19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic betting preview: Min Woo ready to cook in Detroit

Published

3 weeks ago

Jun 24, 2024

For the sixth consecutive year, the PGA TOUR heads to Detroit Golf Club to play the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

A Donald Ross design, Detroit Golf Club features a 7,370-yard par 72 layout. The course is extremely flat throughout and has Bentgrass greens. The front and back nines present quite differently, with the front being tree-lined and the back having a wide-open setup.

The event will likely be a low-scoring affair considering the course has offered very little in terms of resistance with four of the five winners here producing a winning score of -23 or better.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic is scheduled to play host to 156 entrants, including twelve of the top 50 players in the OWGR. Cameron Young, Akshay Bhatia, Will Zalatoris, Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee will be among those in attendance.

Past Winners at Rocket Mortgage Classic

2023: Rickie Fowler (-24)
2022: Tony Finau (-26)
2021: Cameron Davis (-18)
2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-23)
2019: Nate Lashley (-25)

Key Stats For Detroit Golf Club

Let’s take a look at five key metrics for Detroit Golf Club to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Off The Tee

Most of the holes on the back nine at Detroit Golf Club are wide open, which really favors the big hitters. Players who fit that mold like Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Wolff, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Davis and Tony Finau have had plenty of success at the course.

SG: OTT Over Past 24 Rounds

Min Woo Lee (+0.99)
Kevin Yu (+0.94)
Kevin Dougherty (+0.91)
Keith Mitchell (+0.87)
Richard Hoey (+0.81)

Strokes Gained: Approach

Using approach in our statistics will be a good indicator of current form, as it almost always is. At a course where most golfers will be playing from the fairway, proximity to the hole will be the separator.

Strokes Gained: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Aaron Rai (+0.73)
Keith Mitchell (+0.73)
Patton Kizzire (+0.73)
Lanto Griffin (+0.71)
Daniel Berger (+0.70)

Par 5 Scoring Average

With four par 5s on the course that average under par, taking advantage of these easy holes will be a requirement to contend.

Par 5 Scoring Average Past 24 rounds:

Sam Stevens (4.42
Wesley Bryan (4.45)
Ryan McCormick (4.46)
S.H. Kim (4.48)
Aaron Rai (4.46)

Birdie or Better Percentage

The Rocket Mortgage Classic will most certainly be a “birdie-fest” this year. It will take birdies (and potentially, a few eagles) in bunches to win this week.

Birdie or Better Percentage Over Past 24 Rounds

Ben Griffin (25.2%)
Jacob Bridgeman (23.8%)
Wesley Bryan (+23.8%)
Justin Lower (+23.6%)
Patton Kizzire (+23.6%)

Strokes Gained: Total Donald Ross Designs

Detroit Golf Club is a Donald Ross design. Many golfers who play Ross designs well do so on a regular basis.

SG: Donald Ross Over Past 36 Rounds

Min Woo Lee (+1.74)
Cam Davis (+1.67)
Eric Cole (+1.65)
Taylor Pendrith (+1.52)
Tom Kim (+1.39)

The Rocket Mortgage Classic Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the six key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: OTT (25%), SG: Approach (22%), Birdie or Better (20%), Par 5 (16.9%), and SG: Donald Ross (17.2%).

Davis Thompson
Aaron Rai
Ben Griffin
Lanto Griffin
Taylor Pendrith
Keith Mitchell
Maverick McNealy
Tom Kim
Bud Cauley
Daniel Berger

2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic Picks

Min Woo Lee +2000 (DraftKings):

Min Woo Lee came into 2024 with high expectations but only has one top-20 finish this season. Despite not contending much, Min Woo has been playing some extremely consistent golf over the past two months. In his past six starts, Lee has yet to finish outside of the top-26.

Although he’s yet to play the course, Detroit Golf Club should be a logical fit for the 25-year-old. Players who bomb the ball such as Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, Tony Finau and Taylor Pendrith have found great success at the course, and Min Woo is a similar type of player off the tee. He’s struggled with certain areas of his game, but off the tee has never been one of those areas. Lee has gained strokes on the field off the tee in every single event this season. In his last 24 rounds, the Australian ranks 2nd in the field in Driving Distance and 1st in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.

In addition to being long and straight off the tee, Lee is a fantastic putter. He’s gained strokes putting in five consecutive events, including more than four strokes at the PGA Championship on his way to a T26 finish.

Min Woo can finish the season strong and get his first career PGA Tour win in a weak field this week in Detroit.

Maverick McNealy +3000 (DraftKings):

I’ve been waiting for a spot to bet Maverick McNealy all season and this finally feels like the right time to pull the trigger. McNealy has shown flashes of form all year long but has starting to ramp it up since the PGA Championship.

McNealy finished T23 at Valhalla, T17 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and T7 at the RBC Canadian Open. McNealy has spent time working with Butch Harmon in 2024 and the work is seemingly paying dividends. Mav remains one of the best putters on the planet but his ball striking has now improved drastically. He’s gained strokes on approach in four of his past starts and has gained strokes off the tee in eight of his last ten.

Over the years, we’ve seen shorter hitters with strong short games such as Troy Merritt and Adam Hadwin go toe to toe with the bombers on the leaderboard and McNealy fits the mold as the type of player who can contend by way of his short game. He missed the cut at Detroit Golf Club last year but finished T8 in 2020 and T21 in 2021.

McNealy was once regarded as a “can’t miss” prospect. The 2015 Haskins Award winner is still only 28 and a win this week would be a giant step in getting closer to realizing his potential in professional golf.

