Welcome back to the BettingPros PGA Podcast.
We’re going to deliver a betting preview of the Rocket Classic in just a moment. But first, a very quick recap of the 3M Open.
3M Open Recap
Twenty-one-year-old Jackson Koivun gets his first PGA Tour victory in only his 13th PGA event and his third tournament since turning professional. Koivun opened with rounds of 64 and 68, surged into the lead with a blistering 61 on Saturday, then held off his pursuers with a smooth, bogey-free 66 on Sunday.
Closest of those pursuers was Scottie Scheffler, who closed with a final-round 63. That gave him his fifth second-place finish of the season.
Koivun, a Northern California native, finished at 25-under par. Scottie was three shots back at 22-under, while Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Chandler Phillips, and Denny McCarthy tied for third at 20-under.
But we had the wrong young phenom named Jackson. We both liked Jackson Suber at the 3M Open.
Course Preview: Detroit Golf Club
And now the PGA Tour stays in the Midwest with the Rocket Classic in Detroit, Michigan.
We’re going to have a pretty good field for this one, with players trying to accrue FedExCup points in advance of the upcoming playoffs.
The Rocket Classic will be played at Detroit Golf Club, a par-70 course measuring 7,328 yards. It played as a par 72 last year, yet the course will only play 42 yards shorter than it did in 2025. Two of the short par 5s were turned into long par 4s, so the scoring isn’t going to be quite as good this year as it has been in years past.
Big hitters should have an advantage this week at Detroit Golf Club. The fairways are wide, the rough is pretty manageable, and while the fairways are tree-lined, this is not exactly a tight driving course.
A recent renovation at Detroit Golf Club restored the greens to the shape that course architect Donald Ross had intended. The greens are a mixture of bentgrass and Poa annua. Most of them slope from back to front, and Donald Ross courses typically feature fast, challenging greens. Putting will matter this week.
Aldrich Potgieter is the defending Rocket Classic champion. He finished 22-under last year and beat Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk in a playoff. Cam Davis won in 2024 at 18-under. Rickie Fowler won in 2023 at 24-under, defeating Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a playoff. In 2022, Tony Finau finished 26-under to win.
Temperatures this week are expected to be in the low to mid-80s throughout the tournament with very little wind. There’s a chance of rain on Saturday, but it should be mostly dry otherwise.
Bo McBrayer on Detroit Golf Club
The Rocket Classic is going to call for some rocket performers. Long drivers, good off the tee, good on approach, and lots of birdie putts.
These are going to be fast greens, but not overly challenging. They roll incredibly true. That’s one thing we’ve heard over and over again at this tournament – how true the greens roll. So while they’re fast and sloped, it’s going to come down to who can make the most putts, who’s riding the hottest putter, who can hit the ball down there, flip a short iron in, and convert.
You better believe the scoring won’t be as favorable relative to par because of the change in par, but the total score at the end is probably going to be about the same. Take two shots off each day, and you’re still looking at 18-, 19-, or 20-under par on a par-70 course. That’s a lot of birdies. You’re going to have to shoot around 6-under on average each day to win this tournament. That’s basically a 64 every round. I think we can get there.
It’s going to be a lot of fun. If you can average 64 or 65 over four days, you can win this tournament. That’s how much we’re looking at birdie-or-better percentage, off-the-tee play, driving distance, and putting on the Poa annua/bentgrass mix with fast green speeds.
We’re also looking at the shortest two approach buckets. In total, between 75 and 150 yards are going to account for a lot of these approach distances. Just make birdies. Get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible.
Hopefully we see somebody with a hot putter continue to stay hot. Usually, guys who come to this course as just okay putters – but aren’t traditionally good putters – don’t suddenly get better here. This course will expose you if you’re not one of the best putters on Tour, or at least one of the hottest putters coming in.
Hard Rock Best Bets of the Week
And now it’s time for our Hard Rock Best Bets of the Week, presented by Hard Rock Bet.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Best Bet
I’m going to take Jake Knapp at 36-1. I think the young man fits this course well. Between his combination of driving and putting, I like Knapp in Detroit.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Rocket Classic Picks
- Hard Rock Best Bet: Jake Knapp (+3600)
- Akshay Bhatia (+4200)
- Jackson Suber (+9200)
- Aldrich Potgieter (+10500)
Bo McBrayer’s Best Bet
My Hard Rock Bet of the week is Jackson Suber at 92-1.
I know I was a week early on Jackson Koivun – maybe I’m just a week early on Jackson Suber too.
In case that is what happens, we’re going to roll with the value here.
Bo McBrayer’s Rocket Classic Picks
- Hard Rock Best Bet: Jackson Suber (+9200)
- Jackson Koivun (+2300)
- J.J. Spaun (+3100)
- Akshay Bhatia (+4300)
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+9600)
- Aldrich Potgieter (+10500)
- Jesper Svensson (+13000)
And that’s all for this week’s BettingPros PGA Podcast. Please join us again next week for the final event of the PGA Tour regular season before the FedExCup Playoffs, when we’ll be previewing the Wyndham Championship.
Until then, so long everyone.
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