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AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 1h ago
Is It Knapp Time in Detroit? We Think It's Knapp Time in Detroit.
Our picks for the Rocket Classic are here, and we're feeling a comeback on the way.
Detroit Golf Club has been beefed up since we saw it last year, but I’m still a little dubious about how much more difficult it will actually play. The winning score will be higher considering this year will play as a par-70 compared to the par-72 version from previous editions.
The greens have been made larger, but the bunkers protecting them have been deepened in an attempt to add some more angles to one of the flattest courses on the PGA TOUR schedule. The two par-5s that were converted will now play as long par-4s in hopes of squashing some of the aggressive birdie-making.
The venue, outside the fairways, will be a bit more rugged. Fescue and native grasses are now more prevalent, even to the point of filling in the pond that used to be in front of the 14th green.
While the course will look great and be in prime condition, these seem like small changes to a course that yields some of the lowest scores on TOUR. That will be cosmetically adjusted via par, but still expect players to “bomb and gouge” their way to success this week.
Winner: Jake Knapp (+3600)
It’s been a tale of two seasons for Knapp. His “first season” featured elite play out of the gates, where he piled up seven top-11 finishes in his first eight starts of the year. Unfortunately, he dealt with wrist and thumb injuries that caused his play to fall off and forced him to miss two months of action between the RBC Heritage and the U.S. Open.
Since returning, Knapp has clearly been knocking off the rust, but what I saw last week in Blaine is exactly the type of play that has me optimistic for this week. Knapp gained more than 10 strokes in the ball-striking categories, and it looks like he’s on the verge of breaking through again.
Detroit Golf Club is the perfect place for Knapp to let his best weapon, the driver, roam free. He’ll be able to throw caution to the wind and attack aggressively around these grounds. That’s exactly what he did last year en route to his T4 finish.
Top 5: Chris Gotterup (+340)
Remember what Gotterup did to Waialae CC early this year? He might just do that again to Detroit Golf Club. If you don’t remember, let me refresh you. He attacked a wide-open golf course by bombing it off the tee, struggling to hit his wedges, making plenty of putts and hoisting the trophy.
Gotterup wasn’t even that good at the Sony Open, and he was still able to win thanks to his incredibly high floor in most facets of his game. Since then, he’s won two more times and enters the week with a sparkling resume. He’s earned three top-20s in a row and is one of the elite drivers on the TOUR right now. During that three-start stretch, he’s gained at least seven strokes from tee to green in each of them.
Top 10: J.J. Spaun (+280)
On paper, this doesn’t seem like a great spot for J.J. Spaun. However, for a man who won his U.S. Open at Oakmont, we can just throw that paper out the window. He’s capable of competing and contending on any course.
He’s one of the best approach players in this field, and he’s earned three top-10 results in his last eight starts. His path to the top of the board often correlates with how well he’s putting in a given week. That part of his game is starting to heat up, and he’s gained +7.94 strokes putting in his last 12 rounds. He’s been even better on the greens at Detroit Golf Club, where he’s piled up a staggering +17.51 strokes putting in his 24 career rounds. That’s translated to top-35 finishes in all six of his career starts and two top-10s in his last three visits.
Top 20: Michael Thorbjornsen (+148)
All gas, no brakes — that’s the Michael Thorbjornsen experience. He’s immensely talented, with the ability to blitz a golf course that doesn’t offer much penalty for wayward shots — like Detroit GC.
His trip across the pond proves that his game is maturing and he’s starting to tackle some more unique challenges as well. He finished T7 at the Scottish Open and T40 at The Open Championship. In those eight rounds, he gained +6.73 strokes off the tee, leaning into his best weapon.
Now he’ll return to Detroit GC, which is a much better fit for his game than most courses on the TOUR schedule. He finished T4 here last year while averaging 324 yards off the tee and hitting 79% of his fairways. Wowza!
Top 20: Jackson Suber (+270)
Suber missed the cut at last week’s 3M Open, which was one of his worst starts in recent memory. I’m willing to forgive quickly because Suber has proven to be the real deal and has been piling up strong finishes for the last four months.
He has three top-10 finishes in his last eight starts, led by high-end tee-to-green play. He has gained strokes from tee to green in seven of his last 11 starts, including two weeks when he gained more than 11 strokes in the category.
If there was ever a spot for a quick bounce-back, it would be here at the Rocket Classic. Suber finished T6 last year and gained strokes in all four categories.
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