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RotoBaller's top PGA player props, best bets, and matchup picks for the 2026 Rocket Classic. Get commission-free odds and market edges with Novig golf picks.
This marks the final Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club, as Rocket Companies has opted not to renew its sponsorship past 2026. The farewell comes on the heels of a $16.1 million renovation that transformed the Donald Ross design from a birdie-friendly par 72 into a tighter, more punishing par 70.
This week's picks will all be using the odds on the most unique and fastest-growing sports prediction sites -- Novig. If you're not familiar with the site, I'll explain how it works and provide some of my favorite wagers to place on Novig. There are lots of juicy numbers available!
As always, make sure you're following RotoBaller on X and download the RotoBaller app for all your season-long, DFS, and betting needs. Now, here are some of my favorite PGA bets and props for the 2026 Rocket Classic.
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What is Novig?
Novig is one of the fastest-growing peer-to-peer sports prediction markets. On Novig, users trade directly with each other, without the "vig" typically associated with a sportsbook. The vig is the fee sportsbooks charge you to use their services. It's a hidden cost that can be found in the odds that are being offered on each side of a specific bet. When a book offers -110 odds on both sides of a bet, it is keeping close to 10% of every bettor's wager, regardless of whether you win or lose.
On Novig, users trade with each other on the outcomes of sporting events, similarly to the way that investors trade on the stock market. But instead of having to beat the books, you just have to win against other users -- there's no commission kept by the site.
Users can bet on most traditional sports markets, including moneyline bets, spreads, totals, tournament matchups, player props, parlays, and futures!
Novig operates with two virtual currencies. Novig coins can be wagered for fun and to test out strategies, while Novig cash can be wagered on all markets and then redeemed for real cash prizes.
Access to Novig is widespread; it's now accessible in 36 U.S. states.
How Does Novig Work?
Since users are not playing against the books, there is an opportunity to make more money per wager that you win, and users can usually find better values on bets (in terms of the prices being offered) than on traditional sportsbooks.
There are no oddsmakers; users dictate their own odds. You can either accept the odds that the market is offering or set your own odds.
If you set your own odds, another user has to accept them on the other side for the bet to be activated.
Users drive the market, not the sportsbook or oddsmakers!
PGA Matchup Picks
All odds are from Novig and were accurate/available as of 7/29/2026. Odds are subject to change.
Hideki Matsuyama (-102 at Novig) OVER Ben Griffin
Hideki Matsuyama feels a little too cheap at essentially a pick'em price against Ben Griffin.
We saw another encouraging development from Matsuyama last week in Minneapolis, where he finished third despite losing 3.58 strokes on approach. Instead, the Japanese ace leaned on two areas that have traditionally been less reliable, gaining 3.38 strokes putting and hitting 80.4% of his fairways.
That's part of a broader transformation in Matsuyama's profile. After struggling badly with his driver earlier this season, he's now gained on the field in driving accuracy in four straight starts, including by 11 and 14 percentage points over the last two. And after years of putting struggles, he's now on pace for his first positive putting season since 2019.
If this is truly the new Matsuyama, Detroit looks like an ideal place to continue the trend. He's finished 21st or better in three of four completed starts here, while three of his best results anywhere this season have come in easier scoring conditions: a win at the Hero World Challenge, a T8 at Pebble Beach and last week's T3 at TPC Twin Cities.
Griffin, meanwhile, doesn't offer the same statistical comfort. He ranks outside the top 100 in weighted proximity and outside the top 70 in total ball striking, while his putting output has been historically cut in half on bentgrass as opposed to his beloved Bermuda.
I make Matsuyama closer to a -120 favorite, so there's enough separation from the -102 price to make this one of my favorite matchup bets of the week.
Davis Thompson (-115 at Novig) OVER Michael Brennan
Last week's T24 from Michael Brennan perfectly encapsulated the upside and volatility that comes with the 24-year-old. A third-round 63 put him firmly in contention heading into Sunday, only for Brennan to lose nearly five strokes tee-to-green in a closing 74 and fall out of the mix entirely.
Davis Thompson offers a much more stable profile, and I think that distinction is being underpriced at -115.
Thompson ranked second in last week's field in ball striking and now returns to a Detroit Golf Club layout where he finished runner-up in 2024. He's also developed a legitimate affinity for the Midwest, finishing inside the top 10 in Detroit, Minnesota and the Quad Cities within the last two years.
More importantly, the recent approach form suggests last week's performance wasn't an isolated spike. Thompson has gained 6.49, 2.33 and 3.51 strokes on approach over his last three starts, giving him a strong foundation to build on at a venue where he's already proven he can contend.
And the longer-term numbers only strengthen the case. Over their last 50 rounds, Thompson holds the advantage over Brennan in approach, around-the-green play, putting and scoring average in easier scoring conditions.
Brennan's ceiling is certainly high, but I'm more interested in Thompson's floor -- particularly at a course where we've already seen him thrive. I'd make Thompson closer to a -130 favorite, making -115 a number I'm happy to play.
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PGA Finishing Position Props
All odds are from Novig and were accurate as of 7/29/2026. Odds are subject to change.
Chris Gotterup WINNER (+1718 at Novig)
You'd be hard-pressed to find a player who's made more of his opportunities than Chris Gotterup. In just over two years, the Rutgers product has gone from a fringe Tour member to a five-time champion, and while that ascent has pushed his outright prices higher, I still see value at 17-1.
Gotterup is more boom-or-bust than others priced around him, but that's fine in an outright market. I don't need a month straight of top-class play, just four days everything comes together.
Detroit looks like perfect venue for the formula to click, as the Rocket Classic has already seen the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and Aldrich Potgieter put this layout to the sword on the back of elite driving distance, and Gotterup possesses that same ability to create separation off the tee. He ranks sixth on Tour in Raw Distance and 10th in Club Head Speed, while he gained a career-best 6.38 strokes off the tee in his debut appearance here in 2022.
Right now, the driver is clicking as well as it ever has. Gotterup has gained 5.42, 4.01 and 4.32 strokes off the tee in his last three starts -- the best stretch of his career. And he's far from a one-note tune, gaining strokes on approach in 17 of 19 starts this season, while his putter offers a level of upside rarely seen from elite ball-strikers. Gotterup has gained 3+ strokes on the greens nine times since last July.
At 17-1, I'm willing to embrace the volatility. That price implies roughly a 5.6% chance of winning, and between the course fit, red-hot driving form and a putter capable of catching fire, I think his true odds run higher. He's already won on a multitude of bomber-friendly layouts -- in addition to positional ones -- Detroit gives him a perfect canvas to repeat the trick.
