The Donald Ross-designed Detroit Golf Club (par 70, 7,328 yards, bentgrass/POA annua greens) is hosting the Rocket Classic. Detroit Golf Club has been the home of the Rocket Classic since its inception in 2019 and this will be the final edition of this event. Aldrich Potgieter (-22) won last year’s Rocket Classic by defeating Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman in a playoff. There will be 144 golfers competing and a top-65 and ties cut after the first two rounds this week.
Below, I have featured two of my favorite outright long shot bets to win the Rocket Classic on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Max Greyserman (+8800)
Greyserman has a true knack for courses designed by Ross. First and foremost, Greyserman was extremely close to securing his first PGA TOUR win at Detroit Golf Club last season, losing in the three-man playoff to Potgieter. In the first round, Greyserman lit the course up with a 63. Greyserman also came up just short at Sedgefield CC for the 2024 Wyndham Championship, finishing runner-up by just two shots. That week, Greyserman carded a career-low 10-under 60 in the second round.
Furthermore, Greyserman just finished T14th at the Ross-designed Aronimink GC in May for the PGA Championship, which is the best major finish of Greyserman’s career. The 31-year-old is gaining 1.9 strokes per round at Ross courses, which ranks second in this field, only trailing Xander Schauffele.
Greyserman claiming his first PGA TOUR win on a Ross creation would be very fitting and backing him at Detroit Golf Club at these long odds makes a ton of sense, especially with Greyserman coming off a strong closing round at the 3M Open. The Duke product finished T31st, but in the final round, Greyserman posted a 7-under 64 and he gained 1.2 strokes on approach for the day, which is his best ball striking round since THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in May, when he finished T9th.
Greyserman has had a rocky season, making just 11-of-21 cuts with four top-25 finishes, but if he can maintain the ball striking form that we saw from him in the final round at the 3M Open, this could be Greyserman’s time to shine.
Eric Cole (+8200)
Like Greyserman, Cole has played well at Ross designs in the past. Cole finished T6th in his only start at Detroit Golf Club two years ago and he gained 2.3 strokes per round at the Ross venue, which is the second-best average in this field.
Cole also has finishes of T14th and T7th at Sedgefield CC, and his best major finish is a T15 at the Ross-designed Oak Hill Country Club for the 2023 PGA Championship. Cole ranks 12th in this field in strokes gained per round at Ross courses and in the last few months, Cole has been in the mix for his first PGA TOUR win multiple times.
Cole has finished inside the top-eight four times in his last 10 starts. His best effort was a runner-up finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May, when he lost in a playoff to Russell Henley.
This is the third time Cole has finished runner-up on the PGA TOUR and before earning his Tour card in 2022, Cole won a whopping 61 times on the Minor League Golf Tour. Cole is going to win on the PGA TOUR one day and him reaching that feat at Detroit Golf Club is in the realm of possibilities.
