The second edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic gets underway at the Detroit Golf Club on Thursday. With FedEx points on the line after golf’s unscheduled hiatus, we should have a much stronger field in 2020 than last year when the inaugural tournament was won by Nate Lashley.
USAbetting is going into this event on the back of a great win last time out as Dustin Johnson came home by one shot in the Travelers Championship. By delivering at odds of +2500 (25/1), DJ continued a strong run of betting picks for us, so let’s see if we can keep that going up in the Motor City.
With a number of top players taking a break after three consecutive weeks of action, Bryson DeChambeau has emerged as the clear +650 (13/2) favorite with the main trusted U.S. oddssetters on the Rocket Mortgage Classic betting lines. While he hasn’t quite got over the line since golf returned to the fairways, The Scientist has finished inside the top 10 on his last three starts, culminating in a tie for sixth on Sunday.
A starting position of third in the Power Rankings suggests that DeChambeau may not have the stats this week but he is the form golfer and a worthy favorite.
Behind the outright favorite, FedEx Cup leader Webb Simpson (+1100 or 11/1 with Bovada betting site) follows in a clear second place. Simpson was a top 10 pick for us as he won the RBC Heritage and is an obvious option for success once again.
The man who tops those Power Rankings is the 12/1 third favorite, Tyrrell Hatton. The Englishman finished two shots behind Simpson at Harbour Town and has yet to be consistent on the PGA Tour but his Stats are phenomenal. Hatton ranks first in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and second in Strokes Gained: Putting. Those numbers may well be relevant in Detroit.
Also in this section of the odds, between 18/1 and 25/1, are Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im. Hovland (20/1) finished in a tie for 11th on Sunday but led the field in that potentially crucial stat of Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. Unlike many players at the top of the market, Reed featured in the Rocket Mortgage Classic last year and a tie for fifth leaves him in good shape for 2020.
A subdued run of form leaves Rickie Fowler (28/1) leading the outsiders this week at some tempting odds. A missed cut at the RBC Heritage last time out highlights his season but he is too good a player to be out of contention for long. Tony Finau is at a similar price and in similar form to Fowler while Scottie Scheffler and Bubba Watson can also be threats in a weaker field.
One of our regular favorites for top 10 finishes is Brandt Snedeker (40/1) who lurks at the outer reaches of the Power Rankings for the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Sneds tied for fifth, along with Reed, last year and looked in reasonable touch around TPC River Highlands.
Other names to consider from the outside bunch include Kevin Na, Rory Sabattini, Jason Day, Adam Hadwin, Keegan Bradley and Kevin Kisner. Sabattini (50/1) could be particularly interesting after his tie for third last year in a performance that led the field in par 5 scoring and fairways hit.
As for the defending champion, Nate Lashley romped home by six strokes in 2019 but he’s out at +15000 (150/1) with some sportsbooks for a successful defense. Lashley may not make it two in a row but he can surely tell us what’s needed to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Our Preview’s 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic Picks & Betting Predictions Verdict with Course Trends
The Detroit Golf Club offers up a Par 72 with some reasonable length at a fraction under 7,300 yards. Power Hitting can be an advantage in places, particularly at the 635-yard Par 5 fourth where only four eagles were recorded last year. Conditions are expected to be hot and dry with little or no wind to interfere across the four days.
As for Nate Lashley’s winning stats, he returned a solid, all-round performance, sinking the fewest putts and ranking fourth in Greens in Regulation. The Champion also ranked third in scrambling and third in strokes gained: putting.
It could all come down to a battle with the flatstick but those are good stats to interpret and make our picks. As for the winner, this Rocket Mortgage Classic preview is going to stick with a theory that turned out to be profitable last week. Dustin Johnson was out at +2500 last week after form and fitness concerns, but he won’t remain at such a high price moving forward.
Similarly, Rickie Fowler will be back in the winner’s enclosure at some stage. He is in worse form than Johnson was and at a higher price but, in a weaker field this week, he should have the confidence to surge up the leaderboard.
Viktor Hovland aside, our picks this week are at higher odds but each player has the quality to convert. We just need form to improve but with several big names absent at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, USAbetting is confident of extending our own winning run. These are our Rocket Mortgage Classic predictions against the bookies:
- Bet on Rickie Fowler to win @ +2800 (28/1) with Bovada, Bookmaker, Betonline and Intertops.
- Take Brandt Snedeker, Keegan Bradley & Viktor Hovland for top 10 finishes with Bovada or Betonline when odds are available.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.