The PGA Tour rolls on to the Motor City and the final Rocket Classic tournament at Detroit Golf Club. Rocket Mortgage drew the world’s top golf circuit back to Michigan in 2019, replacing the Quicken Loans National. It gave the state a PGA Tour stop for the first time since Tiger Woods won the 2009 Buick Open at Warwick Hills. With the PGA Tour moving to a new model for 2028 with two tracks of tournaments, including one with elevated events that will have larger purses for the better players, the Detroit-based mortgage company isn’t interested in paying for a second-tier event.
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The finality of the event isn’t the only newsworthy item leading into tournament week. The Donald Ross course underwent a complete restoration with many of the aesthetics changing so dramatically that it barely looks like the same venue. Led by Tyler Rae, the restoration returned Detroit Golf Club’s North Course much closer to Ross’ original vision while modernizing it for today’s game. The project rebuilt and expanded the greens to recover lost pin locations and contour, repositioned and restored bunkers, reshaped fairways to reintroduce Ross’ intended strategic angles and installed entirely new drainage ditches and irrigation systems to create firmer, faster playing conditions.
Perhaps the biggest change to the tournament itself is on the scorecard, where par moves from 72 with four par-5 holes to a par 70 with only two par 5s. The seventh and 17th holes have been transformed from short par 5s to long par 4s. They have played as the easiest holes every year and might now play as the toughest. Detroit Golf Club will now have four par 4s that play 500-plus yards, along with the closing 18th increasing to 470 yards. At 7,328 yards, it will now play as one of the longest par 70 tracks on the PGA Tour.
Read The Line’s Joe Idone and John Haslbauer break down a (newsworthy) longshot bet they’re making for the 2026 Rocket Classic:
Watch Read The Line’s full betting breakdown of the 2026 Rocket Classic here.
One thing is for sure, the Rocket Classic is going out with a bang. The 147-player field is the strongest by far in its eight-year history with four of the top 10 and eight of the top 20 ranked players in the world in attendance, including Cameron Young, Russell Henley, Chris Gotterup, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim and Ben Griffin.
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The depth of the field is also stunningly good with 28 of the world’s top 60 players in attendance. Other notables include, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Keegan Bradley and 2023 Rocket Classic winner Rickie Fowler. Young phenoms Michael Thorbjornsen, Jackson Koivun and Ben James also return, and YouTube star Brad Dalke will make his first PGA start since the 2017 U.S. Open.
Here are my favorite plays and fades in each price range for DraftKings contests for the 2026 Rocket Classic.
$9,000+ range Play: Cameron Young, $10,500
Despite his breakout season, it still feels like Cameron Young has another gear. His biggest issue has been the occasional cold week with the putter, but when I asked him about it during his Tuesday press conference in Detroit, he said the struggles were technical and that he had addressed them during his time off over the past month. That is an encouraging sign heading into one of his best course fits of the season.
Young is built for the new Detroit Golf Club. With two additional par 4s stretching beyond 500 yards and six measuring at least 470, he should have more opportunities to separate himself on the holes that suit him best. Per the Rabbit Hole, he is one of the top long par-4 players on tour, while his combination of elite driving distance, long iron play and improved wedge game makes him an ideal fit for the variety of approach shots this restored layout demands.
The top 10 players gaining the most strokes on par 4s over the last year, per The Rabbit Hole at BetspertsGolf.com.
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Play: Patrick Cantlay, $9,100 
Jordan Bank
For a talented player known for his steady, businesslike approach, Cantlay has surprisingly produced very few meaningful results over the past 14 months, recording just one top-five finish during that stretch. While practice rounds should always be taken with a grain of salt, he has looked exceptionally sharp in both rounds I followed this week, particularly with his iron play.
Like Cameron Young, Cantlay should benefit from Detroit Golf Club’s new emphasis on long par 4s. He ranks fifth in this field in strokes gained on par 4s and has gained strokes ball striking in 10 of his last 11 starts, a level of consistency few players can match. Sitting 43rd in the FedEx Cup standings with the Playoffs approaching, he also has plenty of incentive to put together a strong week.
Fade: Si Woo Kim, $9,600
Course history should carry less weight than usual this week given the extensive renovation, but it is worth noting that Si Woo Kim has struggled at Detroit Golf Club, recording just one top-50 finish in five career starts. While his ceiling is undeniable, his game has historically come with a lower floor than many players in this price range. He has been far more consistent throughout 2026, but at this salary, I prefer other options with a similar upside.
$8,000+ range Play: Akshay Bhatia, $8,400 
Jordan Bank
Bhatia’s results have been inconsistent this season, but his ceiling remains as high as almost anyone in this field. He already owns a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has added seven other finishes of T-17 or better, including a T-5 at the Travelers Championship. Over the last six months, he ranks seventh in this field in strokes gained total and first in putting, two metrics that highlight just how dangerous he can be when everything comes together.
Detroit Golf Club has also been one of his better venues. Bhatia finished runner-up here in 2024 after holding a share of the 54-hole lead and enters this week ranked 10th in the field in strokes gained on par 4s, a skill that should become even more valuable on the restored par-70 layout. With Jackson Koivun emerging as a legitimate Presidents Cup contender, Bhatia has added motivation to close the season with a strong stretch. His three PGA Tour victories have already proven the upside is there, and this is another course where he has shown he can contend.
Fade: Harris English, $8,500
English arrives in disappointing form after missing the cut in each of his last three events with a cut. His game has historically been at its best on firm, fast layouts, and while the restored Detroit Golf Club should provide a stiffer test overall, the greens are expected to remain relatively soft. With approach play likely to be the most important skill this week, it is also concerning that English ranks last in this field in strokes gained on approach among players priced above $8,000.
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$7,000+ range Play: Jacob Bridgeman, $7,900 
Richard Heathcote
Bridgeman has been one of the most reliable players on tour this season, missing just one cut all year. His ball-striking continues to trend in the right direction, as he has gained strokes on approach in five of his past six starts. He also possesses one of the highest putting ceilings in this field, capable of producing the spike week needed to contend in a tournament that should still reward players who convert their birdie chances.
The one area of concern is around the greens, where he has struggled at times. Fortunately, that weakness may be less of a factor this week. The greens have been expanded to an average of 6,700 square feet, and with more players expected to hit a higher percentage of greens in regulation than they would at a typical tour stop, scrambling should carry less importance than on many other courses.
$6,000+ range Play: Nico Echavarria, $6,900 
Icon Sportswire
Echavarria is the type of player who rarely stands out in statistical models, yet he consistently finds his way into contention when his iron play heats up. That boom or bust profile has resulted in six top-10 finishes over the past year, highlighted by his victory at the Cognizant Classic.
He has also done some of his best work on easier scoring layouts over the past three seasons, where his combination of quality approach play and streaky putting gives him plenty of birdie making upside. If the irons cooperate this week, he has every opportunity to outperform his salary and contend once again.
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Ron Klos (@PGASplits101 on X) is a PGA Tour data analyst for Betsperts Golf.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
