There indeed is only one way… TO ROCK
Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit Golf Club
Detroit, Michigan
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Mike Glasscott: Rocket Mortgage Classic Tips
Win: Akshay Bhatia (20/1), Taylor Pendrith (28/1)
Top 10: Aaron Rai (15/4), Matt Wallace (11/2), Stephan Jaeger (16/5)
Top 20: Chandler Phillips (17/4), Troy Merritt (19/4), Jackson Koivun (11/2)
Mike Glasscott: Rocket Mortgage Classic Tips
Win: Akshay Bhatia (20/1), Taylor Pendrith (28/1)
Top 10: Aaron Rai (15/4), Matt Wallace (11/2), Stephan Jaeger (16/5)
Top 20: Chandler Phillips (17/4), Troy Merritt (19/4), Jackson Koivun (11/2)
NOW PLAYING: Rocket Mortgage Classic
| Host Course | Detroit Golf Club |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,370 |
| Par: | 72 (36-36). |
| Greens: | Bent/Poa at 5,150 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | Pushing 12 feet. |
| Rough: | Kentucky Bluegrass at four inches and growing. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 87/1/1. |
| Architect(s): | Donald Ross (1916). |
| Defending Champion: | Rickie Fowler |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. |
| Course Record | 63; Multiple players. Stephan Jaeger Round 4 2023. |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record: | 262; Tony Finau (-26, 2022). |
| Facts of the Week: | Second of four Donald Ross designs used on TOUR for 2024. |
Detroit Golf Club
The Donald Ross design from 1916 has survived the test of time but will be restored after the tournament ends next summer. Using 17 holes from the North Course and just one from the South Course, the composite course, a standard Par-72, plays 7,370 yards and has been turned over in four of five previous editions.
| Previous Winners | Score | Par | Yards | Rank | Avg |
| 2023 Rickie Fowler* | -24 | 72 | 7,370 | 49 | 69.919 |
| 2022 Tony Finau | -26 | 72 | 7,370 | 38 | 70.397 |
| 2021 Cam Davis* | -18 | 72 | 7,370 | 40 | 70.551 |
| 2020 Bryson DeChambeau | -23 | 72 | 7,340 | 40 | 70.051 |
| 2019 Nate Lashley | -25 | 72 | 7,340 | 42 | 70.113 |
Winner in a playoff is indicated with * – Italics = not entered this week
When the wind doesn’t blow, the soft, receptive greens, sloped from back to front in classic Ross style, can be had putting from below the hole.
Last year, the Par-5 holes produced birdies just over 50 percent of the time.
Half of the Par-4 holes measure less than 425 yards and can be attacked with wedges.
Only two of the four Par-3 holes measure over 200 yards. The other two are less than 175 yards.
The major defense is rough, four inches and growing of lush, wet, Kentucky Bluegrass, and any wind that will stymie iron play into the Bent/Poa mixed greens, smallish on average at 5,150 square feet.
There is only one water penalty area, and 87 bunkers slow down the scoring.
The course record is 63, last set in 2023 by Stephan Jaeger in Round 4. He is one of nine players to share the lowest round. 2019 winner Nate Lashley posted 63 twice during his march to a six-shot win.
Recent Winners
2023 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| Sentry Tournament of Champions | Jon Rahm |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Si Woo Kim |
| The AMERICAN EXPRESS | Jon Rahm (2) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Max Homa (2) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Scottie Scheffler |
| The Genesis Invitational | Jon Rahm (3) |
| The Honda Classic | Chris Kirk |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Taylor Moore (first TOUR win) |
| Corales Puntacana | Matt Wallace (first TOUR win) |
| WGC – Dell Technologies MP | Sam Burns |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners |
| Masters | Jon Rahm (4) |
| RBC Heritage | Matt Fitzpatrick |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each) |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau (2) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win) |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | Jason Day |
| PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Emiliano Grillo |
| Memorial | Viktor Hovland |
| RBC Canadian Open | Nick Taylor |
| U.S. Open | Wyndham Clark (2) |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley (2) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Rickie Fowler |
| John Deere Classic | Sepp Straka |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| The Open Championship | Brian Harman |
| 3M Open | Lee Hodges (first TOUR win) |
| Wyndham Championship | Lucas Glover |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Lucas Glover (2) |
| BMW Championship | Viktor Hovland (2) |
| TOUR Championship | Viktor Hovland (3) |
| Fortinet Championship | Sahith Theegala |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Luke List |
| Shriners Children’s Open | Tom Kim |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Collin Morikawa |
| World Wide Technology | Erik van Rooyen |
| Butterfield Bermuda | Camilo Villegas |
| The RSM Classic | Ludvig Aberg |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
Rocket Mortgage Classic
The sixth consecutive event at Detroit Golf Club, three of the five previous winners are teeing it up this week.
Five previous tournaments have crowned five different winners and two were 100-1 or better before the event.
After three consecutive weeks of Signature Event-Major Championship-Signature Event, the field of 156 players includes just 10 of the 50 in the Official World Golf rankings, led by No. 16 Tom Kim.
The field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. The highest cut in the previous five events is three-under par 141.
Australian Cam Davis is the only international winner.
All five winners have ranked in the top 5 in Par-5 scoring and posted 23 or more birdies.
First-time winners include Davis and Lashley.
The winner will take home 500 FedExCup points plus $1.656 million from the $9.2 million purse.
There are only six weeks left to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs!
