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 - $9.2M
The Preview
Entering just the sixth edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic hosted by Detroit Golf Club, 156 players head to the flattest course on Tour where minimal elevation change combines with favorable scoring conditions to produce what we like to call a "birdie fest." Four of the event's five past champions have reached 23-under-par, and scattered showers throughout Saturday's third round could soften the grounds enough for someone to make a valiant run from further back in the pack Sunday. Triumphant bombers like Bryson DeChambeau have let it fly off the tee in Detroit as driving distance is generally rewarded here, but par-breaking opportunities are converted on the greens, with SG: Putting having the highest correlation to success in what usually becomes a flat-stick contest. Half of Detroit Golf Club's 18 holes lend a birdie rate north of 20 percent, while approach shots are most prevalent from the 75-150 yard range on the par-4s, which helps explain the inflated GIR percentages despite smallish greens.
Recent Champions
2023 - Rickie Fowler
2022 - Tony Finau
2021 - Cam Davis
2020 - Bryson DeChambeau
2019 - Nate Lashley
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Birdie or Better percentage
SG: Putting
Par-5: 550-600 efficiency
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Tom Kim - $38
Although he's coming off a taxing playoff loss at the Travelers Championship as he's set to tee it up for a ninth straight week when he pegs it in Detroit on Thursday, Kim's sub-$40 salary is too affordable to worry about some fatigue narrative for a 22-year-old that's gained an average of 6.4 strokes from tee to green per event throughout his past five outings. He gained 6.3 strokes with his irons en route to a seventh-place finish during his Rocket Mortgage Classic debut in 2022, and he's No. 1 in Birdies or Better Gained over his last 24 rounds.
Akshay Bhatia - $37
He's top-25 on the PGA Tour in both total driving and proximity on approaches from over 100 yards this season, but it was Bhatia's flat stick that guided him to a T5 last week at TPC River Highlands where he racked up 22 total birdies and an eagle while ranking fifth among the field in SG: Putting and 11th in putts per GIR. Additionally, Bhatia is sixth in P5: 550-600 Efficiency over his last 24 rounds, and I like him head-to-head over the similarly priced/popular Min Woo Lee ($36), who carries approach-play concerns.
Glue Guys
Taylor Pendrith - $34
First among this week's field in three-putt avoidance and fifth in SG: Putting over his last 24 rounds, Pendrith has gained at least 2.9 strokes with the putter in six of seven starts dating back to his win at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Albeit a brief two-year stretch, course history is on Pendrith's side as well, given he's a collective 38-under-par here since 2022. He tied for second during his Detroit Golf Club debut after holding at least a share of the lead upon the completion of each of the first three rounds, and he paced the tournament in total birdies with 28 tweeters.
Aaron Rai - $32
Rai has been spectacular from tee to green throughout his last five events dating to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson where he needed to gain only 1.1 strokes putting to secure his fourth-place result. Although the putter typically is Rai's big question mark, he just gained 2.8 strokes on the greens en route to a top-20 at the U.S. Open, and he picked up 2.3 strokes putting in his Rocket Mortgage Classic debut on the way to a T9 here last year.
Maverick McNealy - $31
McNealy is sixth or better in each of Opportunities Gained, Birdies or Better Gained and Par-5 Efficiency over his last 24 rounds, and he just rattled off finishes of T23-T17-T7 from the PGA Championship through the RBC Canadian Open. He gained strokes on the greens in each of his first three visits to Detroit Golf Club, most notably ranking third in SG: Putting at the 2020 RMC. McNealy hasn't lost strokes from tee to green since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February.
Bargain Bin
Daniel Berger - $20
Berger is one of six players in this field to rank top-20 in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach over their last 24 rounds, yet he's remained stuck at the $20 minimum salary on Yahoo all season. He's coming off a top-25 at the U.S. Open where he ranked sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green while gaining a season-high six strokes with his irons, though he's lost a whopping 9.5 strokes putting across his past six rounds. As long as he doesn't have the yips, positive regression is almost a certainty for Berger at that point.
Michael Thorbjornsen - $20
Thorbjornsen, who landed atop the 2024 PGA Tour University rankings, pounded the ball off the tee in his professional debut last week at TPC River Highlands, ranking fourth among the Signature Event field in driving distance. He'll be able to use that length to his advantage on a much greater scale at Detroit Golf Club, creating intrigue from a DFS perspective when it comes to eagle bonuses.
Luke Clanton - $20
The Florida State University phenom and fourth-ranked amateur in the world won three consecutive collegiate events this spring before eventually advancing through to the weekend at the U.S. Open earlier this month where he gained 5.8 strokes with his ball striking, ultimately tying for 41st next to names like Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth. Clanton's outright odds to win this week hover right around 80-1, so the market indicates a dart throw at this $20 salary is just fine, especially if other gamers flock to the aforementioned Thorbjornsen and Neal Shipley down in this range.
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