The mid-season birdie blitz continues this week as the PGA TOUR heads to Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Played a month earlier than last year’s edition, the course was reported to be playing firmer and faster this time around. However, some pre-tournament rain may have erased some of that firmness.
This par 72 Donald Ross design is going to yield lots of birdies and eagles without the fear of big numbers. Unlike last year, there are very few hazards to find off the tee. The toughest part of the course is probably the tricky green complexes. With low scores expected, let’s have a peek at some historical stats to see who that may suit.
Legends of Going Low
Detroit Golf Club has hosted four editions of the RMC and in three of them the winning score has reached 23-under or lower.
This is a course that just doesn’t surrender many big numbers and if you give the world’s best a course that doesn’t heavily punish mistakes then they will inevitably tear it up.
Some golfers prefer a tough, grind-it-out test that you see in major championships. As you can imagine, it can be mentally challenging when you record a bogey-free, 70 but still get lapped by a quarter of the field. So, what golfers have historically fared well on easier tests?
Here are the top performers in adjusted strokes gained per round on easy courses, over the last two years:
Justin Thomas
Tony Finau
Sungjae Im
Tom Kim
Alex Noren
Hideki Matsuyama
Collin Morikawa
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Tom Hoge
Taylor Moore
Max Homo
Brian Harman
Thomas Detry
Ryan Palmer
Alex Smalley
We can also look at performance versus baseline to see who shows the largest increase in performance compared to their typical scores:
Ryan Palmer
Carson Young
Harry Higgs
Callum Tarren
Ben Griffin
Taylor Moore
Cameron Champ
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Trey Mullinax
Zac Blair
Aaron Baddeley
Austin Eckroat
David Lipsky
Thomas Detry
Tom Hoge
Overlap List: names that show up on both lists include Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Tom Hoge, Taylor Moore, Thomas Detry, and Ryan Palmer.
Taylor Moore to snap his slump in Motown
The 29-year-old became a PGA TOUR winner in March but arrived in the middle of a three-event slump. He’s missed three straight cuts, losing nearly six strokes putting over those six rounds. This week’s course presents a good chance to snap that slide, as he outperforms his baseline on easier courses and he’s proven Detroit GC fits his game with a solo sixth in his 2022 debut.
Buy Low on Bezuidenhout
The South African arrives off a missed cut at the Travelers Championship. On a positive note, he had gained strokes tee-to-green in seven straight events before last week. He’s gained on approach in eight straight events and been positive strokes gained putting in six of his last eight events. That iron and putting combo is great for shootouts, giving him a lot of upside this week.