This week, the PGA TOUR delivers the third ever Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club (par 72, 7,370 yards). Donald Ross designed this par 72 and the first two Rocket Mortgage Classic champions have been Nate Lashley (-25) in 2019 and then Bryson DeChambeau (-23) last season. As you can see from these numbers, Detroit Golf Club isn’t challenging in any way for these TOUR pros, and with a solid forecast projected for the four days of this event, another very low winning score is inevitable this week. Both short and longer hitters can succeed at Detroit Golf Club, and this event should come down to who can capitalize the most on these easy par 5s and catch fire on these Poa/Bentgrass greens. For a more in-depth course breakdown of Detroit Golf Club and to see three of my favorite bets on the DraftKings Sportsbook for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, be sure to check out my Best Bets article. Below, I switch over to the DFS side of things and have featured my three favorite GPP pivots of the week, for each price range.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st]
$10,000+ Range
Projected Popular Golfer: Bryson DeChambeau ($11,400)
Pivot: Will Zalatoris ($10,000)
As the massive favorite on the DraftKings Sportsbook and the defending champ, DeChambeau is rightfully so going to be very chalky this week. Zalatoris, on the other hand, is expected to be the least popular option of the five players priced at $10K or more. Pivoting to the 24-year-old and building more of a balanced lineup is surely going to be contrarian, and there is a ton of optimism for Zalatoris in his first attempt in Detroit.
He missed the cut at the U.S. Open, but this was all due to some poor putting. Despite losing strokes with his flat stick, Zalatoris still gained strokes T2G, on APP and OTT at the South Course, and this was just the fourth time he has failed to proceed to the weekend in 21 starts this season. The Wake Forest product has carded a notable seven top 10s this year, and despite the speed bump at Torrey Pines, Zalatoris ranks fourth in SGT2G, seventh in SG OTT and third in GIR across his past 12 rounds. Lastly, without a doubt, the budding star is at his best on par 72s. In his past five starts on this course type, Zalatoris has finished inside the top 10 on three occasions.
$8,000 to $10,000 Range
Projected Popular Golfer: Jason Kokrak ($9,500)
Pivot: Sungjae Im ($9,300)
With so much attention coming his way, Kokrak is an easy fade for me this week. Yes, he finished T29th at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic and did make 13 straight cuts before missing the weekend at the U.S. Open, but he was simply terrible at that major. Kokrak produced positive strokes on the greens at the South Course, but was negative in every other major category, including a staggering -5.5 SGT2G. Expecting him to instantly bounce back as a ball-striker is rather unreasonable, and I prefer to roll the dice on a low-owned Im, whose game is currently trending in the right direction.
After missing back-to-back cuts, the South Korean has successfully made his past two. He only finished T35 at both events, but Im struck the ball very well in each start, producing an average of 3.5 ST2G and 3.75 SG APP. Assuming he can maintain this form, Im has excellent upside this weekend if he can find some rhythm with his putter. He is 2/2 at Detroit Golf Club, with a T21st in 2019. Additionally in this range, Jason Day ($8,900) is an elite GPP target. He is attempting to move back into the top 50 in the world rankings to secure himself an invitation to the Open Championship in two weeks and is projected for single-digit ownership, despite carding a T10 at the Travelers this past weekend.
$7,000 to $8,000 Range
Projected Popular Golfer: Doc Redman ($7,900)
Pivot: Kyle Stanley ($7,600)
Redman is a strong value at this salary, but there many other intriguing options in this price range to consider this week, particularly Stanley. From T2G, there are not many players in better form right now than the 33-year-old. Over his last 24 rounds, Stanley ranks fifth in SG APP, sixth in SGT2G and 10th in GIR. This has translated to him competing on the weekend at six of his last seven tournaments, with three finishes inside the top 30 during this run, most notably a T8 at the Charles Schwab Championship. However, Stanley’s putter has kept him out of contention, ranking 130th in SGP in his previous 24 rounds.
He generated positive strokes on the greens at Detroit Golf Club during his T21st finish in 2019, and if Stanley can somehow manage to accomplish this again, a top-10 finish isn’t out of the question.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st]
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