PGA Tour Picks: Rocket Mortgage Classic

By Tom LaMarre

The PGA Tour returns to Michigan this week for the first time since 2009, and Gary Woodland makes his return too, playing for the first time since claiming his initial major title two weeks ago in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

The inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic will be played on the North Course at Detroit Golf Club http://Detroitgolfclub.org, designed by legendary Donald Ross.

“I can’t wait to get to Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic,” said Rickie Fowler, who claimed his fifth PGA Tour victory earlier this season in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

“The city is known for being one of the country’s best sports towns with some of the most passionate fans around. The fans can expect to see some really good golf. I know there will be a huge turnout, which will be an incredible opportunity to showcase the great revitalization that is taking place in Detroit to thousands of fans.”

Also in the field, in addition to Woodland (pictured), are Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Stewart Cink, Rory Sabbatini, Jason Dufner, Ernie Els, Charley Hoffman, Brandt Snedeker, Harris English, Billy Horschel, J.B. Holmes, Martin Laird, Ryan Moore, Nick Watney and Chez Reavie, who won the Travelers Championship on Sunday.

Joining them are Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff and Justin Suh – amateur stars who recently turned pro.

The Buick Open was a fixture on the PGA Tour years at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Mich., starting in 1958 and running until 2009, other than a gap from 1970-76—when five unofficial events were played.

Billy Casper won the first Buick Open and Tiger Woods claimed the last, winning the event for a third time to tie the tournament record for titles held by Vijay Singh.

Other winners included Tony Lema, Julius Boros, Art Wall Jr., Tom Weiskopf, Jack Burke Jr., Phil Rodgers, Dave Hill, Hale Irwin, Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry and Justin Leonard.

So Michigan isn’t trying to start a new golf tradition, but rekindle an old one.

BEST BETS

1. Gary Woodland, United States – If he can come back to earth quickly after claiming his first major title two weeks ago in the U.S. Open, Woodland could be right there again in Detroit. He also has eight top-10 finishes this season, including seconds in the CJ Cup and the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and a tie for sixth in the PGA Championship.
2. Dustin Johnson, United States – DJ has cooled off since tying for second in the Masters and finishing second in the PGA Championship, tying for 20th in the RBC Canadian Open and tying for 35th in the U.S. Open in his last two starts. Johnson has seven top-10 finishes this season, including his 20th PGA Tour victory in WGC-Mexico.
3. Hideki Matsuyama, Japan – Even though Matsuyama hasn’t won since claiming three of his five PGA Tour titles in 2017, he has eight top-25 finishes this season, including four in a row. Those include a solo sixth in the Memorial, a tie for 16th in the PGA Championship and a tie for 21st in the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Pebble Beach.
4. Rickie Fowler, United States – Falling out of the top 10 in the World Golf Rankings should give Rickie plenty of incentive to regain the form that took him to his fifth victory on the PGA Tour earlier this year in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. That’s one of his five top-10 finishes this season, including a tie for second in the Honda Classic.
5. Chez Reavie, United States – After claiming his first victory in nearly 11 years last week in the Travelers Championship, Reavie is right back at it in the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He has finished in the top 25 in five of his last six outings, including a tie for third in the U.S. Open. Reavie also tied for third in Sony and tied for fourth in Phoenix.
6. Sungjae Im, South Korea – The 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie, who won twice on what was the Web.com Tour last year, has recorded six finishes in the top 10 and 11 in the top 25 on the big tour this season. Im’s best results were a tie for third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and ties for fourth in the Valspar Championship and Safeway Open.
7. Kevin Kisner, United States – Following a slump after his third PGA Tour victory earlier this season in the WGC-Dell Match Play and a tie for fifth with Scott Brown in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Kisner seemed to find his game again with a tie for 15th last week in the Travelers. He also tied for seventh early this season in the RSM Classic.
8. Kevin Streelman, United States – Although the two-time PGA Tour winner has not claimed a victory since the 2014 Travelers, Streelman recently tied for 15th in the Travelers and finished solo fourth in the Memorial Tournament. He also was sixth in the RBC Heritage and Valero Texas Open this season, and tied for seventh at Pebble Beach.
9. Sung Kang, South Korea – Despite not playing well in his two starts since winning the AT&T Byron Nelson and finishing seventh in the PGA Championship, Kang showed he might be ready to snap out of it when he opened with a 68 in the Travelers before fading. A two-time winner on the Korean Tour, he has recorded four top-10 finishes this season.
10. Ryan Moore, United States – While finishing in a tie for 15th in the Travelers last week, Moore showed the form that has taken him to five PGA Tour victories, especially when he shot 64 in the second round. He has been close to winning No. 6 twice this season, tying for second in the Safeway Open and finishing solo third in the Texas Open.

 OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH – Brandt Snedeker, United States; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; Bubba Watson, United States; Rory Sabbatini, Slovakia; Kyoung-Hoon Lee, South Korea.

SLEEPERS

1. Joaquin Niemann, Chile – The former No. 1 amateur in the word closed with a 66 to finish T-5 in the Travelers. Niemann, 20, had four top-10 results on PGA Tour last year.
2. Zack Sucher, United States – Playing for the first time on the PGA Tour in two years after ankle/knee surgery, Sucher led the Travelers after two rounds and finished T-2.
3. Viktor Hovland, Norway – In his first pro start after being low amateur in the Masters and U.S. Open, Hovland played well before a closing 73 left in a T-51 in the Travelers.
4. Alex Prugh, United States – Carded four scores in the 60s to finish solo 20th in the Travelers, one week after he posted best major finish, a T-21 in the U.S. Open at Pebble.
5. Seamus Power, Ireland – A three-time winner on the lower pro tours, Power has four finishes in the top 20 on the PGA Tour this season, including a T-6 in the RBC Heritage.

For first-round tee times visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html