Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: Rocket Classic

Rocket Classic

Detroit Golf Club
Detroit, MI

The PGA Tour heads to Detroit, MI for another edition of the Rocket Classic.

It's not often that a non-signature event turns into something much more, but that's exactly what happened this past weekend at the 3M Open.

What started as an apparent easy ride for Scottie Scheffler turned into what could be the start of something big for Jackson Koivun. Koivun is the much-heralded rookie from Auburn who entered the PGA Tour a few weeks ago with a lot of fanfare. It's safe to say that at this point, he's lived up to it. It's not just that he's already won a PGA Tour event, but it's how he did it and who he beat that is getting the golf world excited and when I say they are excited, I mean they are really excited, but we'll get to that in a bit, for now, let's look at what he accomplished on Sunday.

Koivun, as a rookie, accomplished something on Sunday that many hardened vets have failed to do on the PGA Tour this season and that's to simply hold a lead. Koivun entered Sunday with a big lead, one which most golfers might be looking ahead to the finish line instead of dealing with the task at hand, and maybe that was the difference on Sunday. Instead of trying to hold onto the lead, he played his game as long as he could and saved the holding on for the final hole. Koivun had every opportunity to crack and honestly, no one would have blamed him if he let a hard charging Scheffler overtake him, but that's not what happened, not even in the least. Koivun not only held onto the lead, but he kept everyone at arm's length all day. It was an impressive display all week, but most notably, on Sunday and that's why everyone seems to be so excited about Koivun.

Koivun is not the first rookie to make his mark soon after turning pro however. We've seen this before, new kid comes in with a lot of hype and plays well early, only to fade away or crash in the weeks, months, and years after. It's one thing to play well early in your career, it's another to keep that level for a long period of time. It's way too early to know how Koivun's story will play out, but we can safely say that we couldn't have asked for much more out of the gate. Talk of Presidents Cup teams and even Ryder Cup teams seem premature, especially the latter because we're over a year away, but I wouldn't  be surprised to see it happen, we just need to see how he handles his success. The separator between good and great has always been the space between the ears and even though it looks like this kid has "it", we need to see it play out.

Regarding the Presidents Cup, I'm not sure where I fall on that. This is not the Ryder Cup, the U.S. team dominates the Presidents Cup, so it's not like they need their best players present. With that in mind, I think that there are others that deserve an opportunity, but from a marketing perspective, I think you put him on the team, especially because this event, unlike the Ryder Cup, struggles to gain much attention and getting eyeballs on the next big thing would be a smart move. Whatever they decide, I'll be fine with, Koivun looks like the real deal, but by the time the Presidents Cup rolls around, he'll have been a professional for just a few months. 

Enough on Koivun, I'm sure there's going to be plenty of opportunities to talk about him in the future, for now we're looking at the closing stretch to the regular season, of which there are only two events left before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs.

This week we're in Detroit for the Rocket Classic. This will be the 8th Rocket Classic, all played on the same course, so we have plenty of course history.

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FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 7:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Cameron Young (17-2) 

The biggest names are absent this week, so that leaves the favorite status to Young. I don't recall Young being in this spot too often over the past year, so this could be a new experience for Young. Young has had an interesting season, he's posted two big wins and earned nearly $14 million already, but he's also had some lows. He recently had a run of four consecutive starts without a top-25, but he put an end to that at the Open Championship, where he finished runner-up. With his form back, he looks like a serious threat this week as he's played well on this course in the past. Young has two top-10s in three starts here, including a T2 in 2022.  

Chris Gotterup (18-1)

There are some big names in the field this week, so Gotterup's placement as the third-favorite goes to show all he's accomplished over the past 12 months. It was just over 12 months ago that most of the golfing world had no idea who this guy was, but four wins later and we all know his name. Gotterup posted career best numbers this past year and all he's done this year is obliterate those numbers. His form looks good entering this week as he's landed in the top-20 in each of his past three starts. The only issue this week is his track record here, which is not very good. He's made the cut in each of his three starts here, but he hasn't done much on the weekend.      

Jackson Koivun (20-1)

Koivun certainly didn't start with these odds when they first came out, but he's been bet up to this number after his win this past week at the 3M. I'm not sure what to think about that however as this is all happening pretty fast. My eyes tell me he's the real deal and I could not have been more impressed with how he handled himself down the stretch on Sunday, but history tells us that it's not going to be that easy going forward. Koivun has already gone from the kid with potential, to the next big thing and that can really affect one's mentality. I'm not going to doubt him at this point, but I'm also not willing to put money on another win quite yet. If he does happen to win this week though, look out,  because we're going to see a lot of lofty predictions for his future.

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Jake Knapp (25-1)

Six months ago, Knapp was the "next big thing" on the PGA Tour. It shows you how fast things can change if you don't keep the pace. Knapp had an injury set back that he's just now pulling out of. Not only did Knapp miss time due to this injury, but he's struggled in his return as well, missing three cuts in six starts since the Masters, but it looks like he's ready to get back to his early season form just in time of the playoffs. Knapp finished T13 this past week at the 3M Open, but more importantly, he closed with a round of 62. It's easy to put too much stock into one round, but we've been waiting for his form to come back for months now, so you'll have to excuse us if we're excited. Knapp has a decent track record here as well, which should help his cause. He finished T4 here this past year.      

