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Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.
Hello RotoBaller PGA family! Golf's return continued to provide tons of drama, as Dustin Johnson outlasted another star-studded field to win the Travelers Championship.
We have another great tournament on deck this week as the PGA Tour heads to Michigan and Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic! In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Rocket Mortgage. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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Rocket Mortgage Classic - PGA DFS Overview: Detroit Golf Club
7,340 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Bentgrass w/ Poa
Before its PGA Tour debut last year, we were all basically guessing as to how this layout by legendary architect Donald Ross would play. The answer was...pretty darn easy, as the pros basically had no trouble at all with Detroit Golf Club, with eventual champion Nate Lashley finishing the week at 25-under par.
It might not be fair to call this layout "cookie cutter", but that's the impression that I walked away with after last year's Rocket Mortgage Classic, as the event basically turned into a John Deere Classic-like birdie fest. There are no secrets at DGC (other than a couple of sneaky OB areas)...score on the four Par-5s, strike your irons well, and make putts. As a result, I'll be targeting players this week that have strong approach games, great Par-5 scoring ability, and can rack up birdies in bunches. I never give much weight to putting stats, but I will at least glance at some Bentgrass numbers this week.
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Detroit Golf Club | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 296 | 283 |
| Driving Accuracy | 64% | 61% |
| GIR Percentage | 73% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 61% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.55 | 0.54 |
The first thing that jumps out is the bump we see in average driving distance at Detroit Golf Club. This tells us that players are comfortable bombing away off the tee, with the increased GIR% telling us that golfers will have wedges/short irons in their hands fairly often.
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Par 5 Efficiency
- Greens In Regulation Gained
- Strokes Gained: Tee To Green
- Birdies Or Better Gained
- Eagles Gained
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced DFS Players
Bryson DeChambeau ($12,200)
I keep saying it in this article every week - a win feels inevitable for Bryson DeChambeau. He was once again in the mix last week at the Travelers, recording a T6 at TPC River Highlands, despite never really appearing to hit on all cylinders.
It's hard to imagine that Bryson won't continue rolling at the Rocket Mortgage this week. This is the first layout that we've seen since the PGA Tour resumed play with four Par-5s and DeChambeau's length should allow him to take full advantage of them throughout the week. This less-than-stellar field makes it a bit tougher to pay up with confidence, as you'll be forced to take some chances on the back-end of your roster, but he's a scary fade.
Webb Simpson ($12,100)
Definitely slides into the Option 1A-1B conversation beside DeChambeau this week. After breaking our hearts at the Charles Schwab, Webb reminded us why we were rostering him the previous week by winning the RBC Heritage. It's been a roller coaster month for Simpson, as he followed up the MC-Win stretch with a COVID-19 scare with a family member that forced him to WD from last week's Travelers. However, if he can get himself focused on the task at hand this week, there's a lot to like about him at the Rocket Mortgage.
He's got a dominant track record at the Wyndham Championship - and that Sedgefield layout is also a Donald Ross design - so even though this is his tournament debut, it feels like we know what we're getting with Simpson this week...accuracy off the tee, sharp approach play, and tremendous putting. He's not a bomber, but ranks 12th in this field in SG: Par 5s over his last 50 rounds and stands third in Birdies Or Better Gained over the same time frame.
Tyrell Hatton ($11,100)
In the past I haven't been able to pin Tyrell Hatton down from a statistical perspective, but anyone with a brain can see why he's had so much success over his past few starts: he's been brilliant (Notice how I said "brilliant" there instead of "great"? That's the fancy British way of saying stuff...shoutout England!) tee to green - especially with his irons - and has putted beautifully.
The Englishman is one of the many players in the field that will be seeing this course for the first time and he's proven himself to be very adaptable to any type of course or layoff this year. You might be able to grab Hatton at very reasonable ownership in this spot, as most people that pay all the way up will go to Bryson or Webb. He's a really interesting contrarian option in big GPPs.
Viktor Hovland ($10,900)
I try not to play favorites in DFS, but man...I love this kid. He's got the perfect demeanor to succeed and - being on the PGA Tour for less than a year - his ball striking is already elite. Hovland has been sharp since the PGA Tour resumed play, logging three top-25s in three starts.
He's killing it tee to green, with SG: T2G totals of 5.7/6.1/10.6 since the Schwab...and he gained a ridiculous 7.8 strokes on approach last week at Travelers. The only thing that can slow V-Hova down is his putter and that was once again the case last week, as he lost a bad 3.3 strokes putting.
Hovland has seen this golf course, logging a T13 here last year, and its four Par-5s and ball-striking demands set up perfectly for his game. We're just a decent - not even great - putting week away from a win with this kid.
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Mid-Priced DFS Players
Doc Redman ($10,000)
It's kinda sick to know that I wrote Doc Redman up in this article last week at an $8.1k price tag. What a difference a week makes! Doc gets a HUGE price bump due to the combination of a strong T11 outing at the Travelers and a much weaker field for the Rocket Mortgage.
It's a little tough to swallow him at this price, but he still piques my interest due to his recent ball-striking form and the fact that he scored a runner-up finish on this Ross layout last season as a Monday qualifier. He's an explosive scorer, and I'm gonna keep a close eye on his projected ownership as the week progresses. I'll be willing to hop on board if it looks as though the masses are shying away from his price tag.
