This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
Rocket Classic
Course: Detroit Golf Club (7,370 yards, par 72)
Purse: $9,600,000
Winner: $1,728,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
With the last signature event of 2025 in the books and just one more major remaining as well, the Rocket Classic really brings the race to the FedExCup Playoffs into focus. It's one of four remaining 156-player fields that features only PGA Tour players along with the John Deere Classic (July 3-6), the 3M Open (July 24-27) and the Wyndham Championship (July 31-August 3) before the top 70 players are finalized for the first playoff event in Memphis. These events typically feature less of the top players, who prioritize the Scottish Open and Open Championship. It usually allows for some names we often don't hear a whole lot from to put in a strong performance and make a move in the FedExCup standings.
A prime example of that was last year when Cam Davis won the Rocket Classic for the second time in his career (2021). Prior to that victory, Davis had a best finish of T12, but his victory and the 500 FedExCup points that came with it helped him make it all the way to the BMW Championship, ensuring that Davis would take part in all the signature events in 2025. This year Davis has had somewhat of a similar season, but he did log a T5 in a signature event, and with the added FEC points in those events it leaves him a solid 54th in the standings at this point.
If the playoffs started today Karl Vilips would get the final spot with Erik van Rooyen as the first man out. There are a number of notables on the outside looking in at this point including Matt Fitzpatrick (74th), Wyndham Clark (75th), Rasmus Hojgaard (76th), Adam Scott (80th), Tom Kim (84th) and Max Homa (116th). There's certainly still chances to change that, but now is the time you want to start putting things together. As mentioned the Rocket Classic, John Deere Classic, 3M Open and Wyndham Championship are all pretty similar tests that asks players to take it low. Because of that, we've seen plenty of players get hot in this stretch and completely reshape their seasons.
The Detroit Golf Club is a classic Donald Ross design that has been on the PGA Tour calendar since 2019. This will be the last year before the club undergoes a $16.1 million renovation project that will include all new greens. There's not a whole lot the agronomy crew will be able to do to defend this course from the PGA Tour's best, but they will certainly try to pull out all the stops with everything getting torn up after this tournament concludes. I wouldn't expect anyone to challenge Tony Finau's 26-under-par record score he set back in 2022 when he won by five shots. That said, the winning score has been at least 18-under in all six editions and that could certainly be hit again for a seventh straight year.
It's summer storm season and there's a decent chance that play could get halted at some point for some afternoon electricity. It'll be a hot week in Detroit with temperatures reaching the upper-80s in most of the four tournament rounds. Winds will be manageable from the south and west throughout the week. Expect the strongest gusts to be felt in Friday's second round. Overall, we should see a lot of bombs off the tees at Detroit GC, and birdies and eagles flying per usual in this event.
Recent Champions
2024 - Cam Davis (-18)
2023 - Rickie Fowler (-24)
2022 - Tony Finau (-26)
2021 - Cam Davis (-18)
2020 - Bryson DeChambeau (-23)
2019 - Nate Lashley (-25)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance
- Par 5 Scoring
Champion's Profile
Detroit Golf Club features a lot of variety in the hole lengths. There are four par-4s that check in at under 400 yards and four par-4s over 450 yards. There are a pair of par-3s in the 160-yard range and a pair that can play well over 200 yards. Lastly, there are a trio of par-5s that should be reachable by most players in the field and then the par-5 4th which can stretch to over 630 yards. All that to say, we should see a lot of different clubs used on approach this week. The soft greens should allow for the longer clubs to stop on the greens, but players will need to be wary of putting too much spin on some of the shorter wedge shots.
This will be a shootout more than likely, which means that we can use the formula of hitting greens and sinking putts to lead us. This will be a hard tournament to have an off-putting week and still be in the mix to win. The good news is that much like last week at TPC River Highlands, if you're putting yourself in the right quadrants of the green on approach, you more than likely will have a pretty straightforward putt. Bombers still deserve some respect at this venue, as the fairways are pretty generous and many of the top finishers through the years here are known for their length. It will also be important for players to take advantage of the par-5s, and the longer hitters are more likely to have some decent eagle chances.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Ben Griffin ($11,600)
Griffin's T14 last week at the Travelers Championship made it five straight top-15 finishes. During that span he has gained strokes in every category at each of those five tournaments, except around the greens last week in Hartford. Griffin has made the third-most birdies on the PGA Tour this season and should be able to run that up in Detroit. He is now top-35 in SG: Approach, GIR percentage and SG: Putting. Would anyone really be surprised this week if Griffin added a third win in 2025?
