150 square foot Bentgrass/Poa annua greens will be the defense. The 87 bunkers frame landing areas and greens complexes on this parkland routing. Four inches of Bluegrass provides the deterrent off the tee and around the greens.
The formula when needing low scores doesn't change: the more chances created the more chances for birdies and low scores. Hitting double digits under par is required; pushing 20-under will challenge for the title.
Nate Lashley went wire-to-wire in setting the tournament record and margin of victory mark in the inaugural event in 2019. He also set the course record (63) twice before it was equaled last season. Not bad for being an alternate and one of the last players into the field!
A full field of 156 will be chasing a prize pool of $8.4 million with the winner taking home $1.512 million plus 500 FedExCup points.
Let's find some horses for courses!
Horses for Courses
| Recent Winners Entered this week (cuts made/events entered) | Top 10 | Top 25 | 2022 BET MGM ODDS Win, Top 10 |
| Cam Davis (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +3300; +250 |
| Nate Lashley (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +12500; +1000 |
| Noise Makers (cuts made/events entered) | Top 10 | Top 25 | 2022 BET MGM ODDS Win, Top 10 |
| Troy Merritt (2/3) | 2 | 2 | +6600; +450 |
| Hank Lebioda (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +15000; +1000 |
| Doc Redman (2/3) | 1 | 2 | +20000; +1400 |
| Brandon Hagy (2/2) | 1 | 1 | +30000; +2200 |
| Kevin Kinser (3/3) | 2 | 2 | +4000; +333 |
| Ryan Armour (2/3) | 1 | 1 | +20000; +1400 |
| Danny Willett (2/2) | 1 | 1 | +8000; +600 |
| Adam Hadwin (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +4000; +350 |
| Sepp Straka (2/3) | 1 | 2 | +15000; +1000 |
| Maverick McNealy (2/2) | 1 | 2 | +4000; +333 |
| Webb Simpson (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +4000; +333 |
| Rory Sabbatini (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +25000; +1600 |
| Cameron Tringale (3/3) | 1 | 2 | +4000; +333 |
| Brian Stuard (2/3) | 1 | 1 | +35000; +2000 |
| Leaderboard Lurkers Top 25 in the last 3 editions | Top 25 | Top 40 | 2022 BET MGM ODDS Win, Top 10 |
| Chris Kirk (2/2) | 2 | 2 | +4000; +320 |
| JJ Spaun (3/3) | 1 | 3 | +15000; +850 |
| Rickie Fowler (3/3) | 1 | 2 | +10000; +600 |
| Mackenzie Hughes (2/2) | 2 | 2 | +8000; +700 |
| Joel Dahmen (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +10000; +700 |
| Curtis Thompson (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +50000; +3500 |
| Henrik Norlander (2/2) | 1 | 2 | +35000; +2000 |
| Roger Sloan (2/3) | 2 | 2 | +35000; +2800 |
| Keegan Bradley (2/2) | 1 | 1 | +3300; +275 |
| Matt Wallace (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +12500; +1000 |
| Mark Hubbard (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +5000; +350 |
| Jonathan Byrd (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +25000; +1600 |
| Luke List (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +6600; +550 |
| Kevin Tway (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +30000; +2000 |
| Wesley Bryan (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +50000; +3500 |
| Richy Werenski (2/3) | 2 | 2 | +50000; +30000 |
| Jason Day (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +8000; +550 |
| Wyndham Clark (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +8000; +550 |
| Brice Garnett (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +15000; +1100 |
| Scott Stallings (3/3) | 1 | 2 | +5000; +400 |
| Lucas Glover (2/2) | 1 | 1 | +15000; +1200 |
| Max Homa (2/2) | 1 | 1 | +2500; +200 |
| Denny McCarthy (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +4000; +300 |
| Danny Lee (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +15000; +1100 |
| Beau Hossler (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +15000; +1100 |
| Patton Kizzire (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +12500; +1000 |
Odds sourced on Tuesday, July 26th at 3 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm.
Notes
2021
Cam Davis (WIN) became the first winner in three tries who did not play in the final group on Sunday. ... Troy Merritt (P2) pushed Davis to the fifth playoff hole as he led the field in Fairways and was third in Putting. ... Hank Lebioda (T4) made only one bogey over the final 54 holes. ... Brandon Hagy (T6) squared only four bogeys for the week. ... Kevin Kisner (T8) has posted 11 of 12 rounds in the red and averages 68.50 here. ... Davis Thompson (not entered this year) tied the course record (63) as a sponsor's exemption in the first round. ... Only six rounds above par from the top 31 players.
