Two weeks ago at the US Open, Tony Finau made a bold prediction. As Rickie Fowler sat atop the leaderboard at 10 under after 36 holes at Los Angeles County Club, Finau told The Athletic‘s Brendan Quinn, “I think 10 wins it.”
Finau, of course, ended up being right, as Wyndham Clark ended up winning the championship at exactly 10 under.
Now, Finau is making another prediction of sorts.
“We were just talking about it coming up with Jason, the tournament director,” Finau said Tuesday at Detroit Golf Club, where he is set to defend his Rocket Mortgage Classic title. “I think this may be a week where you have to go 30 under because of the conditions being so soft.”
After a soggy week at the Travelers Championship, where Keegan Bradley fired a tournament-record 23 under to win, Finau and his PGA Tour brethren have been welcomed to Detroit by more soft conditions and receptive greens – and a golf course that is already prone to low scores. Finau won this event last year by shooting 26 under while Nate Lashley won the inaugural edition in 2019 at 25 under. Cameron Davis’ 18 under is the highest winning score in four years at Detroit Golf Club.
Full-field tee times from Rocket Mortgage Classic
“Again, I think I’m pretty much calling 30 under this week just because of the conditions,” Finau added, doubling down. “… Both years (2022 and 2019) were pretty soft, but they started to get firm on the weekend because we didn’t experience any rain. It’s a golf course clearly you can score on, so with the conditions, barring any wind, I do think you’re going to have to shoot 28 to 30 under.”