2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic Golf Betting Picks & Odds
Matt Schmitto takes an early look at Rocket Mortgage Classic odds and golf betting picks. Here’s peek of the field and course in this week’s PGA Tour betting preview .
After an exciting 8-hole playoff in Connecticut, the PGA Tour travels to Detroit for the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the Fourth of July. The field isn’t as strong as we had last week, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see fireworks.
Detroit Golf Club is known to deliver its fair share of birdies, and last year’s champ, Bryson DeChambeau, is back to defend his title.
Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds & Picks
We’re still waiting for our favorite US sportsbooks to open their Rocket Mortgage Classic odds, but we already know who will be the betting favorite this week.
DeChambeau is the highest-ranked golf in the field (No. 6 OWGR), and there’s no doubt he’ll sit atop outright markets at DraftKings Sportsbook, BetMGM, FanDuel, William Hill, and more. He opened +650 last year and we can expect a similar price the moment markets open to when golfers tee off Thursday morning. There’s no reason to doubt that he’ll be right in the mix come Sunday on July Fourth.
As for his biggest threats, look at Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, and Webb Simpson. With $1.35M going to the winner, the three will do their best to keep DeChambeau from returning to the winner’s circle.
Other golfers to watch out for? Don’t sleep on Jason Kokrak, Joaquin Niemann, or Will Zalatoris. Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and recent winner Garrick Higgo are in the field as well. And of course, we can’t forget about this year’s PGA Champion, 50-year-old Phil Mickelson.
Now let’s take peek at the course.
Rocket Mortgage Classic Preview
- Course: Detroit Golf Club (North)
- Date: July 1-4
- Par: 72
- Yardage: 7,335
- Greens: Bentgrass and poa annua
Designed by Donald Ross, Detroit Golf Club is a par 72 measuring 7,334 yards. In its PGA Tour debut during the 2019 season, Detroit Golf Club was one of the easiest courses on tour. Nate Lashley won by shooting -25. Then, last year, DeChambeau followed up with a winning score of -23, beating runner-up Matthew Wolff by three strokes.
Lashley’s feat was remarkable, considering he joined the field as an alternate and wasn’t even available to bet on as most sportsbooks. It’ll be interesting to see if longshots can contend again this year— we’ll undoubtedly have some longshots and sleepers up our sleeves once odds come out.
While we wait, however, here are some notes for a few golfers and possible Rocket Mortgage Classic betting picks.
Rocket Mortgage Classic Golf Betting Picks
These are simply notes for now. This article will be updated with my golf betting picks Tuesday.
Bryson DeChambeau – The defending champion and presumptive favorite, DeChambeau looks to take advantage of Detroit Golf Club once again. Betting on him won’t pay out much, though. Expect him to be +700 to win outright. An interesting way to stretch his golf odds is to bet on him to be the first-round leader, which we might see closer to +1500.
Patrick Reed – This is a silly narrative, but Fourth of July weekend seems like the perfect time for Captain America to get a victory. Reed is a polarizing figure in the golf world, but this is a Ryder Cup year. We’re all rooting for him when he wears red, white, and blue (and of course, whenever we bet on him). Reed leads the field in strokes gained with his short game over the last 50 rounds. Golfers need to be hot on and around these greens to shoot 20-under or better. He did miss the cut here in 2020 but finished 5th in 2019.
Matthew Wolff – We were on Wolff last week following his solid U.S. Open performance. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Wolff was awful during his first round and failed to play into the weekend. I’m interested to see what kind of odds we get for him this week. If it’s close to +5000 again, I might bite.
Bubba Watson – Watson has had two solid tournaments, first at Torrey Pines, then at TPC River Highlands. Don’t expect him to make it three in a row, though. Unlike last week, Watson doesn’t appear to be a horse for the course. He missed the cut at Detroit Golf Club in 2019 and 2020.
Sungjae Im – Sungjae can go low, but his game hasn’t been in great shape as of late. Still, he’s made back-to-back cuts, finishing 35th at both the U.S. Open and Palmetto Championship. At each event, Sungjae gained in strokes approach but strokes to the field with his driver. Can he figure things out off the tee in Detroit?
Image Credit: Imagn