Now two events removed from Cameron Smith capturing the Claret Jug at famed St. Andrews, the PGA Tour heads to their only Michigan-based event, the Rocket Mortgage Classic, at Detroit Golf Club.
Last year’s event was memorable, as two of the players who made the three-man playoff dueled for five extra holes before Australia’s Cam Davis claimed his first career Tour title.
It may feel like a bit of a lull from The Open until the FedExCup Playoffs, but there is some star power in this week’s field, and a surprising number of players who have been at the top of their game. It also contains a lot of players in the “soooo close to their first Tour win” category.
With just a few weeks left of jostling in the FedExCup standings before the playoffs begin, anyone would be foolish to overlook this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in the story of the 2022 season.
Here are the players we like the most this week at Detroit Golf Club:
15. Callum Tarren
He ranks barely outside the top 300 in the OWGR and doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page (yet), but the 31-year-old Brit has found his game clicking recently, as a T7 at last week’s 3M Open, which including a second-round 63, was his second top-10 and third result of T22 or better in his last four starts. He also played very well in three of four rounds at last month’s U.S. Open. His career turnaround as of late has been dramatic.
Odds Rank: T33
Odds To Win: 80-1
World Rank: 303rd
Last Six: 7, 22, MC, 6, MC, 31
14. Brendan Steele
On the cusp of 40, Steele missed five cuts in a row over January and February but has more than found the better version of his game again, making eight cuts in a row before missing the weekend at last week’s 3M Open. Prior to TPC Twin Cities, he had three top-10s in his previous five starts and has been consistently excellent off the tees. He has been better than expected in bigger events, with results of T13 or better at THE PLAYERS, the PGA Championship, and The Memorial Tournament.
Odds Rank: T25
Odds To Win: 66-1
World Rank: 113th
Last Six: MC, 25, 10, 9, MC, 31
13. Maverick McNealy
The Stanford University product has been up-and-down in 2022 but looks like he’s about ready to contend again for his first career Tour title, playing a three-event stretch in T8-T16-T9 before a forgettable outing in Minnesota a week ago. McNealy has consistently played on the weekend, missing just four cuts in 24 starts, and he has too much talent to not win soon. This has been a plus event for him, as he chased a T8 in 2020 with a T21 in 2021.
Odds Rank: T11
Odds To Win: 40-1
World Rank: 73rd
Last Six: 49, 9, 16, 8, MC, MC
12. Adam Hadwin
The Canadian finished fourth at Detroit Golf Club two years ago and was one of just a small handful of players shoot in the 60s all four rounds. Touting one of the game’s better short games, Hadwin has made 17 of 23 cuts on the season, including five top-10s. He even contended through Sunday at last month’s U.S. Open. He finished strongly at TPC Twin Cities last week, shooting a final-round 67 to give himself some momentum for this week.
Odds Rank: T11
Odds To Win: 40-1
World Rank: 85th
Last Six: 38, MC, 7, 35, 18, 71
11. Webb Simpson
It seems crazy that the seven-time Tour champion now ranks outside the top 70 in the OWGR, but while his results have been lacking, he is still performing well statistically, and that kind of thing tends to not stay anomalous for long. With three missed cuts in his last four starts, Webb currently sits at 125th in the FedExCup standings, so he should have a little extra motivation this week. He was T8 here three years ago after opening 68-64 to propel to the top of the early leaderboard.
Odds Rank: T11
Odds To Win: 40-1
World Rank: 72nd
Last Six: MC, MC, 13, MC, 27, 20
10. Keegan Bradley
Do not look too much into Bradley’s awful last two starts on Tour, which were both overseas links golf events. It probably did not help his confidence much, but before leaving the U.S., he had made 14 of his previous 15 cuts, with top-five finishes at THE PLAYERS Championship, the Zurich Classic, and the Wells Fargo Championship, the last of which he was T2. Bradley currently ranks 14th on Tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green and has even been a plus with his putter this year, a club that has long been his Achilles heel. He finished T14 at last year’s event, closing with three consecutive 68s.
Odds Rank: T11
Odds To Win: 40-1
World Rank: 46th
Last Six: MC, MC, 19, 7, 37, 48
9. Cam Davis
The defending champion outlasted Troy Merritt in a five-hole playoff, showing incredible nerves in notching his first career victory. The Aussie had a difficult start to the season, but has found a groove as of late, making his last seven cuts and recording four top-10s in his last nine starts. He was T16 at the 3M last week, with his 20 birdies tying for fourth in the field.
Odds Rank: 6th
Odds To Win: 28-1
World Rank: 71st
Last Six: 16, 6, 8, 56, 53, 7
8. Denny McCarthy
An absolute magician with a putter in his hands, McCarthy looks very close to notching his first Tour win, arriving in Detroit with top-7s in three of his last four starts. It would be unfair to expect his long game to catch his marvelous short game, but he has improved as of late off the tees as well. McCarthy shot four rounds in the 60s when he finished T21 three years ago. Many would be surprised to learn that he has the 14th best scoring average on Tour.
