Twenty-one of the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings are in Detroit for this week’s Rocket Classic, which is the penultimate regular-season event before the start of the playoffs.
It’s a critical two-week stretch for those attempting to secure spots in the playoff opener. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
ROCKET CLASSIC
Location: Detroit, July 30-Aug. 2
Course: Detroit Golf Club (Par 70, 7,328 Yards)
Purse: $10M (Winner: $1.8M)
Defending Champion: Aldrich Potgieter
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
X: @RocketClassic
PROP PICKS
–Jake Knapp Top 10 After Round 1 (+400 at BetMGM): Knapp has the ability to go very low — it’s just a matter of pegging when that’s going to happen for one of the tour’s streakier players. He closed with a 62 last week and owns the lowest 18-hole score in tournament history with his 61 in last year’s second round.
–Ben Kohles Top 20 Finish (+275 at BetRivers): Kohles has rocketed up — pun intended — to 97th in the FedEx Cup standings with four consecutive top-25 finishes. That includes a solo ninth last week and a T3 at the John Deere earlier this month.
–Hideki Matsuyama to Beat Patrick Cantlay (+105 at DraftKings): Cantlay is the -138 favorite in this tournament matchup, but has missed two of his past four cuts and hasn’t finished better than T17 in his past six starts overall. Matsuyama climbed five spots to No. 25 in the world rankings with his T3 last week — going 65-65-64 after his opening 70 — and has three consecutive top-15 finishes. He also finished T13 here last year while Cantlay was T32.
BEST BETS
–Cameron Young (+1100 at BetMGM) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3 and is coming off a solo second at The Open.
–Xander Schauffele (+1800) is seeking his first win of the year and doesn’t have a top-10 since the PGA Championship. He is making his event debut.
–Chris Gotterup (+1800) already owns three victories this year, including the John Deere Classic earlier this month.
–Jackson Koivun (+2000) claimed his maiden tour victory last week just 24 days after turning professional.
–Si Woo Kim (+2200) enters with consecutive top-10s, including a T6 at The Open.
–Wyndham Clark (+2200) has a pair of wins this year, including the U.S. Open. In four previous event starts he has a best finish of T8 in 2022.
–Jake Knapp (+2800) is recovered from a nagging thumb injury and has a history of going low on this course. He finished T4 last year, going 61-66-68 after opening with a 72.
NOTES
–The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings after next week’s Wyndham Championship will qualify for the first playoff event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Koivun is No. 70 currently, followed by Andrew Putnam, Mac Meissner, Johnny Keefer, Jason Day and Austin Smotherman.
–The Detroit Golf Club underwent a $16.1 million renovation since last year. The course will play to a par 70, down from a par 72 in previous years, with Nos. 7 and 17 now playing as par-4s.
–Rickie Fowler’s most recent PGA Tour victory came in this event three years ago.
–Brooks Koepka is making his tournament debut. His best finish in 15 starts this season was a T9 at the Cognizant Classic.
–Cam Davis (2021, ’24) is the only two-time winner in tournament history.
–Matsuyama has the longest current active streak on tour with 29 consecutive made cuts.
–Potgieter is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend his title at the event, but has missed three of his past four cuts.
–Sponsor exemptions include Good Good content creator Brad Dalke, Detroit native Joe Hooks, Alabama sophomore William Jennings and YouTube star Ryan Ruffels.