Harry Hall ($11,200)
No player on the PGA Tour has made more birdies this season than Hall. A big reason for that is his ability on the greens where he sits second in SG: Putting and second in putts per GIR. Hall has also made strides in his approach play of late which is a big part of the reason he is on a streak of five straight top-25s and ten straight made cuts. The Englishman is the perfect type of DFS player because of his ability to make birdies in bunches and now he's gettin the consistent results to go with it.
Keith Mitchell ($11,000)
Mitchell has hit a bit of a wall in these last three starts since posting five straight top-20s. That said, Detroit GC should be an excellent spot for him to get back into contention. Mitchell is sixth in SG: Off-the-Tee, eighth in driving distance and 22nd in GIR percentage. He is also fourth on Tour in birdie average, fifth in par-4 scoring and third in par-5 scoring. Mitchell hasn't lost strokes on approach in an event since PGA National in early March.
The Middle Tier
Alex Smalley ($9,900)
Believe it or not Smalley is fourth this season in SG: Total, sitting above a lot of heavy hitters. He is inside the top-50 of every strokes gained category including sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green. Smalley is also second in total driving, 24th in GIR percentage, 16th in scrambling and second in par-4 scoring average. He will be gunning for his ninth top-25 of 2025 in Detroit, and I would be surprised if he wasn't in the mix come the weekend.
Thorbjorn Olesen ($9,800)
Olesen is a very well-rounded player who is inside the top-80 in every strokes gained category this season. He is 22nd in total driving, 20th in SG: Putting and 15th in par-5 scoring, all of which fit Detroit GC very well. Olesen has posted a pair of top-5s this season, and given his power and putting combination, I would expect him to have a good chance at a third this week.
Victor Perez ($9,300)
Perez's ball striking combined with his ability to pop on the greens makes him a high-upside option with a solid floor this week. The Frenchman ranks 15th in total driving, 24th in SG: Approach and eighth in GIR percentage this season. He has also gone positive in true strokes gained on the greens in eight of his last 10 starts. Perez collected his best finish of the season at the RBC Canadian Open with a T9 and followed that up with a T19 at the U.S. Open. I could see him bettering both of those in Detroit.
The Long Shots
Matt McCarty ($8,400)
McCarty has been up-and-down this season, but he seems to be coming around in his rookie campaign. He now has five top-20s in his last ten starts, including a T4 in Canada. McCarty is a good driver and ranks 29th in SG: Putting and 23rd in putts per round this season. He also sits 32nd in birdie average and has gained strokes on approach in 8-of-11 starts.
Max McGreevy ($8,200)
McGreevy is not far away from putting it all together and posting a strong result. He ranks 32nd in both SG: Off-the-Tee and total driving, and is 43rd in SG: Approach while leading the PGA Tour in proximity from 100-125 yards. McGreevy is also 15th in par-5 BOB%, which will certainly help with four gettable ones on tap at Detroit GC. He's really one good putting week from his second top-10 of the season.
Jeremy Paul ($7,800)
Paul is certainly qualifies as a boom-or-bust player, but the questions that Detroit GC asks is what should fit his skillsets. Paul ranks 23rd in driving distance, 41st in GIR percentage, 43rd in putts per GIR and fifth in par-5 scoring. He's posted five top-25s so far this season and should have a great shot at another one at this venue.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
With no Scottie Scheffler in the field I'd expect pretty spread out ownership among the top options this week. Collin Morikawa ($12,000) and Patrick Cantlay ($11,800) should lead the way, but neither has been consistent on the greens of late and it's going to be hard to justify that price tag without doing so. I didn't mention a whole lot about course history and that's because this week it's pretty meaningless. The setup at Detroit GC is straightforward and there's really no tricks. The guys who have quality current form tend to do well here year over year rather than it being a horses for courses type of venue. Longer hitters who are trending on approach and with the putter are going to be the ideal player we are seeking here.
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