Matt Wallace +6500 (DraftKings):

Matt Wallace has been playing extremely well of late. Last week, the Englishman finished 15th at the KLM Open on the DP World Tour. Prior to that, he made five straight cuts on the PGA Tour, with a 4th place finish at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson among those results.

Wallace has played well at Detroit Golf Club over his three trips to the course. He finished T12 in 2020 and T10 in 2022 prior to a 78th place finish last season. This is a low scoring event that can turn into a putting contest and the 34-year-old is a good putter who can have really hot weeks on the greens.

In his last 24 rounds, Wallace ranks 19th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 22nd in Par 5 Scoring Average and 19th in Birdie or Better Percentage.

I believe the experience of Wallace could come into play if he gets in contention in a weak field down the stretch.

Alejandro Tosti +11000 (FanDuel):

Alejandro Tosti possesses one of the major attributes that’s been successful at Detroit Golf Club: He hits the ball a long way off the tee. In his last 24 rounds, the Argentine ranks 5th in the field in Driving Distance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.

Tosti hasn’t yet played Detroit Golf Club, but he certainly seems to be a strong fit for the course. He’s been having a solid season and finished T17 in his most recent start at the Charles Schwab Challenge. In the start, he gained 6.92 strokes on approach, which is the most he’s ever gained on the PGA Tour in his career.

The 28-year-old is yet to win on Tour but is an intriguing talent with an interesting personality that could be entertaining if he gets into the mix over the weekend.

Cameron Champ +15000 (FanDuel):

There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that Cameron Champ has been absolutely horrendous over the course of the 2024 golf season. He’s missed ten cuts in thirteen start and is yet to finish in the top-20 of the leaderboard in the three events where he’s actually played the weekend.

Despite being in poor form, Champ has shown in the past he can win golf tournaments on the PGA Tour. He’s also had strong finishes at times in his career when entering the event not playing well, provided the golf course suits him. In his past 24 rounds, Champ still ranks 1st in Driving Distance and 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. Due to his special ability to hit the driver, Detroit Golf Club is, in theory, a place Champ could flash that high-end skill he possesses. He’s finished in the top-20 in two of his five starts at the course with his best finish coming in 2020 (T12).

There has been some leaderboard correlation with the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the 3M Open, which Champ won back in 2021. It’s more likely than not that Champ plays poorly once again this week, but this is a flier on a player who holds win equity in a weaker PGA Tour field.

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19th Hole

Rory McIlroy admits he was left in ‘disbelief’ by Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup appointment

Published

2 days ago

Jul 12, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

On Monday, the world of golf was put into collective disbelief when Keegan Bradley was appointed as the 2025 United States team Ryder Cup captain. The vast majority of fans and media lauded the choice, but it was a surprising one, nonetheless.

During his pre-tournament press conference, Rory McIlroy, who was the leading point scorer in the 2023 Ryder Cup, was asked for his thoughts on the Bradley appointment.

“I think it has come as a surprise for everyone. We had dinner in London on Sunday night with Luke [Donald], and he told us then.

“Its’ an interesting appointment. The youngest captain since Arnold Palmer I think was a playing captain as 34. But he knows Bethpage very well. He went to university in the area. He’s obviously very passionate about the Ryder Cup.

‘It’s certainly a departure from what the US have done over the last few years, and time will tell if that’s a good thing or not.”

When he was asked how the room reacted while the European team was out to dinner, he said “disbelief.”

“I think disbelief, probably. I think Keegan was probably in disbelief, at some point, too, but it’s certainly an interesting pick.”

McIlroy got off to a hot start at the Scottish Open, where he is the defending champion. He will have to chase down Ludvig Aberg, who is leading after he completed his first 36 holes.

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19th Hole

‘The rules need to be enforced’ – Nelly Korda on slow play on the LPGA Tour

Published

2 days ago

Jul 12, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

Slow play has once again become a topic of discussion in professional golf. Earlier this week, LIV Golf’s Thomas Pieters said he believes players on the DP World Tour are “cheating” due to the fact that they are knowingly taking more time to hit their shots than the rules allow.

It’s in the R&A’s rule book how much time you can take so in my eyes they are cheating.. ?????

— Thomas Pieters (@Thomas_Pieters) July 7, 2024

Yesterday, LPGA Tour superstar, Nelly Korda, spoke on the subject of slow play as well.

The 25-year-old is preparing for the Evian Championship this week, where Carlota Ciganda was disqualified last year for slow play.

After last year’s event, Nelly supported the decision that led to Ciganda’s disqualification.

“I really like Carlota. She’s a great person. I enjoy playing with her. I am a fast player, but I would say at the end of the day the rules of golf are the rules of golf, and it’s good that it’s being enforced.”

This week at her pre-tournament press conference, she doubled down on her stance.

“If I was a spectator and I was out here for five-and-a-half hours to six hours, you know, it’s tough to watch. You want to watch a sport that’s continuously moving and not continuously stalling. I would say I think it’s really important for the rules officials to enforce the rules of golf.”

“I just think the faster people play is better for the game,” Korda said. “The rules need to be enforced and we have seen that. I think the LPGA Tour is doing a better job. I still think there is some room for improvement, and it’s going to be better for the game of golf if there aren’t three groups on one hole.

“I know there is tough golf courses and conditions too that you need to take into account. But at the end of the day, the more we improve the pace of play the more people are going to be interested in watching, coming out and not just watching on TV.”

Korda comes into the major championship missing her last three cuts after winning six of eight events to start the season.