The PGA heads to Detroit this week for the seventh annual Rocket Classic, a full 140+ player event that is held at the Donald Ross-designed Detroit Golf Club. With several top players taking the week off, this is set to be a very wide open golf tournament. Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa are headlining, but neither has won on the PGA in over two seasons, making them shaky favorites at best.
The course also sets up for low scores, as we have seen several players shoot 20 under par or better on the week at this event in the past. Detroit GC is a shorter par 72, with forgiving fairways and four scoreable par 5s, multiple of which will allow eagle opportunities on all four days. I wrote more about the course in this week’s Rocket Classic PGA Cheat Sheet.
“The fairways and greens at Detroit GC rank out as easy to hit compared to the average PGA TOUR venue, and the overall average driving distance at this venue has been about 10 yards longer than at the average PGA TOUR stop. The driver will be a popular club this week, and big hitters (who don’t spray the ball too much) have benefited from this setup in the past. While off-the-tee play isn’t necessarily the most important thing to focus on this week, two of the last three winners (DeChambeau and Finau) gained over 5.0 strokes off the tee during the week of their win. Cameron Davis (2024) and Rickie Fowler (2023) also gained over a stroke off the tee in their wins.
The benefits of power aside, this course also caters to those who can find range on the poa greens and bring a solid enough iron game in to give themselves plenty of chances at birdies (and Eagles). Nate Lashley proved that you don’t have to be a big hitter to find success in Detroit, as he rode a +9.1 putting week into his first PGA TOUR win in 2019, getting to 25-under par that season — despite ranking just 44th in driving distance and gaining less than a stroke off-the-tee. Lashley used superior iron play to give himself a ton of mid-to-short range putts that season, and other names like Troy Merritt and Kevin Kisner have found success at Detroit GC with a similar formula. Fowler himself gained 7.6 strokes on approach on his way to victory in 2023. However, if you’re targeting players with less distance off the tee, make sure they’re coming in with some decent form in proximity stats from 150+ yards. Fowler was one of the leaders in proximity from 150-175 and 200+ yards in the year of his win.”
Power off the tee has always been a huge benefit when playing Detroit GC, and that has become more apparent every season. The bigger fairways mean players with good length off the tee often take a bomb and gouge approach, and the flatter parkland setting means they are often not penalized much if they are too off base with their drive.
As a result, we’ll be targeting players that profile well for Detroit GC in the Pick6 markets this week, but also looking to fade players with less power off the tee who are coming in with poor recent form.
DraftKings Pick6 has full tournament totals up for this week, so I’ll again be focusing on FULL TOURNAMENT totals, specifically finishing positions (“Better Than” or “Worse Than”), but also the holes played market, which essentially acts as a “make or miss the cut” question.
Top DraftKings Pick6 Picks for the Rocket Classic
Wyndham Clark Better Than 27.5 Finishing Position
Clark has struggled for much of 2025, including a missed cut and a temper tantrum at the U.S. Open two weeks ago that resulted in a broken 100-year-old locker. However, he used the energy from that controversy to bounce back at the Travelers with a T-17 finish, where he gained over a stroke off the tee and on approach. Two of his three career wins have also come on Poa greens (including the 2023 U.S. Open), and he’s gained over 3.9 strokes putting on the Poa greens at Detroit Golf Club in two career appearances (T-8 in 2022 and T-17 in 2019).
Overall, he seems to be discounted in this field given the lack of top players we have teeing off this week. While he’s finished outside the top-27 in five of his last six starts, his power off the tee (11th in Driving Distance) gives him a nice advantage this week, and he won’t have as much pressure on him given that this isn’t a signature event or a major.
Rickie Fowler Worse Than 27.5 Finishing Position
Fowler won this event back in 2023, but his form then was much better than it is now. The American did have a couple of decent finishes in May, including a T-7 at the Memorial, but he regressed last week at the Travelers, where he finished just T-36 in a smaller field. He also lost strokes on approach at TPC River Highlands, which isn’t a great sign heading into this week, where he’ll have to be accurate with his long irons, given that he doesn’t have as much power off the tee as some of the other top players.
Fowler seems to be working hard to get back into form, but outside of his driver, nothing else in his game seems to be clicking at the moment. Given the need to make a ton of birdies at this course and the fact he’s just 104th in birdie or better % on the season, I like fading him at this level and playing for a finish of T-28 or worse this week.
Trey Mullinax More Than 36.5 Holes Played
Mullinax is down the field in terms of results this week, but he remains a player to keep an eye on and could outperform at this course. He’s top-20 in driving distance and is coming off a decent outing at the Canadian Open, where he gained over 4.0 strokes off the tee and opened with a 64.
The American has plenty of length (ninth Driving Distance), which sets him up well for Detroit GC, but he can be a bit shaky with the other parts of his game. Still, he comes in having made five of his last seven cuts and has gained strokes around the green in two straight starts, which is a good sign he may be ready for a mini-breakout soon. Regardless, with a plus setup, this feels like a good spot to be bullish on him in Pick6 lineups.
You do have to take a small discount on the multiplier if you are taking him to play more than 36.5 holes in DraftKings Pick6 lineups, but with the weaker field and his improving form, it still feels like there is some value in this market for Mullinax.
Zach Johnson Less Than 36.5 Holes Played
This looks like a pretty reasonable spot to fade 49-year-old Zach Johnson. In addition to being way outside of his prime, Johnson is also playing a course this week that caters to big hitters, and he has never been a great driver of the golf ball himself. He also hasn’t played since the CJ Cup back in early May, an event where he shot 73-70 and missed the cut by a big margin.
He did manage to make the cut in Detroit last season, but he also shot 73-74 on the weekend to finish T-63. In 2023, he also squeaked through the cutline but finished T-70. With a poor history at this week’s event and poor recent form, this feels like a good spot to fade him playing the weekend.
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