A full field of players travel to Detroit as the race to the FedEx Cup Playoffs heats up
Jun 25, 2024
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10:40 am ET
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A full field of players will make the trip up to Detroit, Michigan, for the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic on the heels of the final signature event on the PGA Tour playing calendar. Heading to Detroit Golf Club for only the sixth time, the PGA Tour has crowned heart-warming victors in its half decade in the Motor City.
Last season, it was Rickie Fowler who made his long-awaited return to the winner’s circle. Getting the better of Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a playoff at 24 under, the fan favorite captured his sixth victory on the PGA Tour and first in just a little over four years.
Fowler seeks to defend his title this week and is joined in the field by the man who nearly won last week’s Travelers Championship — Tom Kim. The 22-year-old is continuing his busy summer schedule playing for the ninth consecutive week on the PGA Tour. Falling just short of Scottie Scheffler in Cromwell, Connecticut, Kim appears primed to capture his fourth PGA Tour win this week.
Alongside Kim in that final group Sunday was another 22-year-old in Akshay Bhatia. Like Kim, Bhatia sees no reason to rest and will play in his eighth straight tournament this week. A winner already this year in San Antonio, the lengthy left hander continues to make weekly strides with his game.
Will Zalatoris flashed some brilliance at TPC River Highlands, as did fellow Wake Forest alum Cameron Young, who carded just the 13th sub-60 round on the PGA Tour with his 59 on Saturday. Young, who is still seeking his first win on the PGA Tour, hopes to keep the momentum rolling in Detroit alongside the likes of Min Woo Lee, Alex Noren, Stephan Jaeger and Keith Mitchell.
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic schedule
Dates: June 27-30
Location: Detroit Golf Club — Detroit, Michigan
Par: 72 | Yardage: 7,370
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic field, odds
Tom Kim (12-1): He hasn’t taken a week off since the end of April, and why should he as Kim is starting to play some of the best golf of his season. After a somewhat forgettable beginning to his 2024 that included just one top 20, Kim has factored a few times over the last four weeks. He nearly tracked down Robert MacIntyre on the final day at the Canadian Open, was in the mix before a poor weekend at the U.S. Open and led for nearly all of the Travelers Championship only to lose in a playoff to Scheffler. He’s striking the ball as well as ever and starting to make putts on a consistent basis.Cameron Young (14-1): Young’s season has been boom-or-bust as he has five top-10 finishes including last week at the Travelers Championship. Arriving at TPC River Highlands having not cracked the top 30 in nearly two months, Young fired the round of the year on Saturday with his 11-under 59. He appeared destined to post something similar on Sunday when he opened with four straight birdies, but some back-nine mistakes were ultimately his undoing. Perhaps his weekend performance is the only runway he needs to contend again this week as he finished runner-up in his only showing in Detroit in 2022.Min Woo Lee (18-1): Lee’s first full season on the PGA Tour has been defined by a lot of good — but not great — golf. The electric Australian, fresh off qualifying for the Olympics, has five straight top-26 finishes to his name including three in the three major championships. During that same span, however, Lee doesn’t have a top-20 result to boast. He continues to drive the cover off the golf ball and is making a ton of putts, but he will need his iron play to take a step this week if he is to win for the first time on tour.Akshay Bhatia (20-1): Bhatia admitted he may have fallen into a lull after winning the Texas Open in early April, and his results were indicative of that. Without a top-40 finish in the month of May, the two-time winner rediscovered his footing in June with quality outings at the Memorial and U.S. Open before factoring at the Travelers Championship. During this stretch, Bhatia has been pushing the envelope off the tee while finding fairways consistently. He continues to wield the broomstick effectively, but similar to Lee, the iron play has room for improvement.Stephan Jaeger (25-1)Alex Noren (28-1)Maverick McNealy (28-1)Taylor Pendrith (30-1)Aaron Rai (30-1)Will Zalatoris (33-1): After a hot start to his Travelers Championship, Zalatoris regressed over the final three rounds and finished outside the top half of the 70-man field. In fact, the wiry right hander has not finished inside the top 40 since his top-10 finish at the Masters in early April. Zalatoris continues to grind on his game, but that early season form that produced runs at the Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational is nowhere to be seen.Keith Mitchell (33-1)
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic expert picks
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