Rory Sabbatini ($9,900)
What a difference a week makes Part II. Last week's "Mid-Priced" range contained guys like Tony Finau, Joaquin Niemann, and Viktor Hovland...while this week we're talking Doc Redman and Rory Sabbatini.
That's not a knock on Sabbatini, a veteran player that's had a very fine PGA Tour career, but rather a reflection of the type of differences we're dealing with in strength of field when comparing the Rocket Mortgage to the first few events since the PGA Tour restart. Because of this week's weaker field, I'll happily consider a rock-solid player like Sabbs at this price tag.
He recorded a T3 in last year's Rocket Mortgage and has posted solid outings at the Schwab and the Heritage, gaining strokes both T2G and on approach in both of those starts.
Brandt Snedeker ($9,700)
We're certainly not targeting Sneds for his current form here, as he heads to Motown in a ball-striking funk. However, Snedeker is a Donald Ross aficionado and spoke openly about his love of Ross designs and this DGC layout last year.
He cranked out a T5 in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage and has thrived at Sedgefield, the host course of the Wyndham Championship and another Ross layout. The lack of quality iron play is definitely a concern, but Sneds' short game can often camouflage his ball-striking shortcomings, and he actually lost over two strokes on approach in last year's Rocket Mortgage while recording a top-five finish. I consider him more of a GPP option than a true cash-game/core piece due to his inconsistency, however he does have intriguing upside on this track.
Harold Varner III ($9,300)
HV3 is a tough player to peg due to his volatility. However, that volatility does come with some explosive scoring ability, which puts him in the GPP conversation for me this week. Varner missed the cut in last year's Rocket Mortgage, but he does head to Detroit in solid form.
The East Carolina alum gained over SEVEN strokes on approach at the Travelers last week, which resulted in four sub-70 rounds and a T32 finish. We also saw him gain 5.2 strokes on approach at the Charles Schwab Challenge a couple weeks ago en route to a T19 result. The drawback is his short game - he's lost strokes on and around the green in his last three starts - but his recent ball striking prowess makes him a legitimate large-field tournament option in this weak-ish field.
Will Gordon ($9,100)
This is a little ride-the-hot-hand play with Will Gordon, the newly minted professional out of Vanderbilt University. Gordon was a top-notch NCAA player and is quickly announcing his presence in the professional ranks. He earned special temporary PGA Tour status with a T3 at the Travelers last week. It would be easy to write that outing off as a fluke, but Gordon has played well in some other spot starts on the Tour, logging top-25 finishes in both the Puerto Rico Open and Farmers while playing on sponsor's exemptions, and he scored a T10 at the RSM Classic back in the fall.
He gained 6.6 strokes T2G last week and led the stacked Travelers field in Birdies Gained. He's an explosive young player, and while it's tempting to take a "wait and see approach" with these kids, I'd rather hop on early than be too late, as we've seen young players like Rahm, Wolff, Morikawa, Hovland, and Niemann do extremely well right after turning pro in the past couple of years.
Low-Priced DFS Players
Si Woo Kim ($8,900)
Listen...Si Woo is not a play for the faint of heart. I don't think anybody ever really knows what to expect from him on any given week. That said, he is an extremely talented young player that runs hot and cold. I'm intrigued by the ball-striking ability he displayed last week at the Travelers en route to a T11. Kim gained strokes both off the tee and approach, which resulted in a tally of 8.4 SG: T2G for the week. Who knows which Si Woo will show up in Detroit this week, but he has ridiculous upside if he can stay on the ball striking pace he displayed last week and bring something near his "A game".
Tyler Duncan ($8,700)
T-Dunks! Duncan was in this article last week as a Low-Priced Play and rewarded us with a solid T32 at the Travelers. His FD price has increased a bit this week due to the weaker field, but I'm willing to stay on the bandwagon for the Rocket Mortgage. Duncan gained strokes on approach and T2G at the Travelers - that marked his third straight week of accomplishing that feat - and he's a sneaky-explosive player that we can continue to feel comfortable taking some GPP shots with.
Patton Kizzire ($8,100)
Kizzire is another player I'm featuring this week that is capital-S, Streaky. We saw an example of this when he won two PGA Tour events over a two-month span during the 2017-18 season. Kizzire looked to have found something with his swing last week at the Travelers when he gained a sizzling 5.6 strokes with his irons. He logged a T6 last week...his best finish in over two years. Could it be a blip on the radar? Sure...but we have seen him go on hot streaks and log big finishes in bunches. I'm willing to take a shot in GPPs at his $8.1k price tag.
Wesley Bryan ($8,000)
Remember Wesley Bryan? He popped on the scene a few years ago with a win at the RBC Heritage, but has struggled mightily over the last few years with a shoulder injury. Bryan appears to be healthy and is trying to work his way back on to the PGA Tour. He made the cut a Harbour Town a few weeks ago in his first start of the year and LED the Travelers field in SG: Approach last week, gaining a MASSIVE 9.3 strokes with his irons at TPC River Highlands. If we get anything resembling that type of iron play out of him this week at Detroit Golf Club, he could be the DFS steal of the week at just $8k!
