Bryson DeChambeau is the only member of the world’s top eight in attendance for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club this week – and plenty of punters will be looking at the 15/2 odds against his name and licking their lips.
DeChambeau had a winning chance down the stretch of the US Open before dropping away, so that title defence has just gone awry, but he has a much better chance of winning as defending champion in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
The cocksure Californian closed with a 65 last year to romp to a three-shot victory in Detroit and the weather in the build-up to this week’s edition has provided a dreamy set-up for big Bryson to repeat the dose.
Thunderstorms have softened the track and DeChambeau can employ the same gung-ho tactics he used to rip Detroit GC to shreds last season.
Bomb and gouge is a strategy which has got golfing purists in a tizzy, but DeChambeau reached 23 under par in this event last year by powering drives as close to the hole as possible, then hacking wedges on to the greens.
A ninth PGA Tour triumph could be coming on Sunday.
Niemann Can Threaten Second PGA Tour Title
Joaquin Niemann has played in only one of the two previous Rocket Mortgage Classics at Detroit Golf Club, finishing fifth in 2019 when he was a PGA Tour maiden, and the 22-year-old Chilean looks like a player to follow on his return to the event.
Niemann made his Tour breakthrough soon after leaving Detroit – in the Greenbrier Classic – and he made a barnstorming start to 2021 by finishing runner-up in both of the Tour events in Hawaii.
Niemann lost a playoff to Harris English for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, then he was a shot shy of Kevin Na in the Sony Open.
He has played largely solid golf since and the 22/1 that he is to lift the Rocket Mortgage Classic trophy on Sunday makes huge appeal.
The former world number one amateur still has bags of scope for improvement and should become a Major contender in time.
Straka Can Attack Detroit Venue He Adores
Sepp Straka bounced back to form in last week’s Travelers Championship – opening and closing with a round of 66 on his way to tenth place – and the Georgia-based Austrian could prove a dangerous outsider in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Straka has won on the Korn Ferry Tour and always looked talented enough to make the step up to PGA Tour champion.
The main reason for believing that the breakthrough could come as an 80/1 chance for the Rocket Mortgage Classic is his fantastic course record.
Even when Straka was outside the top 300 in the world rankings, he turned up in Detroit and finished 11th. And last year, he was eighth.
Given he missed the cut in the Travelers prior to both of those Rocket Mortgage Classics, big things can be expected this time.
*All odds correct at time of writing