For what felt like the 10th straight tournament, we had two golfers in contention over the weekend, but neither could cross the finish line on top at the Travelers Championship. While it would be nice to hit another outright winner soon, all we can really ask for when betting golf is to have a sweat on Sunday. We have certainly had plenty of golfers in the mix recently, so let's continue that trend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
This will be the fifth renewal of this event, and three of the first four winners finished at least 20 strokes under par. With technology getting better each year and talent continuing to grow on the PGA Tour, we can expect another birdie-fest this week in Detroit. There has been rain leading up to the event, which has softened the course enough that a few golfers have suggested that the winning score could end up being 30-under par. This week's course is essentially the Coors Field of the PGA Tour.
Detroit Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 7,370 yards. We've seen a lot of bombers perform well here in the past, and that's because golfers can hit as many drivers as they like without much penalty. The fairways are wide, the rough is playable, and there is only a single water hazard on the course. Distance isn't a prerequisite for success, but it certainly doesn't hurt on this course, especially if the conditions are as soft as they have been in practice rounds leading up to the event.
The greens here are relatively small (5,150 square feet on average) and feature a mix of Bentgrass and Poa Annua. Despite the small size, golfers have peppered these greens in regulation over the years. Approach play is always important, but I'm not too worried about scrambling and around the green metrics. If golfers are constantly missing greens in a birdie-fest, they aren't going to be in contention anyway.