Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic

2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

For family guys like Keegan Bradley, having his wife and children on site seems to lead to an inordinately considerable improvement in his shot-making out on the course.

On home soil (ish) in Connecticut, New Englander Bradley trounced the field in last week’s Travelers Championship – winning by three shots (a margin that would have been much wider but for some late fumbling) and celebrating with his wife and two sons, who were both presented with miniature trophies too.

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Those were touching scenes, and a reminder that professional golfers are not machines – they can tap into happy thoughts and use them for motivation….sometimes, that can make all the difference for already-elite performers like Bradley.

Whether he can arrange a family ticket to Detroit this week is another matter, but he’ll need all the help he can get in outscoring the field at Detroit Golf Club, the birdie-friendly host of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

This is a venue that just about has the integrity to host a PGA TOUR event, although winning scores of -25 and -26 in recent times stretch that to breaking point. However, we can compliment Detroit GC by saying at least it’s not simply a putting shootout – instead, the cream of the ball-striking crop tends to thrive here, with Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau on the trophy alongside the smooth-swinging stylings of Cam Davis.

Finau will return to defend his trophy this week, which was his second victory in the space of a fortnight in 2022 when he trounced the field to win with that tournament record score of -26. He’ll be in good company this week – Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Max Homa and Rickie Fowler are just some of his combatants, but Big Tone will be confident of doubling up.

A traditional parklands course with tree-lined fairways and 80+ bunkers, Detroit GC is still very malleable thanks to its generous rough and receptive Bentgrass/Poa greens, which tend to run as pure as it gets.

A benign weather forecast does little to dissuade that the 2023 edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic will be another low-scoring battle, but who has the game and the form to prevail in Michigan?

Here’s six to follow with our Rocket Mortgage Classic sleeper shortlist:

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2023)

Stephan Jaeger – 55/1 – The breakdown of Stephan Jaeger’s performance at TPC River Highlands last week – +0.79 strokes gained tee-to-green, -1.84 lost putting – speaks volumes.

The German has been striking the ball beautifully for some time – he’s only missed one cut in his last 12 events, as a guide, and a poor week on the greens was rather asymptomatic of his recent displays….Jaeger had gained strokes on the field putting in three of his prior four starts.

If he can deliver the complete performance, Jaeger certainly has the game to win on the PGA TOUR – a layout where he finished T5 last year seems just as likely a venue as any for that maiden trophy hoist.

Sepp Straka – 60/1 – Another befuddling performance from the Travelers Championship came courtesy of Sepp Straka, who gained strokes on the field off the tee for the sixth tournament in a row but was less precise with his approach play.

But the Austrian was outstanding with iron and wedge in hand at the Memorial Tournament and the PGA Championship, where he banked a pair of top-20s, so it’s not out of the question that all of the pieces of the puzzle will come together in Detroit.

That feeling of what could be is highlighted by Straka’s record at Detroit GC: MC-MC-8-11 is indicative of his boom-or-bust chances this week.

Alex Smalley – 60/1 – Only five players – four of them inside the world’s top-20 – performed better from tee-to-green than Alex Smalley did at the Travelers Championship last week, and he will surely take great confidence from his eventual T9 finish.

It’s a continuation of solid ball-striking that has seen him gain strokes on the field off the tee in five of his last six outings and on approach in 6/6, so that consistency – allied to a better week with the putter – could propel Smalley even closer to the top of the leaderboard.

With four top-five finishes and a couple of other top-10s on the PGA TOUR since the start of 2022, Smalley is a player that can contend on the first page of the leaderboard.

Patrick Rodgers – 70/1 – When he gets a chance to uncork his driver, Patrick Rodgers has a strong chance of figuring in the mix at the top of the leaderboard – he is simply that good off the tee.

We saw that at the Texas Open and the Mexico Open, where long, straight hitting carried him to top-10 finishes, and even when Rodgers is unable to fire his booming drives he can still make it work – T32 amongst the world’s best at the U.S. Open is actually a useful form indicator in a much weaker-field this week.

Long heralded as a potential winner on the PGA TOUR, it’s tracks like Detroit GC that hand Rodgers his best chance of finally getting a W over the line.

Doug Ghim – 100/1 – Although not the flashiest of players, former outstanding amateur Doug Ghim is enjoying his golf right now – four consecutive events in which he’s gained strokes on the field off the tee have led to three top-20 finishes.

The next step in his development will be to challenge for silverware, and his excellent tee-to-green game is certainly ready for that assignment – it will likely be his flat stick that lets Ghim down.

But let’s give him a chance. He gained +1.21 strokes on the field putting in round four at TPC River Highlands, and while that’s only a small sample size of positivity it’s certainly confidence that Ghim can use on similar Bentgrass/Poa greens this week.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Rocket Mortgage Classic here.

Cover photo via Instagram