RADIO
Todd McGill's Round 4 PGA DFS showdown slate picks for the 2025 Rocket Classic. His top in-tournament DFS lineup picks and top plays for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Detroit has been another fun stop for the first three days of this year's Rocket Classic, as the PGA Tour begins a small "down period" before ramping back up for The Open in a few weeks. This field may not have been heavy on names, which most full-field events face similar fates these days, yet it has delivered tons of excitement and has the potential to be an epic final round.
Aldrich Potgieter finds himself with another shot at a PGA Tour title this season as he leads by two strokes heading into Sunday. The formula for success has been exactly what most thought before the week began: have solid mid to low iron play and/or get putts to fall. Tomorrow sets up well for a shootout among up-and-coming stars with tons of firepower and grit.
Showdown, unlike typical golf DFS that spans the entire tournament, is a contest that focuses on each round as an individual event. Finding players performing well on approach is a good general rule. However, roster decisions that give you ownership leverage by taking riskier players who haven't played their best but present a high likelihood of a bounce-back round are also important. In other words, this is a sprint, not a marathon.
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Weather, Course Conditions, and Tee Times
With talk of course records flooding the media over the first two rounds, Saturday was a bit tougher. However, for the world's best players, Detroit Golf Club is no match, and shooting -3 under or worse means you're losing ground. Tomorrow's weather looks delightful, although it may be a bit more predictable earlier in the day.
Regardless, catching Potgieter is going to take something crazy so long as the South African doesn't come back to the field. Though at a course averaging nearly two-and-a-half shots under par, he can't afford to settle for pars.
Round 4 Strategy
The mindset for final-round showdowns is not to pull any punches. A great starting point is to take guys who have a knack for hammering down the gas pedal on Sunday and have at least shown flashes of form over the first three rounds.
Remember that ownership levels will continuously drop the closer you get to the morning's first tee time, so finding the guys who will bounce back is paramount to winning big.
$10,000+
Favorite Play: Patrick Cantlay seems like the type of player who could throw a number out there tomorrow for the leaders to think about when they make the turn, although he may be a little too far out of reach, being six shots behind second. Still, he ranks fourth in the field in strokes gained on approach, and has gained +3.99 strokes putting between rounds one and three.
The even-par day where he lost -4.61 strokes on and around the greens on Friday severely hurt his chances, but Patty Ice is capable of being a big help for Showdown lineups if both the iron play and putting perform well tomorrow.
Other Options: Collin Morikawa
$9,000+
Favorite Play: Hideki Matsuyama got off to a horrendous start on Saturday with a double on the second hole, eventually finding himself three-over through four holes. The 33-year-old responded like all great players do, with two birdies and an eagle to still make the turn in red figures. However, it's hard to make up the amount of ground needed to keep pace.
His play with the irons and wedges has been spot-on, ranking second in the field in strokes gained on approach (+2.12) and tenth around the green (+0.78). The only real detriment in all three rounds has come from off the tee, as Matsuyama ranks dead last in strokes gained off the tee for guys who made the cut.
Hideki Matsuyama with two incredible shots on back-to-back holes. 🤯🔥
📺 Golf Channel | @RocketClassic pic.twitter.com/fNSN3vJ6hh
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 26, 2025
Other Options: Max Greyserman
$8,000+
Favorite Play: If Matt Fitzpatrick could've bought a few more putts throughout the first three rounds, he could easily be leading this golf tournament. He is leading the field in strokes gained tee to green (+3.35) and isn't even in the top 10, and only has two blemishes through 54 holes.
It's hard to play much better than he is with nearly every club in the bag. The flat stick may be getting benched after tomorrow with another poor performance.
Other Options: Ryan Gerard, Chris Gotterup, Jake Knapp
$7,000+
Favorite Play: Nicolai Hojgaard may quietly be the most dangerous person inside the top 10 to make a run tomorrow if he can manage to get off to a cleaner start than he has the last two days. He's the second-longest player in the field statistically, with an average distance of 324.3 yards off the tee while also ranking 11th in strokes gained on approach (+1.42).
He hasn't exactly been consistent this season, so the wheels could come off at any time. However, when he manages to gain strokes in areas, he does it in droves. I'm taking the risk and seeing where it gets me.
Nicolai Hojgaard with the greatest “FORE!” effort of all-time, and not one person even flinches.
— Tour Golf (@PGATUOR) June 30, 2024
Other Options: Michael Kim, Michael Thorbjornsen, Cameron Champ, Thriston Lawrence
$6,000+
Favorite Play: William Mouw is playing boring, conservative golf around the Detroit Golf Club, which hasn't moved him far up the leaderboard, but with the solid baseline seeming to be somewhere in the -3 to -4 under par range, it makes him a decent option in this always-difficult basement section.
His short game has left much to be desired, which has impacted his ability to score on par-5s, especially. However, he's averaging enough strokes gained from off the tee (+1.03) and on approach (+0.76) to still rank 17th in strokes gained from tee to green (+1.68).
Other Options: Peter Malnati
Good luck, and may the odds ever be in your favor.
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