With the major season officially out of the way, the PGA Tour heads to Detroit, Michigan, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Country Club. The field is headlined by World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay and features a few other big names and up-and-coming superstars. Detroit Country Club is a course usually bested by bombers who can get dialed in on the greens. However, at just 7,350 yards, this par-72 course can be tackled by the guys with a little less distance off the tee. With many pathways to victory at this course, it’s essential to find guys you trust to succeed on the putting surface. Last week our outright winning streak ended after Emiliano Grillo fell just a little short at the 3M Open. This week, we look to start a new one. These outright odds can be found on PointsBet Sportsbook:
Cameron Young to win +2000
This is the first trip to the Detroit Country Club for Young, but he is set up to be a serious force this week. There are many different options when looking for a profile fit at DCC. When building the bomber profile, it’s fun to look at guys like Young, Tony Finau, and Wyndham Clark. The guys who can do what Bryson DeChambeau did here in 2020. He smashed his drives, hit short wedges up, and putt well. Young is deep off the tee hitting his drives 320 yards on average. While he’s been up and down with his putter if his 2nd place finish at the Open indicates where his game is, it’s hard to pass up on Young this week.
Young is looking for his first PGA Tour victory. The PGA Tour rookie already has six top-five finishes, four of which he finished second. He’s been knocking on the door, and much like Scottie Scheffler, when he makes his breakthrough, he will win in bunches. The only weakness in his game right now is the mental aspect. Yet, he fought through adversity at the Open and finished strong. Cameron Smith was just better that day.
Max Homa to win +2500
Backing Homa feels all too familiar. I know I spend hours each week studying golf and building out models. Before I did any modeling for this week’s event, I remembered walking this course. From what I remembered, a guy like Homa feels so right here. Then I built my primary model and set it to the last 24 rounds, and Homa was the highest-ranked golfer.
Homa’s long off the tee, great with his irons and wedges, and is a very good putter. He finished T42 here in 2019 and T25 last season. He played well here last year. He gained +1.9 strokes both off-the-tee and on approach. His scrambling was on point, gaining another 2.2 strokes around the green. It was the flat stick that let him down. I can look past his poor putting here last year because he was in the middle of a terrible putting streak this time last year.
Kevin Kisner to win +3300
If possible, backing a course horse can be fruitful. With back-to-back top 10 finishes, Kisner is the exact definition of a course horse. Unlike Young and Homa, Kisner navigates this course by hitting a bunch of greens in regulation and his superior putting. Kisner’s success here shows that you don’t need to bomb it off the tee to be in contention. Looking back to his T8 last year, he was a menace on the course. He gained +4.1 strokes on approach and another +2.9 putting. If he can repeat that performance this year, there’s no reason he shouldn’t have a legitimate shot at winning.
