The 2019 PGA Tour continues this week as we head to Detroit for the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic! The newly formed event will replace the Quicken Loans National, which has been a staple in the PGA Tour for the past five years.
We have a full preview and betting tips for the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic below!
Rocket Mortgage Classic Betting Tips
We found a winner last weekend at the Travelers Championship as Englishman Tommy Fleetwood saluted with a top 20 finish at odds of $2.10. We’ll be looking to continue the form this week as our focus shifts to the first ever Rocket Mortgage Classic, held at the Detroit Gold Club in Detroit, Michigan.
The Course
Founded in 1899 and designed by William R. Farrand, the Detroit Golf Club is an exclusively private club. The North Course will play host to the Rocket Mortgage Classic this week, which normally sits at just over 7,000 yards. However, rerouting by the PGA have turned the course into a behemoth Par 72 which will play over 7,300 yards for the event this week.
Players will need to be accurate off the tee as the narrow fairways at the Detroit Golf Club are lined with trees on nearly every hole and doglegs that turn both ways require players to be able to shape the ball at will. For most players, it will be the first time they have ever played the course, so putting will also be a key factor on the unfamiliar greens.
We will be targeting strong players off the tee and strong putters this weekend, as we think it’s unlikely that the rough will be too demanding in the inaugural event, so approach play shouldn’t be too tough.
The Field
Many players will be taking the opportunity to fulfil their PGA Tour requirements of playing a new tournament by starting in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic this weekend, which means that the field is quite strong. The No.2 player in the world, Dustin Johnson, will be looking to add another PGA Tour title to his trophy case, and he’ll be joined by a host of top 30 ranked players.
Rickie Fowler, Hideki Maktsuyama, Chez Reavie, Brandt Snedeker, Ryan More, Billy Horschel, Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner and the recent 2019 U.S. Open Champion Gary Woodland are just some of the other key names in the field.
Predictions
Strong players off the tee and strong putters? Hard to look past the No.14 ranked player in the world, Rickie Fowler. Rickie ranks 47th in shots gained off the tee this season and 27th in total driving distance. His bread and butter is on the putting surface, however, where he ranks 19th overall in shots gained. Fowler had a bit of a tough time of it at the U.S. Open in windy conditions that didn’t really suit him, finishing T43. However, that result came on the back of a T9 at the Masters, a T4 at the Wells Fargo and a T14 at the Memorial. In great form and should be in contention here.
In his first season on the PGA Tour, amateur Viktor Hovland has set the world alight. An impressive T32 finish at the Masters a few months ago was backed up by an even better performance at the U.S. Open earlier this month, where he finished T12 and announced himself on the world stage. He’s a little inconsistent from hole to hole due to his flat out aggression, but that should be a strength in Detroit, where attacking fairways and pins will be the play given the rough won’t be as punishing.
Hovland was in the mix at the Travelers on the weekend after rounds of 67, 71 and 68 over the first three days before a round of 73 on Sunday just knocked him out of the top 50. He should be around the mark again in the weaker field.
Top 20 $2.60
Viktor Hovland to win
$51
