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SportsMoney 2026 Rocket Classic Preview, Full Field And Odds By Jeff Hartman ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Jeff Hartman is a Maryland resident who covers the PGA Tour. Follow Author Jul 29, 2026, 10:00am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary The Rocket Classic, set for July 30-August 2, 2026, at Detroit Golf Club with a $10 million purse, is attracting unexpected star power ahead of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. While typically a lower-tier event, this year's field is significantly boosted by top players like Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele, adding considerable intrigue. Many golfers are leveraging this tournament to accumulate crucial FedEx Cup points and Official World Golf Rankings before the demanding playoff stretch. Cameron Young is favored to win at +1025, with Jake Knapp identified as a long shot at +3600. Other notable picks include Chris Gotterup for a Top 5 finish, Jackson Koivun and Wyndham Clark for Top 10, and Hideki Matsuyama and past winner Rickie Fowler for Top 20. Brooks Koepka is also a Top 30 bonus pick.
With the FedEx Cup Playoffs on the horizon on the PGA Tour, several golfers are looking for ways to add both FedEx Cup points and Official World Golf Rankings to bolster their resume for the remainder of this year, and beyond.
Tournaments like the upcoming Rocket Classic are a great way for players to do just that, while the majority of the big-name players on tour are taking time off before the grueling stretch in the playoffs before the tour championship at East Lake in August.
When you look at a tournament such as the Rocket Classic, it usually lacks the firepower of other tournaments which players have the option of playing; however, this year the Rocket Classic got a boost when players like Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele entered the field.
It isn’t the feel of a major event, but it does add some intrigue to the tournament.
Let’s take a look at the details of the upcoming Rocket Classic:
It’s still important to take a look at the past winners of this event:
Let’s take a look at pre-tournament winner odds:
When it comes to picks for this event, I’d start with my favorite and long shot picks. The favorite pick is the winner pick I like the most. For the long shot winner, that is a golfer who has over +2000 odds to win. It is a long shot pick for a reason, and finding those can be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Here are my favorite and long shot picks for the 2026 Rocket Classic:
Cameron Young has had a tremendous season thus far, and his most recent performance at Royal Birkdale was just one step away from a playoff in a major championship. He took the 3M Open off last week, and I suspect he’ll be in the mix on Sunday with a lesser-than field at the Rocket Classic.
If you follow golf closely, you know Knapp suffered a back injury prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year, and it looks like he might finally be healthy. That’s good news for bettors, and I think he’s a good long shot play this week at +3800 odds.
I’m going to double-dip on Young for a Top 5 finish. Like Scottie Scheffler last week , if Young doesn’t win I still see him being near the top of the leaderboard when the dust settles.
Gotterup plays well when the tour trends north for the season. The New Jersey native doesn’t mine the different style of courses and set ups from the northern courses on tour. I think Gotterup has a great shot at being in the Top 5 this week.
I am not about to be bold enough to think the 21 year-old Jackson Koivun will win back-to-back tournaments, but I do think his confidence has likely never been higher. Will it carry over to the Rocket Classic? I’m betting on it, and all we need is a Top 10 finish to cash +215 odds.
Clark continues to be one of the hottest golfers in the second half of the year, and I think he has a legitimate shot at winning this event. However, the value at +188 to be a Top 10 finish in this field is too good to pass up, in my opinion.
Last week Matsuyama helped us cash a Top 10 play at the 3M Open, but I’m only asking for a Top 20 finish from Hideki this week. Can he help us once again? He certainly has turned his play around in the back-half of the season.
My “gut pick” of the week is none other than Rickie Fowler, who won this event in 2023. I like former winners at certain events, and this is one of them. On top of that, unlike Tony Finau last week, Fowler has been playing good golf this year. Not great golf, but good enough to think a Top 20 finish is reasonable.
For bonus plays , these are picks which I don’t necessarily hang my hat on, but still provide value for some who want more exotic plays outside of the aforementioned picks. Sometimes bonus plays are parlays, double chances, triple chances, and even some fun plays for that particular event.
Here are the bonus plays for the 2026 Rocket Classic:
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