This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit Golf Club - Par 72 - 7,370 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $7.5M
The Preview
Although a lackluster field heads to the Detroit Golf Club with the Open Championship now just two weeks out, there surely won't be a lack of tweeters, as the leaders this week likely flirt with a winning score in the 25-under territory.
An abundance of par-breaker opportunities combined with a plethora of no-names gives the Rocket Mortgage Classic a Korn Ferry Tour feel, but we're due for the thrill of a potential first-time champion after Kramer Hickok was robbed of such glory upon his playoff loss to Harris English at TPC River Highlands last week.
The Detroit Golf Club encourages plenty of driver-wedge, as driving distance and GIR percentage metrics are extremely inflated here compared to the average Tour stop. Rain might also arrive during Thursday's first round and soften the course before a heat wave rolls in Sunday.
Recent Champions
2020 - Bryson DeChambeau
2019 - Nate Lashley
Key Stats to Victory
Birdie or Better Percentage
Proximity: 75-150 yards
Par-5 Scoring
SG: Putting
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Bryson DeChambeau - $50
As the defending champion's betting odds settle around the heavy favorite mark of +750 to win this week, DeChambeau also earns the top salary on Yahoo by $3 over Webb Simpson and a distant $6 above Joaquin Niemann. En route to his three-shot victory here in 2020, DeChambeau led the entire field in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Putting while racking up 27 total birdies and an eagle. Aside from Patrick Reed, DeChambeau is the only representative from the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in attendance, and DeChambeau's length lends him an obvious advantage on a layout that allows him plenty of wedges into small greens.
Jason Kokrak - $38
Kokrak's sub-$40 salary is both a gift and a curse, as pairing him with the aforementioned DeChambeau likely becomes a fairly popular play thanks to the former's affordability. Nonetheless, Kokrak is fifth in SG: Putting, sixth in SG: Off-the-Tee and seventh in SG: Approach over his last 24 rounds. This recent sample size includes his two-stroke win over Jordan Spieth at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but Kokrak also posted a top-30 during his Detroit Golf Club debut in 2019.
Glue Guys
Kevin Kisner - $34
One of the best putters in the field, Kisner gained seven strokes with the flat stick on the way to his top-5 result at the Travelers Championship last week. He enjoyed similar success on the greens here at the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he tied for first-round leader honors before eventually finishing solo-third on the leaderboard and T4 in putting average. Kisner lacks power off the tee, but he figures to keep the ball in the fairway at an elite rate and he's sixth on Tour in putting from inside 10 feet.
Doc Redman - $34
Redman has gained strokes both on his approach shots and with the putter in all five of the starts that make up an ongoing made-cut streak that extends back to a T9 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He also mixed in a T2 at the Palmetto Championship where he gained 5.8 strokes with his irons and a career-best 4.9 strokes around the green. Redman's course history at the Detroit Golf Club is also admirable, earning runner-up honors here in 2019 before adding another top-25 last year. Over his past 24 rounds, Redman ranks fourth in Prox: 75-100, 22nd in Prox: 100-125 and 19th in Prox: 125-150 yards.
Bargain Bin
Sepp Straka - $25
For the first time since March's Honda Classic, Straka gained strokes on his approach shots at last week's Travelers Championship as he picked up 5.4 shots with his iron play en route to his third top-10 of the season. Throughout his 2020-21 campaign, Straka ranks inside the top-quartile on Tour in driving distance, GIR percentage, birdie average and proximity from 100-125 yards. He won't necessarily be a "sleeper," however, given he owns a pair of top-11 performances in the first two editions of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Chez Reavie - $25
Reavie paces this week's field in proximity from 125-150 yards over his last 24 rounds, a stretch that has included three straight top-40s from the Palmetto Championship through the Travelers and one that follows a string of six consecutive missed cuts. The putter has been lousy, but he's gained at least 5.7 strokes from tee to green in each of his last three starts, so it'd be the perfect storm if he's able to pair quality ball-striking with a bit of positive regression on the greens in Detroit.
Kyle Stanley - $23
Stanley comes in at fourth in overall proximity and fifth in SG: Approach over his past 24 rounds, but much like Reavie, the putter has failed him. Stanley has gained 5.5 strokes or more on his approach shots in three of four starts dating to a T26 at the Wells Fargo Championship, which preceded a top-10 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He's made five cuts in a row since the Valspar Championship and he placed T21 here at the Detroit Golf Club in 2019.
