It's been a riveting couple of weeks in professional golf, but it's weeks like this at the Rocket Classic that often captivate my attention. There's room for discourse, a field full of high end players in a desperate search for victory, mixed with talented young guns that are eager to make a splash in Detroit. Welcome to my Power Rankings for the 2025 Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
In this article, given the historical context and data, I'll break down my Top 10 Power Rankings for players based on recent form and specific player profiles that I believe are the best data-driven fits for the Donald Ross-designed Detroit Golf Club. With plenty of course history for certain players in the field, we should be able to isolate certain skill sets that have been a proven commodity at this course over recent years.
Let’s get right into my Top 10 Power Rankings for the 2025 Rocket Classic:
Featured Promo! Save 30% on any Premium Pass using discount code NEW. Win more with our DFS, Betting and Season-Long Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! GAIN ACCESSNo. 10 - Chris Gotterup
-
Gotterup is purely dominant with a Driver in his hands, leading the field by a good margin in SG: OTT over the past 24 rounds played.
- T23 finish in his last start at the U.S. Open, where he gained +9.4 strokes Tee-to-Green. Performing at such a high level in a Major should further boost his confidence. Huge upside!
- Detroit Golf Club is one of the few stops on the PGA Tour where Gotterup has past history. This will be his third start in Detroit over the past three years. T67, T49.
No. 9 - Min Woo Lee
-
T2 at this event last year, barely missing out on a playoff after a poor wedge shot on the final hole of the tournament derailed his chances.
- Excels on courses with a low missed fairway penalty that allow Min Woo Lee room to miss with his Driver and get away with it.
- The recipe to win here is to dominate with your driver and find a hot putter. While he's struggling at the moment with his putter, he's plenty streaky enough to get hot and turn that around. He was +2.2 strokes Putting last season at this event.
Min Woo Lee went out today with the World Number 1 while looking for his first ever PGA Tour win. He’s currently sending it 25 yards past him off the tee and is 6 under for his round to be 4 shots clear. This is an exceptional performance so far 👏 pic.twitter.com/yXq53K81PN
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) March 29, 2025
No. 8 - Hideki Matsuyama
-
Matsuyama still possesses the Ballstriking ability to take this golf course apart if he can find the right feel with his irons.
- He's actually Putting well at the moment (gained in four of his last five tournaments), but his Driver is costing him strokes. I think this course allows him the forgiveness to make up for it with proper iron play.
- Top-5 in the field in birdie-or-better average on easy golf courses.
No. 7 - Luke Clanton
-
Clanton destroys the Par 5's, which is critical to success at the Rocket Classic. 3rd best overall in the field in Par-5 scoring.
- If you are having to scramble at Detroit Golf Club, you are already behind. Hitting Greens in regulation is a must, and Clanton ranks 2nd in the field in GIR over the past 36 rounds played.
- The newly minted pro actually played in this tournament as an amateur in 2024. He finished T10.
No. 6 - Tony Finau
-
Won the 2022 Rocket Classic at the height of his game. Finau was playing incredible golf at that time and gained a ridiculous +18.6 strokes that week.
- Finau has been through peaks and valleys this season with his iron play. Of late, he has been a solid gainer in three of his last four tournaments, which is a positive sign.
- Ranked 2nd overall in strokes gained total in the comp-course model that I ran. This is an ideal layout for Finau, and he needs a big win if he wants to be a part of Team USA at Bethpage later this summer.
No. 5 - Keegan Bradley
-
Won the Travelers Championship in epic fashion, a tournament that clearly meant to Bradley, who had the home crowd behind him all week.
- When filtered to Bent/POA greens, Bradley is the number 1 ranked Putter in the field over the past 30 rounds. It's something almost hard to believe how much he has turned it around on the greens lately.
- Post-highly emotional win, and now with every mic in the media center peppering him for Ryder Cup Captaincy questions, it feels like a big ask to repeat with another excellent performance.
“I feel an obligation to play for the people of New England…”@Keegan_Bradley, you do not disappoint. pic.twitter.com/1PYBEqlfmN
— TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 22, 2025
No. 4 - Cameron Young
- It's hard to find a player in the field who is more trending for a win than Cameron Young. He just posted back-to-back T4 results at the Canadian Open and the U.S. Open.
- Young has vastly improved his wedge play of late. I have him ranked Top 15 in approach proximity from 50-150 yards and we know he's one of the longest hitters OTT in the field.
- Heartbreak in Detroit when he finished T2 in 2022, then backed that up with a T6 result in 2024. This feels like the week where Young is in form and at a course that he loves.
Cameron Young currently sits one shot back from the lead with a 5-under first round.
He said there is a sense of comfort returning to a course where he has played well before. In 2021, Young finished the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a tie for second at 21-under. pic.twitter.com/OgQZHZTCDm
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) June 27, 2024
No. 3 - Ben Griffin
-
Ben Griffin has gained more strokes total than any player in the field over the past 20 rounds. His immediate form is untouchable.
- Superior Ballstriking allows him to be in contention nearly every week, Griffin ranks inside the Top-10 in SG: APP and SG: OTT.
- He's looking to cement his status on the 2025 Ryder Cup team, and this is a tournament with a weaker field that could solidify his case for Bethpage. The train keeps rolling!
No. 2 - Collin Morikawa
-
Led the field in SG: T2G two weeks ago at the U.S. Open. He was +16.2 in that mark. The only issue was that he lost nearly nine strokes putting!
- There is some concerning data with his approach play that prevented him from being atop my Power Rankings, despite being the clear favorite in the field to win by oddsmakers.
- Morikawa finished T2 at this tournament in the 2023 Rocket Classic in his only appearance here. He lost in a 3-way playoff to Rickie Fowler.
No. 1 - Patrick Cantlay
- Cantlay also has a T2 in his only appearance at the Rocket Classic. His last visit to Detroit was in 2022 when Tony Finau won the tournament.
- 3rd best in the field in Ballstriking gained over the past 36 rounds. Cantlay is just waiting on the Putter to arrive to truly find his path to victory.
- In terms of strokes gained total on comp courses to Detroit Golf Club, Patrick Cantlay ranks 1st in the field. I love his chances to get back in the winner's circle this week in Detroit.
Best "Average Finish" on wedge-heavy courses over the last five years?
Patrick Cantlay at 25.0
Scottie Scheffler's is 39.9 in 23 starts https://t.co/RHDfPgzxcm pic.twitter.com/GRMZMnnZVP
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) June 17, 2025
Enjoy the Rocket Classic, and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
Win More With RotoBaller
Win more with expert tools and advice from proven winners! RotoBaller's PGA Premium Packages feature several savvy analysts and proven winners for DFS and betting.
Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:
If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU
— Joe Nicely (@JoeNicely) June 28, 2020
Congrats @tenndolly2 ???
— RotoBaller PGA (@RotoBallerPGA) August 10, 2020
Thanks for being a @RotoBaller PGA DFS Premium subscriber & checking out all the amazing golf content that @JoeNicely produces every week! https://t.co/tHKZVsPbbt