Recent Winners – Rocket Mortgage Classic
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2023 | Rickie Fowler (-24*) | Defeated Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa, both not entered, in a playoff to win for the first time in four years. |
| 2022 | Tony Finau (-26) | Winning by five shots, he set the tournament scoring record and won for the second consecutive week on TOUR. |
| 2021 | Cam Davis (-18*) | Defeated Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann in a playoff to win for the first time on TOUR. |
| 2020 | Bryson DeChambeau (-23) | Won by three shots and was five clear of Kevin Kisner in third place. |
| 2019 | Nate Lashley (-25) | Set the course record of 63 twice, in Rounds 1 and 3, and won by six. |
One and Done
I’ll be joining Spotter’s game again this season. Now, where did I put my checkbook…
35 events.
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
Add up the total money and Spotter is yer uncle!
| Event | Selection | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Collin Morikawa | 690,500 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Corey Conners | 18,592 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | 310,800 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Jason Day | 0 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Jordan Spieth | 70,125 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Matt Fitzpatrick | 156,200 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Max Homa | 329,000 |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau | 145,125 |
| Cognizant Classic | Russell Henley | 32,850 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler | 4,000,000 |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Will Zalatoris | 0 |
| Valspar Championship | Sam Burns | 0 |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Wyndham Clark | 54,418 |
| Valero Texas Open | C Bezuidenhout | 67,735 |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy | 175,500 |
| RBC Heritage | Patrick Cantlay | 1,160,000 |
| Zurich Classic | Nick Taylor | 122,375 |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Stephan Jaeger | 112,100 |
| Myrtle Beach Classic | Daniel Berger | 20,350 |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Sahith Theegala | 47,000 |
| 106th PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka | 113,962 |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Taylor Moore | 0 |
| RBC Canadian Open | Mackenzie Hughes | 295,316 |
| 49th Memorial Tournament | Ben An | 200,200 |
| 124th United States Open | Xander Schauffele | 639,289 |
| Travelers Championship | Brian Harman | 520,000 |
| Total Winnings: | 9,281,437 |
His game has more fun stuff to it. Reach out @A340Spotter on Twitter or A340Spotter@frontier.com for more details and to join.
Recapping Last Week – Travelers Championship
The final Signature Event!
MY CHOICE: Brian Harman – T9
When you are as bad as I am, you play the SAFEST play, not the guy you believe will win.
I hate this game.
There are two theories this week. Play the hot guys or play guys who didn’t have to grind all four rounds in 90-plus-degree temperatures at Pinehurst.
To reinforce how low one must go at Travelers, Harman posted all four rounds in the 60s, played the weekend 65-62, and barely hit the top 10. His round of 62 on Sunday was not even the lowest recorded. Sepp Straka took that honor with 61.
Here are the winners from the Signature Events:
Chris Kirks (Sentry)
Wyndham Clark (Pebble Beach)
Hideki Matsuyama (Genesis)
Scottie Scheffler (Arnold Palmer)
Scottie Scheffler (RBC Heritage)
Rory McIlroy (Wells Fargo)
Scottie Scheffler (Memorial)
Scottie Scheffler (Travelers)
Pretty dominant by the OWGR No. 1
Others to Consider (from who I have available):
Hideki Matsuyama: I can’t argue his form or course form. Last time he played three weeks in a row he cashed T71. The fourth week in a row? He won The Genesis Invitational. Posting all four rounds in the 60s was good enough for T23.
Ludvig Aberg: At some point, I’ll pull the trigger. Some will argue it should be this week. I’m pointing to the demanding TPC Southwind in the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs. The ol’ 62-71 weekend ain’t gonna cut it here. T27.
Justin Thomas: Saving him for the hottest dog days of summer. One shot better than Harman and almost $200 grand wealthier. Sad! T5.
Tommy Fleetwood: Passport events only. All four rounds of 67 or better was good enough for 15th.
Keegan Bradley: The defending champion usually plays well in this part of the world. I will not talk you out of playing him, but nobody has defended the title here since Mickelson in 2001-02. T39 and Mickelson is the only player to successfully defend the title this century.
Sepp Straka: Too many good results in too many big events. All he needed was 61 on Sunday to crack the top 25! T23.
This Week – Rocket Mortgage Classic
Welcome back to the rank and file!
Those not eligible for the Signature Events or did not qualify for the U.S. Open have had three weeks off to tune up their games for the six-week run-in that starts in Detroit.
Remember, only the top 70 qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs.
MY CHOICE: Akshay Bhatia
Trending perfectly upon arrival, the winner at Valero is probably playing his last event until The Open Championship. Posting three rounds or better of 65 at the Travelers, he’s ready for another shoot-out this week. Banging fairways and greens is his foundation, which always plays in a low-scoring affair. Circling 22 birdies and an eagle last week, that is the recipe again for the RMC.
Others to Consider (from who I have available):
Tom Kim: The Korean did everything but win last week. I’m splitting hairs, but I’ll take the additional power this week with 500 more yards of golf course.
Cameron Young: In his only appearance in 2022 he finished tied for second and posted 63 in Round 2. Firing 59 last week and holing putts should have plenty of attention on him this time.
Stephan Jaeger: The German is the safest play on the board this week. With a pair of top-10 paydays over the last two seasons, I won’t talk you out of him. Steady spaghetti.
Taylor Pendrith/Davis Thompson: Big sticks and solid putters.
Glass Houses 