While some of the PGA Tour's top dogs are looking ahead to the year's final Major, The Open Championship, the beat goes on for golfers jockeying for position.
The tour stops in the Motor City for the Rocket Mortgage Classic from June 29 through July 2 at the Detroit Golf Club. Can Tony Finau become the first two-time winner at the relatively young tournament?
We break down their chances and more in our Rocket Mortgage Classic betting preview below, including live golf odds, free golf picks, and more.
Odds to win 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic
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Rocket Mortgage Classic picks and predictions
Sam Stevens Top 10 finish (+650 at DraftKings)
Sam Stevens to finish inside the Top 10 kicks off my picks this week. The 26-year-old has had a breakout campaign thus far and currently ranks 58th in the FedEx Cup Standings.
Stevens has made 12 of his past 17 cuts with four Top 15 finishes over that stretch — including a T3 finish at the Corales Puntacana Championship and a runner-up performance at the Valero Texas Open. A tremendous ball striker, he ranks in the Top 40 on TOUR this season in both Strokes Gained: tee to green and SG: off the tee.
Stevens should have no issues on these difficult putting surfaces once he makes it there. He gained +1.04 strokes putting at this year’s Fortinet Championship and +1.73 strokes putting at the Farmers Insurance Open — the latter of which he finished T13 at.
Both of those tournaments also featured Poa Annua greens. Stevens also made the cut at this year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill amongst a field much deeper than this week’s, which is important to note as Oak Hill is another Ross design.
Lee Hodges Top 10 finish (+900 at DraftKings)
The other prop to target this week is for Lee Hodges to finish inside the Top 10. Like Stevens, it has been a career year for the Hodges, who currently ranks 75th in the FedEx Cup Standings and is looking for a strong finish to the season to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The 28-year-old has made 10 of his past 15 cuts with five Top 25 finishes over that stretch, including his T6 finish at the Valero Texas Open. Hodges ranks in the Top 70 on TOUR this season in both SG: tee to green and SG off the tee.
Hodges also makes sure not to get himself in trouble with his putter, gaining +0.42 strokes putting at this year’s Fortinet Championship, +1.88 strokes putting at the Farmers Insurance Open, and +0.80 strokes putting at The Genesis Invitational.
Hodges should find himself in great shape at the DGC with his strong putting and the ability to get himself to the green without too much hassle.
Rocket Mortgage Classic field and favorites
It's not a jam-packed field descending on Detroit this weekend for the fifth edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but betting favorite Tony Finau is looking to defend his 2022 title and become the first repeat winner at the event. Finau was utterly dominant last year, winning by five strokes over Patrick Cantlay, Taylor Pendrith, and Cameron Young. Finau's four-round score of 262 is the best at the tournament, topping 2019 winner Nate Lashley by a single stroke.
Of those runners-up, Cantlay is absent but Pendrith (+8,000) and Young (+15,000) are considered long shots.
And despite the likes of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Scottie Scheffler being absent, there is some steep competition.
Collin Morikawa, a resurgent Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas are at +1,400 with Max Homa rounding out the five at +1,800. Homa is currently third in FedExCup standings with two victories and eight Top-10 finishes on the season. He's hit the skids a bit recently, though, with two straight missed cuts and four in his last seven.
Morikawa, who opened as a co-favorite with Finau but subsequently dropped a tad, has had more of an up-and-down 2023, missing three cuts in his last seven tournaments. He stepped up for a T10 and T14 at the Masters and U.S. Open, respectively, but hasn't matched a string of four Top-6 finishes in five events from earlier in the season.
Fowler has missed just one cut in his last nine tournaments (the PGA Championship) and has otherwise finished no worse than T15 in those eight events. He has yet to win in 2023, but he's been in the mix more often than not. Thomas has been more selective, playing in just 12 events this year. He finished T9 at last weekend's Traveler's Championship after back-to-back missed cuts.
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Rocket Mortgage Classic recent winners and odds history
Let's take a look at some recent Travelers Championship winners and their closing odds to win:
| Year | Golfer | Closing odds |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tony Finau | +1,400 |
| 2021 | Cameron Davis | +10,000 |
| 2020 | Bryson DeChambeau | +600 |
| 2019 | Nate Lashley | +1,000 (part of the field) |
Odds courtesy of GolfOdds.
