Paulie’s Picks: 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic

This week marks the third time that Detroit Golf Club has hosted the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Scoring on this par-72 layout is super low; in both past editions of the tournament, shooting -4 over the first 36 holes didn’t even get you to the weekend.

I expect similar scoring this week. Detroit GC allows players to bomb it off the tee, but contenders separate themselves with wedges and putting. The field will see an abundance of shots inside 150 yards and thus a lot of makeable birdie putts.

Here are a few players who can stick those shots, make those putts, and add something to your fantasy lineups:

DraftKings

Mark Hubbard $7,300

Hubbard made his fifth consecutive cut at last week’s Travelers Championship and did solid work on the weekend, placing 13th. He fits the mold for Detroit Golf Club, ranking 12th in putting and 15th in proximity inside 150 yards. At the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic, Hubbard finished 12th; he was -14 through three rounds but struggled on Sunday. Overall, he makes a strong value play to go with some more expensive players.

Brian Stuard $7,000

A Michigan native and Oakland (MI) University graduate, Stuard should have plenty of friends and family in the gallery, and he’ll be playing a course he knows well. He finished 30th and fifth in the past two Rocket Mortgage Classics and gained 12.6 strokes putting over those eight rounds. Stuard is an above-average wedge player who’s in good form, having gained strokes in every category last week en route to a T-30.

One-and-Done

Jason Kokrak

Kokrak is first in the field in putting, sixth in birdies, and eighth off the tee, a great recipe this week. He has two wins in the past eight months and multiple close calls. The biggest weakness of Kokrak’s game is chipping, in which he ranks 125th. But this week, that skill will be minimized with players hitting so many greens in regulation.

Cameron Tringale

Detroit Golf Club is perfect for Tringale. His weakness is inaccuracy off the tee, which causes him problems elsewhere but won’t as much here. Also, he ranks second in proximity inside 100 yards, second from 100-25 yards, 12th in Strokes Gained: Approach, fifth in birdies, and 23rd in putting. In his two previous appearances at this event, Tringale finished 30th and fifth.