Odds Rank: T11
Odds To Win: 40-1
World Rank: 87th
Last Six: 6, MC, 7, 5, 27, 48
7. Kevin Kisner
Short and accurate off the tees and spectacular on the greens, it has been a typical season for the world No. 27 Kisner, who has five top 10s on the 2022 season. He recently emerged from a slump of five consecutive missed cuts with a T6 at last month’s Travelers Championship and a T21 at The Open Championship, where he went 70-65-70 after a tough start. The four-time Tour winner has shown a great level of comfort at Detroit Golf Club, following up a T3 in 2020 with a T8 a year ago.
Odds Rank: T7
Odds To Win: 33-1
World Rank: 27th
Last Six: 21, 6, MC, MC, MC, MC
6. Adam Scott
The 42-year-old 14-time champion looks like a bit of an odd addition to the field, given he has not played this event before and tends to be pretty choosy with what tournaments to play at this point in his career, but he is set to compete, and he plans to contend. Scott has missed just two cuts in 15 starts this season and is coming off two consecutive top-15s: a T14 at the U.S. Open and a T15 at The Open Championship. This will be just the second non-major he has played in the past 2.5 months, and we suspect he will be extraordinarily relaxed. A good result would do wonders for his chances of making a deep run in the FedExCup playoffs. He currently ranks 77th.
Odds Rank: T7
Odds To Win: 33-1
World Rank: 27th
Last Six: 21, 6, MC, MC, MC, MC
5. Max Homa
At No. 20 in the world rankings, Homa is the last of five top-20 players in attendance at Detroit Golf Club this week. It has been an unforgettable season for the well-liked 31-year-old, who has two wins on the season and ranks 11th in the FedExCup standings. We are still looking for Homa’s first time in major contention, but this week’s event in no way resembles a major, so there is little reason to not expect him to be a factor through the weekend. He ranks well in the positive in all six strokes gained categories, as is in the top 20 in four of them. An advantage Homa has over the other big-name players is that he has actually played this event twice, even though he did not finish particularly great either time (T47. T25).
Odds Rank: 5th
Odds To Win: 20-1
World Rank: 20th
Last Six: MC, 16, 47, 5, 23, 13
4. Tony Finau
It cannot really be argued that Finau got considerable help last week from Scott Piercy at the 3M Open, as an absolute Piercy back-nine implosion gave an extremely unlikely opening. However, the way Finau took advantage of his opportunity was valiant, as a 4-under 67 gave him a three-stroke victory, his third win on Tour. That makes two wins over the past year for Finau, who has now unequivocally shed the reputation he had developed as someone who could not close. Can he make it back-to-back weeks? With this field, it is certainly possible, especially if his tee-to-green game is anywhere in the realm of spectacular that it was at TPC Twin Cities, where he gained more than six strokes to the field tee-to-green on both Thursday and Saturday.
Odds Rank: T2
Odds To Win: 14-1
World Rank: 16th
Last Six: 1, 28, 13, MC, 2, 4
3. Cameron Young
The last time we saw the 25-year-old rookie sensation Young, he carded an incredible eagle-2 at the par 4 18th hole at St. Andrews to finish solo-second at The Open Championship, an event he led after the first round. That makes four silver medals on the season for Young, who also has two third-place finishes. A win in Detroit, which would be his first career victory, would cement his season as one of the best rookie campaigns in recent memory. Ranking second on Tour in strokes gained: off-the-tee, there are few players who look like a bigger threat this week.
Odds Rank: 4th
Odds To Win: 16-1
World Rank: 19th
Last Six: 2, MC, MC, 60, 3, 2
2. Patrick Cantlay
The highest-ranked player in this week’s field is the world No. 4 Cantlay who is arriving at Detroit in sizzling form. His T8 two weeks ago at The Open Championship was his seventh top-15 in his last eight starts, with five of those being top-10s. The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year will be disappointed that he has to wait until next April for his next chance at a first career major tournament, but he has put himself in excellent position to defend his FedExCup title (currently ranked sixth), and at fourth on Tour in birdie average he is among those best suited to conquer this course.
Odds Rank: 1st
Odds To Win: 10-1
World Rank: 4th
Last Six: 8, 4, 13, 14, 3, MC
1. Will Zalatoris
The inevitable first Tour victory for the big-game hunter Zalatoris spanned past the major championship season, but it has been an incredible sophomore campaign for the 25-year-old, who has three runner-ups among eight top-10s, with two of those runner-ups coming in majors. Having his first win on Tour in a smaller event like this would feel anticlimactic, but since this isn’t a movie, there is no reason to discount the possibility. At world No. 13, Zalatoris is the second highest-ranked player in the field and he should be confident and motivated to end his early career 0-for.
Odds Rank: T2
Odds To Win: 14-1
World Rank: 13th
Last Six: 28, MC, 2, 5, MC, 2
Next Five: Chesson Hadley, Chris Kirk, Kevin Streelman, Joohyung Kim, Rickie Fowler