J.J. Spaun (30-1)

Spaun was coming off a career year entering this season, and while he hasn't come close to the heights of this past season, he has fared pretty well. His overall numbers aren't great, but he did pick up a win in early April at the Valero. The reason he caught my eye this week is his track record here, which isn't great, but it's been consistently good. It's not that he has a lot of high-end finishes here, but he's played this event six times and never finished worse than T33. That tells me that he has a feel for this course, he just hasn't had everything click in the same week. If he does happen to get all phases going early this week, he could find win No. 2.  

Akshay Bhatia (35-1)

This is a bit of a flyer here because there isn't a lot on paper to like about Bhatia this week, but I think he's going to fare better this week because he's finally up against a field that isn't stacked. Bhatia has been playing signature events and majors this season, but not much else and perhaps getting a bit of a break in the strength of his competition will do wonders. That isn't the only reason to like him his week though, he did post a runner-up here in 2024.  

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LONG SHOTS

Davis Thompson (55-1)             

Don't let this past week fool you. These non-signature events usually produce a surprise winner, so even though the favorite finishes runner-up and the hyped rookie won, that isn't the norm with these types of events. With that in mind, I'm going deep to find my longshots this week. I was a little surprised that Thompson didn't have longer odds this week, but he is coming off a good week at the 3M, which undoubtedly lowered his odds this week. Thompson is having a rough season, but he's coming off a top-10 this past week and he has won on the PGA Tour before. He also has a decent track record here, with four cuts in four starts and a runner-up showing in 2024.

Chris Kirk (125-1)          

Kirk has had an absolutely dreadful season, but there's reason for optimism this week. Kirk has spent much of the past five seasons hovering around the top-50 in the season ending FedEx standings, but unless he makes some hay, and fast, he's going to land outside the top-125 this season. There's no two ways about it, Kirk has played terribly this season, but he's returning to a site this week where he's had plenty of success and perhaps that's what he needs to snap out of it. Kirk has finished inside the top-25 here in five of six starts, including this past year when he finished runner-up at this event.          

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Jackson Koivun – I know OAD players aren't normally fond of using the winner from the week prior, but I think a lot of them will make an exception this week. There are three playoff events at the end of the season and I'm guessing that most OAD players have those events mapped out already, which means that a guy like Koivun is looking like a pretty good option considering that he's no lock to be in the final two playoff events. It's a bit of a stretch to think he could win again this week, but he doesn't have to win in this format to pay off, he just needs to somewhat resemble the guy from TPC Twin Cities and that should be good enough for a top-5.

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Jake Knapp – Even though he hasn't accomplished much over the past few months, Knapp's start to the season put him in a good spot for the playoffs, however, he's not locked into the final event yet, so he'll need to get something done over the next few weeks to earn a spot. With that in mind, there might not be a better spot down the stretch to use Knapp than this week. It's a bit of a gamble considering his overall form over the past few months, but if he did turn a corner at the 3M Open, then he could be dangerous this week.   

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Chris Kirk– It's seems weird to say that a guy outside the top-125 on the FedEx list has a high floor this week, but I think that's the case as Kirk has never really played poorly here. His worst finish was a T44 in 2024, but outside of that, he's been pretty productive here. The problem of course is his form this season, but getting back to a familiar course can sometimes kickstart a golfer. It's certainly a risk, but if you're looking to gain some ground this week, I'm fairly sure that no one else in your league will be on Kirk.   

Buyer Beware: Xander Schauffele – I always worry about motivation at events like this. Why is this person playing here? Much like Scheffler this past week, I think Schauffele is in Detroit to avoid taking three consecutive weeks off prior to the FedEx playoffs. That doesn't necessarily mean that he'll fare poorly, heck, Scheffler almost won this past week, but when a golfer is clearly using an event just to stay sharp, I wonder about his drive. Sure, everyone wants to win every time out, but there are a lot of quality players in the field that definitely want to be here and have plenty of experience on this course while Schauffele will be playing it for the first time this week.

My Pick: Jackson Koivun – I had the wrong Jackson (Suber) this past week, but I'm hoping to right that wrong this week. I realize that Koivun will likely be a popular play, but I'm running out of time to use him and I'm not sure I'm comfortable playing him in the playoffs just yet. It's one thing to win the 3M Open, it's another to do it against a stacked field. Yes, I realize that he fended off the best player on the planet in Minnesota, but outside of Scheffler, there wasn't a lot to be worried about. Koivun gets another fairly light field to work against in Detroit, and if he keeps his head, he should be able to contend again. I realize it's a big ask to play well the week after his first win, but if he's truly special, then maybe he continues this roll he's on.           

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Cameron Young($12,600)
Middle Range: Jake Knapp ($10,600)
Lower Range: Nico Echavarria ($8,700)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: J.J. Spaun – I just realize that I had already used Tony Finau in this format prior to this past week, so I should not have listed him in this spot. The funny thing is, Finau broke my previous streak of 5 when I used him earlier and he also broke my current streak of six when I used him this past week. He's the Survivor killer for sure. I'll make sure not to use him again this season and perhaps never again. As for this week, as much as I like Kirk in the OAD format, he's simply to risky to use in this format. Spaun is a much safer play as he's played this event six times and has yet to miss a cut. Unlike Kirk though, Spaun's form looks good entering this week.       

Previous Results