This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit Golf Club - Par 72 - 7,370 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $8.8M
The Preview
Entering just the fifth edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic hosted by Detroit Golf Club, 156 players head to the flattest course on Tour where minimal elevation change combines with favorable scoring conditions to produce what we like to call a "birdie fest" in these streets. The average winning score since 2019 is 23-under-par, and Tony Finau's 26-under tournament record is in jeopardy with scattered showers expected to soften the grounds this weekend. Past champions such as Bryson DeChambeau have let it fly off the tee as driving distance is generally rewarded here, but par-breaking opportunities are converted on the greens, with SG: Putting having the highest correlation to success in what usually becomes a flat-stick contest. Half of Detroit Golf Club's 18 holes lend a birdie rate north of 20 percent, while approach shots are most prevalent from the 75-150 yard range on the par-4s.
Recent Champions
2022 - Tony Finau
2021 - Cam Davis
2020 - Bryson DeChambeau
2019 - Nate Lashley
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Birdie or Better percentage
SG: Putting
Par-5: 550-600 efficiency
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Tony Finau - $45
Scottie Scheffler isn't here this week, but Finau can take his place as the tournament favorite whose elite tee-to-green play is being held back by a shaky putter. Finau ranks fourth on Tour in SG: T2G this season, but he's lost nearly 17 strokes putting throughout his last five starts dating back to the Wells Fargo Championship. However, the defending champion is most comfortable on bentgrass greens, and he picked up 4.5 strokes with the flat stick on the way to his victory in Detroit last year.
Rickie Fowler - $43
Finishing worse than 15th in just one of his last nine starts while ascending to No. 17 in the FedExCup standings, Fowler is making a great case to be included on Team USA's Ryder Cup roster, but securing his first win since 2019 at some point this summer would be the ultimate clincher. Nobody in this week's field has been better in Par-5 Scoring and P5: 550-600 Efficiency over their last 24 rounds, and Fowler also ranks second in Birdies or Better and seventh in proximity from 125 to 150 yards during this stretch.
Hideki Matsuyama - $42
It seems like a lot of folks are ready to crown an identically-priced Tom Kim after making just two straight cuts, but Matsuyama has been trending in the right direction since a fifth-place performance at THE PLAYERS Championship in March, gaining an average of 7.3 strokes from tee to green per event throughout his past seven measured starts. Over his last 36 rounds, Matsuyama also ranks No. 1 in Opportunities Gained, second in SG: Approach and seventh in Good Drives Gained. He posted back-to-back top-25s in his first two Rocket Mortgage Classic appearances, despite losing a collective 1.3 strokes putting.
Glue Guys
Byeong Hun An - $33
Unlikely to be used in stars/scrubs builds and coming off a missed cut at the Travelers, we might get a bit of a rostership discount on An, who's first in SG: Off-the-Tee, second in driving distance and second in Prox: 100-125 over his past 24 rounds. An tied for 13th in the first edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic when he simply putted at a field-average level. He's sixth in DFS scoring over his past 50 rounds, and An's power could lend him several makeable looks at eagle throughout the week.
Austin Eckroat - $29
Eckroat still doesn't eclipse the $30 mark despite racking up five consecutive top-30s from the AT&T Byron Nelson through the Travelers Championship, so we'll continue to ride the affordable momentum as he lands in the No. 3 spot of my custom model this week. He just enjoyed the second-best SG: Putting performance of his career at TPC River Highlands, but he's also ninth in Opportunities Gained over his last 24 rounds. Pairing a hot putter with bunches of scoring opportunities is the recipe for success at Detroit Golf Club.
Alex Smalley - $29
Smalley just finished on the positive side of SG: Putting in back-to-back events for the first time since the fall series, and he was sixth in SG: T2G en route to a ninth-place result at the Travelers where he averaged six birdies per round. He's the only player in this field to rank top-15 in each of SG: APP, SG: OTT and Good Drives Gained over his last 24 rounds.
Bargain Bin
Doug Ghim - $21
A missed cut at the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic was the inception of a tailspin for Ghim's game that lasted from August through February, but he's now posted four consecutive top-30s from the Wells Fargo Championship to the Travelers where he ranked sixth in SG: OTT and played his final 54 holes in 14-under-par. Ghim has gained an average of eight strokes from tee to green per event throughout these four recent outings, and he's No. 1 in SG: OTT over his last 12 rounds.
Carson Young - $21
Third in both SG: Putting and Birdies or Better Gained over his past 24 rounds, Young owns five top-25 finishes in eight starts dating back to the RBC Heritage, gaining strokes with the flat stick in all eight tournaments and with his irons in all but one. Within the 24-round sample, he's also top-20 in Par-5 Scoring and P5: 550-600 Efficiency despite below-average distance off the tee.
Ludvig Aberg - $20
Ahead of the Travelers Championship last week, I warned it might be the final chance to snipe Aberg near the $20 minimum salary, but we've been given another opportunity here despite the 2023 Haskins Award winner notching back-to-back top-25s to begin his professional career. Throughout his first eight rounds as a pro, Aberg sits No. 1 in SG: Off-the-Tee and fifth in driving distance, but he even gained a combined 4.9 strokes on and around the greens in Connecticut. His ownership should start to catch up but Aberg could crush the par-5s at Detroit Golf Club this week, providing even more upside from a DFS scoring perspective.
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