The PGA Tour returns to Detroit Golf Club as it hosts the third running of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Bryson DeChambeau returns as the defending champion and 2021 betting favorite. Below, we look at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions to win.
Detroit Golf Club measures 7,370 yards and plays to a par of 72. The Donald Ross design puts an emphasis on accuracy off the tee on the front nine, but the back nine is considerably more open and allows for plenty of scoring opportunities.
The two previous events have seen rather different fields and leaderboards. The inaugural 2019 tournament was won by Nate Lashley with Doc Redman as the runner-up. Last year’s edition was one of the Tour’s first events back from the COVID-19 pandemic with DeChambeau winning over Matthew Wolff.
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 12:10 p.m. ET.
Favorite
Will Zalatoris (+2500)
Zalatoris, 24, is 15th in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings but remains in need of a win for full PGA Tour status and eligibility for the FedExCup Playoffs.
His missed cut at the U.S. Open was just his second through 15 events in 2021. That and a prior missed cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, have boosted his odds for this week. He’s third in this field by the Golfweek rankings but shares the fifth-best odds to win as a quality value play.
Zalatoris has a runner-up finish at the Masters and three other top-10 finishes on the year, including a T-8 at the PGA Championship. He’s still averaging 1.51 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 1.00 SG: Approach per round for the 2020-21 season.
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Contender
Doc Redman (+5500)
Redman has fallen to No. 131 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) with six missed cuts through 15 events this year, but he tied for second against a weaker field at the Palmetto Championship and for 61st at last week’s Travelers Championship.
Course history is on his side with his runner-up finish in 2019 and a T-21 in the stronger field last year.
His approach game has been sharp this season, and he has been better with the putter of late. He also averaged 1.23 SG: Around-the-Green per round at the Palmetto as a considerable improvement on the weakest part of his game.
Long shot
Mackenzie Hughes (+15000)
Hughes tied for 76th last week following his Sunday collapse and T-15 finish at the U.S. Open. He lost a woeful 0.84 strokes per round off the tee last week; however, he remained strong around the greens and has been one of the Tour’s most consistent putters this season.
He didn’t play this event last year after a T-21 finish in 2019. He averaged 1.26 SG: Tee-to-Green and 0.84 SG: Approach per round in that appearance.
Mainly, this number is far too high for someone who was recently in the top 50 of the OWGR and has begun showing signs of old form after a stretch of five straight missed cuts.
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