The Travelers Championship did not disappoint with Harris English defeating Kramer Hickok on the eighth hole of the playoffs. This playoff matched the second-longest sudden-death playoff in PGA Tour history. We did not have a great week to say the least at the Travelers Championship. Abraham Ancer finished two strokes behind English and Hickok for fourth, after struggling in the first round.
We move onto the third edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club which debuted in 2019. Bryson Dechambeau will look to defend his title against a solid field. This week’s tournament features two top 10 golfers in the world (Dechambeau & Reed). In addition to those two, it also includes 13 previous major champions. Phil Mickelson will be making his tournament debut marking his first start in Michigan since 2008. This was one of the first tournaments back from the PGA Tour’s Covid-19 pause but, unlike last year, fans will be allowed on the ground.
Tournament Information:
- Dates: July 1, 2021- July 4, 2021
- Location: Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Course: Detroit Golf Club North Course
- Par: 72
- Length: 7,334 yards
- Format: 72 hole stroke play
- Field/ Cut: 156 Players | Top 65 & Ties Make The Cut
- Greens: Poa Annua w/ Bentgrass mix
- Fairways: Blue grass
- Purse: $7,500,000 / Winner $1.35 Million
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out |
Yards | 397 | 453 | 387 | 635 | 167 | 461 | 552 | 372 | 207 | 3631 |
Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 36 |
Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
Yards | 425 | 233 | 459 | 393 | 555 | 160 | 446 | 577 | 455 | 3703 | 7334 |
Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Course Guide:
This is one of the shortest and easiest course on the PGA Tour as shown by the previous winners scores. That trend should continue this week and should be a birdie fest with the course playing soft. As with most Donald Ross courses, the greens will be where this tournament is won. Detroit Golf Club is a tree lined course with water on featuring only on the 14th hole. The course has a standard breakdown of 4-par 3s, 10- par 4s, and 4-par 5’s. The Par 5’s on this course are particular long as compared to the PGA Tour averages which does give the long hitters a slight advantage on their approach shots.
Course Designer/ Comparable Courses:
Designer: Donald Ross
Comparable Courses:
- TPC Twin Cities
- Sea Island GC
- TPC Deere Run
- TPC Craig Ranch
- Memorial Park
- Thursday: PM Showers 70 F, 10 mp/h ESE, 72% Humidity, 40% Chance of Rain
- Friday: Partly Cloudy 68 F, 8 mp/h SE, 65% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
- Saturday: Partly Cloudy 71 F, 9 mp/h SSW, 63% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
- Sunday: Mostly Sunny 75 F, 8 mp/h SSW, 62% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
- Round 1: Thursday, July 1, 2021 – Golf Channel* – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Round 2: Friday, July 2, 2021 – Golf Channel* – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Round 3: Saturday, July 3, 2021 – Golf Channel* – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM and CBS** – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Round 4: Sunday, July 4, 2021 – Golf Channel* – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM and CBS** – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Tournament Trends & Key Statistics:
- Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
- Birdies Gained / Opportunities Gained
- Stoked Gained: Approach
- Driving Distance
- Strokes Gained: Par 5
- Strokes Gained: Total (Easy Courses)
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Total & Poa Annua)
- Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
- Strokes Gained: Donald Ross Designs
Stokes Gained Skill Averages based off Previous Winners:
- 2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-23)
- 2019: Nate Lashley (-25)
Previous Winners & Prices:
- 2020: Bryson DeChambeau (7-1)
- 2019: Nate Lashley (250-1)
Picks (Outright):
- Patrick Reed (+1500)
- Risk: 0.50 to win 7.5 Units
- Joaquinn Niemann (+2500)
- Risk: 0.30 to win 7.5 Units
- Jason Kokrak (+2800)
- Risk: 0.27 to win 7.56 Units
- Keegan Bradley (+4000)
- Risk: 0.19 to win 7.6 Units
- Max Homa (+6000)
- Risk: 0.13 to win 7.8 Units
Total Risk on Outrights: 1.39 Units
Picks (Top 20):
- Webb Simpson (+125)
- Risk 1.0 to win 1.25
- Kevin Kisner (+175)
- Risk 1.0 to win 1.75
Total Risk on Top 20: 2.0 Units
Picks (Matchups TNT):
- M. Wolff (+110) over G. Woodland
- Risk 1.0 to win 1.1
Total Risk on Matchups: 1.0 Unit
Total Risk on the Rocket Mortgage Championship: 4.39 Units
Year to Date: +0.26 Units