Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2025 Rocket Classic

Rocket Classic Fantasy Sleeper Report

When Keegan Bradley won the Travelers Championship in 2023, it fulfilled a lifelong dream of winning what he considers to be a home event in New England.

He returned to the venue last week with a different goal in mind: lifting the trophy once more to frank his Ryder Cup credentials.

You sense that Bradley would love to play at Bethpage, but he wouldn’t want the drama of having to pick himself as a captain’s pick. But as an automatic qualifier? Having spoken of his sadness at not being selected for the Ryder Cup in 2023, there’s no way that the 39-year-old would want to miss out again.

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He benefitted from errors from a guy he could yet butt heads with at the Ryder Cup in Tommy Fleetwood, who bogeyed the sixteenth and final hole to turn a two-shot lead into a one-shot deficit by the end of the tournament.

How can Bradley guarantee that he finishes inside the six automatic qualifying places for the Ryder Cup? Keep on winning, of course.

Assuming he doesn’t withdraw following his triumph on home soil, the Ryder Cup captain will take up his place in the Rocket Classic field this week at Detroit GC.

He will be joined by a relatively low-key group that includes Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark, and others, with only six members of the OGWR top-30 expected to tee up in Detroit.

Amongst them will be Cam Davis, who got himself into a position of prominence here 12 months ago before taking full advantage of leaderboard chaos on the Sunday.

As many as half-a-dozen players got themselves into contention for the trophy, but it was stead-as-she-goes golf from Davis – with seven pars on the back nine – that was enough to consolidate his position at the top of the leaderboard… a second Rocket Classic win for him since 2021.

The Australian has obviously taken to Detroit GC, the Donald Ross design that has played host to this event since 2019. 

There’s not a great deal to write about a track that’s almost wholly absent of unique features… perhaps that’s what makes it unique? Otherwise, this is a traditional parklands track measuring 7,370 yards for its Par 72, with four of the easiest Par 5s on the PGA TOUR rotation. 

Tree lines and 87 bunkers notwithstanding, Detroit GC is a straightforward course that is flat and boasts average-sized fairways and greens, which run pure given their Bentgrass/Poa mix.

Winning scores in this event since 2020 have ranged from -18 to -26, with the potential of thunderstorms and heavy rain on Tuesday through to Friday enough to suggest that a slightly softened and slowed Detroit GC will be vulnerable to the lower end of that winning range this week.

But who will take home the trophy? Here’s our pick of the possibilities in our Rocket Mortgage Classic sleeper shortlist.

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Tony Finau – 50/1 – At 50/1 in a weak field, Tony Finau has to be of interest at a venue he took apart for -26 on his way to a win in 2022.

His game is not without its faults at the moment, particularly off the tee, but Finau’s approach play remains truly elite… and he’s actually putting better than you might expect him to right now.

Around a month ago, he finished inside the top-20 at the PGA Championship, so Finau is no forlorn hope at a venue he clearly enjoys.

Matt Fitzpatrick – 50/1 – Although he hasn’t contended for a while, Matt Fitzpatrick has quietly been playing excellent golf for a while now – he’ll be hoping to make that count amongst weaker grade company this week.

He was T17 at the Travelers Championship, gaining a cumulative +3.05 on a classy field with his ball striking, to go with T8 at the PGA Championship around a month ago.

Fitzpatrick was better off the tee at TPC River Highlands than he has been, while his approach play and putting have both been positive – albeit at different times. But when it all comes together, the Brit could feature at the top of the leaderboard.

Davis Thompson – 50/1 – Thompson has played 12 career rounds at Detroit GC, and five of those have been at two strokes or better than the day’s scoring average.

That suggests a tremendous aptitude for this particular test, and optimism is enhanced by the fact that Thompson delivered one of his best approach play performances in quite some time at the Travelers Championship.

He gained +5.52 cumulatively on a world-class field at TPC River Highlands, which suggests he heads back to Detroit in fine fettle.

Thompson’s putting numbers haven’t been great lately, but he has generally rolled the rock nicely at Detroit GC in past visits.

Rasmus Hojgaard – 55/1 – In a field not blessed with genuine winners, there can be no doubts about Rasmus Hojgaard’s credentials in that area.

He’s a five-time winner on the DP World Tour at the age of 24, and with the volume of chatter about the Ryder Cup rising, he’ll know that now is the time to put pedal to the metal.

The Dane has got the game, but now he needs to kick on and contend – his ball-striking can be immaculate, and if he brings that to Detroit he has the birdie-making muscle to thrive.

Emiliano Grillo – 80/1 – Solid ball striking provides Emiliano Grillo with a platform to build this summer.

He’s beaten the field in that department in each of his last four outings, with a formline of 19-24-16-20 offering a tantalizing glimpse of what the Argentine has done and what he could do.

An improvement on the greens will help, but that came last time out at the U.S. Open, where Grillo finished T19 amongst world-class company.

He’s not a frequent visitor to Detroit GC, but this is the sort of venue where players can turn up and perform without much in the way of course history.

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

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