It’s summertime on the PGA TOUR and that means birdies can be picked off by the barrel.
We saw the start of that birdie barrage last week at TPC River Highlands and it should be more of the same as we move over to Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
The Course
Detroit Golf Club returns to host the fifth edition of this event.
Previous winning scores have ranged from 18-under (2021) to 26-under (2022). You certainly need to take it low to contend here on this Donald Ross design.
Glancing at the scorecard, we see a par 72 that stretches to 7,370 yards.
There are four par 4s that play under 400 yards but only two that play over 460 yards. It’s not a course that demands distance by any means, but there are some areas on the course where big hitters can use their power to their advantage. There is also not a large penalty for missing the fairway, relative to the average TOUR stop, which again allows an avenue for big hitters to thrive.
Looking at approach play, golfers will get a lot of wedge opportunities while also attacking from long range a lot. There aren’t a lot of mid-range approaches.
Finding the greens is a relatively easy task with the field averaging around 72 percent GIR at Detroit GC. Last year, we saw 36-of-75 golfers who made the cut go on to land at least 75 percent of greens while only one of them landed fewer than 65 percent.
That ease of landing greens gives a slight bump to putters as the elite putters are now snagging some extra birdies rather than using those putter skills to save pars.
For turf, golfers will see traditional cool-season grasses with bent-poa fairways, Kentucky bluegrass rough, and greens that are poa annua with some bentgrass in the mix, as well.
Course Quotes
Sifting through some past quotes, let’s try to break down the course to see how it will play.
Max Homa in 2022: “It’s the old-school, old-school track, got to drive it straight. Got a bunch of funky putts. It’s poa annua greens, which is home to me.”
Bubba Watson in 2019: “Off the tee’s not too bad, but around the greens and getting the putts, like a lot of breaking putts. So it’s just going to be putting the ball in the right position after your tee shots.”
Bryson DeChambeau in 2020: “I think there’s a lot of bunkers that are around like 290, so hopefully I’ll be able to clear those and take those out of play. So, sorry, Mr. Ross, but, you know, it is what it is.”
Golfers talk about the tricky greens and like Bryson mentioned, there are some hazards that can be cleared if you have the carry distance.
Golfers to Watch
Tony Finau
He’s the defending champion this week at Detroit Golf Club. He’s gained at least two strokes over the field in five of his last six rounds here. Finau limps this week with four straight finishes outside the top 30. A cold putter has been the culprit as he’s lost 14.5 strokes putting in those four events.
Rickie Fowler
He’s on a heater with top 15s in eight of his last nine stroke-play events. His ties to the tourney sponsor have led him to play here in all four editions with a T12 in 2020 and T32 in 2021 being the notable finishes on his tournament resume.
Justin Thomas
He’s been slumping in 2023, by his lofty standards, but popped with a top 10 last week. He accomplished that while losing putting strokes which has been the story all year. He ranks just 151st in strokes gained putting. He’s finished 12th or better in the FedExCup standings in seven straight seasons but currently sits at just 66th. Thomas will need to fix the putting woes.
Ludwig Aberg
The former World No. 1 Amateur has opened his pro career with back-to-back top 25s. The bookmakers are clamping down on any big-price opportunities, starting the week just 14th on the outright odds board (+4100).
Collin Morikawa
It was a rare off-week with the irons for Morikawa last week. He lost strokes on approach for the event which was the first time he did that since the 2022 PLAYERS. We are almost approaching two full seasons of action since he’s reached the winner’s circle. That’s not a long wait for most but feels like forever when you consider his speed of piling up five PGA TOUR wins so shortly after turning pro.
Ranking the Field
1. Tony Finau
2. Rickie Fowler
3. Max Homo
4. Collin Morikawa
5. Sungjae Im
6. Tom Kim
7. Hideki Matsuyama
8. Justin Thomas
9. Keegan Bradley
10. Chris Kirk
11. Brian Harman
12. Adam Hadwin
13. Taylor Moore
14. Justin Suh
15. JJ Spaun
16. Stephan Jaeger
17. Harris English
18. Alex Noren
19. Sam Bennett
20. Thomas Detry