Blast Off with the Best 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic DFS Plays
In terms of PGA tournaments, the Rocket Mortgage Classic is still relatively new. Established in 2019, the tournament has been held at Detroit Golf Club every year. Since its inception, the RMC has faced challenges with schedule placement, leading to weaker fields on average compared to other events on the Tour. This year, this issue is probably even more noticeable, considering the top players in the world have played at least three straight events, with the US Open being bookended by Signature events. Nonetheless, we have a full-field event ready to tee it up at Detroit Golf Club, which means a chance to win some money in the DFS streets.
With a weaker field, there is obviously a wider range of possibilities, from winners to missed cuts by top players. When looking at the course, Detroit Golf Club (DGC), we see the flattest course on the Tour this year. This is a proven fact, not just a knock against Midwest golf courses. Originally built in 1899, the Donald Ross-designed golf course only has an altitude change of 43 feet. For reference, Augusta National has an altitude change of 148 feet. As a par-72, 7,370-yard course with essentially no major undulations and relatively weak rough/hazard placement, this is a course where golfers can go full bombs away. Below are the key stats for golfers at DGC that align with that theory.
SG: OTT
I feel like there have been a handful of courses recently that I put SG:OTT down as a key stat. A lot of them are usually accompanied by a claim of needing to be accurate. That is not really the case here, as the fairways are 35 yards wide on average at the 300-yard mark. The rough is 4 inches thick but has yet to be difficult to play out of over the last 5 years. Holes 6, 7, and 8 have a heavier tree line than the rest of the course and there is only 1 water hazard on the course. What does all this mean? Golfers should have the green light to go driver-heavy off the tee all week, so find yourself golfers who are long off the tee.
SG: Putting
I was tempted to emphasize approach play from 50-125 yards, but decided to focus on putting instead. Last year’s winner, Rickie Fowler, gained over 4 strokes putting and won in a playoff against Adam Hadwin, who gained just as much on the putting green. With players able to bomb it off the tee and get relatively easy second shots in, golfers riding a hot putter should be in the mix come the weekend. Putts from 5-10 feet seem to play a big role in winning this tournament, as the relatively flat greens at Detroit Golf Club reward precision and consistency on the putting surface.
Birdie Makers
In case it wasn’t obvious from the above, this tournament has been a birdie fest each year. With winners at 24, 25, and 26 under par, they attempted to make the course harder, but the winner was still 18 under. No matter how you slice it, you will need a player that can make birdies if you want to succeed. The weather should be pretty good all weekend as well, which means this course should continue to play easy. When we consider these stats and what we have available, the pricing for golfers this week seems to be a bit questionable. In spite of that I have listed a golfer in each range below that I think could be the top play in that range.
10K and Up: $10.2K – Alex Noren
This is quite the change from the past 3 weeks, instead of just playing Scottie or Xander you actually have to think about who to play. I love Tom Kim’s form but he has played 8 straight weeks, with this week being week nine. I will have my exposure to him, but i love Noren for $800 cheaper. Noren is top 5 in this field in Greens in Regulation (GIR), Putting, Good Drives, and SG:Tot. He also ranks as the TOP player in course fit for this week with top-10 finishes in 2 of his 3 appearances at this course. He didn’t play last week and missed the cut at the US Open so he should be well rested. This is a player who has shown the ability to compete in birdie fests with a 3rd place at the CJ Cup and 9th place at the Cognizant. Noren presents tremendous upside if he can find his putter this week after a poor putting performance at the US Open.
$9K Range: $9.6K – Taylor Pendrith
This is a price range I have issue with, DK has over 100 golfers priced at $6900 or below. The $9K range has 5 golfers total. No matter my feelings on the poor pricing, I still have found a golfer that presents significant winning upside in Taylor Pendrith. Ownership should be interesting as paying $9K for Pendrith is difficult but just as a reminder he won on tour this year at a birdie fest. He ranks in the top half of the field for Good Drives but at a course where accuracy is less important than distance, Pendriths’ above average distance off the tee gives him a big advantage. Pendrith is also a player that has shown the ability to catch fire with his putter having gained almost 1 full stroke putting in 6 of his last 7 events.
$8K Range: $8.5K – Keith Mitchell
I’m not convinced that Keith Mitchell doesn’t have the yips when it comes to performing on the weekends. There have been multiple tournaments this year where he played great on Thursday/Friday and then disappeared on the weekend. He is in the top half of the field in Good Drives and top-25 in GIR and SG:App. His ability to drive the ball far and stick approach shots close seem to fit this course perfectly. He played here in 2019 and missed the cut, but he is not the same golfer he was 5 years ago. If there was ever a time to pick up his second win on tour, this would be the week. In a week full of volatility, I will back Keith Mitchell to make a run and score us plenty of DFS points.
$7K Range:$7.3K – Nicolai Hojgaard
Hojgaard is another player that can hit the ball a mile but he is typically inaccurate off the tee. What’s the one thing I have said repeatedly in this article? Accuracy doesn’t matter nearly as much at DGC but distance can give you a major advantage here. Two other aspects of Hojgaard’s game that I love for this course are his putting and his ability to hit approach shots close. He ranks as a top-15 putter in this field and a top-5 short irons player, while also being in the top half of the field in overall approach and GIR. Hojgaard can get himself into the position to make enough birdies to find his way to the first page of the leaderboard if he plays his game. At only $7.3K, I will gladly back Hojgaard in multiple lineups this week.
$6K Range: $6.4K – S.H. Kim
It’s difficult to pick one player in this range given how many players are in it. I also feel as though there are enough players above this range that are viable so you don’t really need to play too many golfers this low. With all that said, Kim does offer a lot of upside as a player who putts well, ranking in the top-15 of this field for putting. He has also proven that he can make birdies at a high rate finishing T4 at the CJ Cup and T14 at the Valero Texas Open. While his approach game isn’t the best, he does rank in the top-10 for ARG play in this field. In this situation, where my player pool only has a handful of $6K golfers, I will gladly make S.H. Kim one of them.
$5K Range: $5.8K – Garrick Higgo
If I am barely playing any $6K guys, I’m playing even less in the $5K range. Higgo is a player I use in single round Showdown tournaments a lot because he can make birdies in bunches. He can drive the ball a mile and gets insanely hot with his putter at times. This is the formula for almost all of my players above and it continues to ring true for Higgo. I don’t expect Higgo to win, but he could easily outscore his finishing position. If you are in a pinch and need salary relief, Higgo at $5.8K is an underrated play.