2020
Bryson DeChambeau (WIN; not entered this year) led the field in SG: Off the Tee and Putting. ... Kevin Kisner (3rd) opened with 65 and closed with 66 and was T4 Putting. ... Ryan Armour (T4) sat T2 but three shots back after 54 holes. ... Adam Hadwin (T4) finished second GIR. ... Danny Willett (T4) closed 67-66 and was T8 GIR. ... Maverick McNealy (T8) loves Bent/Poa and was T7 Putting. ... Troy Merritt (T8) set the foundation for his 2021 run as he squared just one bogey and one double for the week. ... Webb Simpson (T8) opened 68-64 to share the halfway lead with Chris Kirk (T21). ... Sepp Straka (T8) backed up his T11 from 2019. ... Armour and Simpson shared the low round of the week with 64. ... Just four rounds above par in the top 44 players.
2019
Nate Lashley (WIN) set the inaugural edition on fire as he posted 25-under and won by six as an alternate. ... Doc Redman (2nd) won the B flight on 19-under as he circled 24 birdies. ... Rory Sabbatini (T3) led the field in Fairways. ... Michigan native Brian Stuard (T5) circled 26 birdies and led the field in Putting. ... Cameron Tringale (T5) sat T2 GIR and T5 Fairways. ... Cameron Champ (T46) sat one off the 36 hole lead. ... Only four rounds above par in the top 41 players.
Recent Event Winners Stats
| Year | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Winnner | Cam Davis | Bryson DeChambeau | Nate Lashley |
| Score | 270 (-18) | 265 (-23) | 263 (-25) |
| MOV | Playoff (5 holes) | 3 | 6 |
| Cut | 3-under | 5-under | 5-under |
| Age | 26 | 26 | 36 |
| Pre Tournament Odds | +10000 | +600 | Field +1000 |
| Disantance - All Drives | 28 | 1 | T53 |
| Driving Accuarcy | T29 | T58 | T11 |
| GIR | T24 | T13 | T4 |
| Ball-Striking | 7 | 16 | T5 |
| Proximity | 67 | 70 | 20 |
| Putting: Birdie or Better % | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| SG: Off-the-Tee | 34 | 1 | T29 |
| SG: Approach-the-Green | 9 | 51 | 6 |
| SG: Around-the-Green | 5 | 26 | 13 |
| SG: Putting | 22 | 1 | 2 |
| SG: Tee-to-Green | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Scrambling | T16 | T29 | 3 |
| Bogey Avoidance | 26 | T13 | 3 |
| Par-3 Scoring | T19 | T55 | T28 |
| Par-4 Scoring | T19 | 1 | 1 |
| Par-5 Scoring | 1 | T2 | T5 |
| Birdies | 23 | 27 | 28 |
| Eagles | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bogeys/Doubles/Others | 7/0/0 | 6/0/0 | 3/0/0 |
| Double Digits Under Par | 37 | 52 | 45 |
| Bogey Free - Rounds | 53 | 39 | 44 |
| Bogey Free - Weekend | 25 | 7 | 13 |
| Scoring Average - Week | 70.551 | 70.051 | 70.113 |
| Difficulty Rank/Played | 40/51 | 38/41 | 42/49 |
Key stat leaders
Top golfers in each statistic on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week;
| Par-5 Scoring | |
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Patrick Cantlay |
| 8 | Max Homa |
| 12 | Maverick McNealy |
| 12 | Mark Hubbard |
| 15 | Si Woo Kim |
| 15 | Sahith Theegala |
| 18 | Cameron Champ |
| 22 | Tony Finau |
| 22 | Russell Henley |
| 22 | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Putting: Birdie or Better Percentage | |
| Rank | Player |
| 3 | Patrick Cantlay |
| 4 | Cameron Young |
| 6 | Vince Whaley |
| 13 | Maverick McNealy |
| 14 | Adam Scott |
| 15 | Jim Knous |
| 16 | Cam Davis |
| 25 | Danny Lee |
| 26 | Davis Riley |
| 27 | Russell Henley |
| 31 | Brandon Hagy |
| Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green | |
| Rank | Player |
| 2 | Will Zalatoris |
| 6 | Luke List |
| 7 | Tony Finau |
| 11 | Chris Kirk |
| 14 | Keegan Bradley |
| 18 | Russell Henley |
| 20 | Max Homa |
| 21 | Cameron Young |
| 26 | Patrick Cantlay |
| 28 | Brendan Steele |