Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2025 Rocket Classic

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2025 Rocket Classic

2025 Rocket Classic Fantasy Preview

If Keegan Bradley doesn’t want to play in the Ryder Cup, he’s doing a funny job of showing it.

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He’s now won two PGA TOUR events since being announced as the American team captain for Bethpage, with his latest triumph coming at the Travelers Championship on Sunday.

The TPC River Highlands jaunt is something of a home game for the New Englander, and he was evidently feeding off the partisan crowd as putt after putt landed in the final round.

Bradley still needed a helping hand from Tommy Fleetwood, who led by two shots with three to play. But the Brit made a couple of mistakes at the business end, posting bogeys at 16 and 18 (the latter after three-putting) as Bradley made a clutch birdie at the final hole – enough to flip-flop the lead in the hometown boy’s favor.

An eighth PGA TOUR title takes Bradley up to seventh in the world rankings. How he can conceivably not play in the Ryder Cup at this point is anybody’s guess…

Assuming he doesn’t withdraw, Bradley will have a chance to go and do it all over again at a Detroit GC track he enjoys for the Rocket Classic this week.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Last week our shining star was Henley, who’s chip in on 18 pushed him in to the T2 spot.

Along with Russell, we also had Harris English who finished strong at T4.

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The 2025 Rocket Classic Field

There tends to be a little bit of a lull on the PGA TOUR these next few weeks following a hectic major and Signature Event schedule, so it’s perhaps telling that only four members of the OGWR top 20 will tee it up in Detroit.

Leading the way will be world number four Collin Morikawa, while the likes of Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, Ben Griffin, and Patrick Cantlay will be hoping to hit paydirt in weak company.

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Wyndham Clark, Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Young, and Tony Finau are amongst some of the more interesting names in the field with the Ryder Cup in mind – they still, perhaps, have time to play their way to a captain’s pick.

Cam Davis, the defending champion and two-time Rocket Classic winner, will be looking to make it three at Detroit GC, while Davis Thompson – who finished in T2 alongside Bhatia, Min Woo Lee, and Aaron Rai last year, will be looking to go one better this week.

This Week’s Course Preview

Even at its toughest in recent years, Detroit’s highest winning score has been -18; it’s lowest, -26, indicative of the simplicity of this layout when conditions are right.

That’s something of a surprise, given that the layout has Donald Ross’ name on the blueprints, but he was obviously in forgiving mood when designing this Par 72, 7,370 yard property.

This is a straightforward course at which the players can choose to attack off the tee or lay back – different strategies have all thrived at Detroit GC, while the forgiving rough allows for greens to be attacked even when fairways are missed.

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Davis found 79.2% of GIR last year and still only ranked 23rd for that metric, and the Australian also ranked just 20th for SG: Putting; the ranks of the four players in T2 (10th, 16th, 30th, and 35th) suggests that much of the heavy lifting is done from tee-to-green.

Aside from some tree lines and around 90 bunkers, Detroit GC is almost completely flat and water-free, with the main challenge provided by the greens, with the Poa said to be outgrowing the Bentgrass strain that it’s blended with.

The quartet of Par 5s all once again served up a buffet of low scoring, with the seventeenth delivering 216 scores of birdie or better compared to 19 of bogey or worse.

The only holes at which the players really need to mind their work is the 233-yard Par 3 eleventh, as well as a pair of Par 4s at six and twelve that provided a stern test of ball-striking last year.

Weather Forecast for Detroit, MI

Talk about a week of two halves in Detroit!

Monday and Tuesday have an excessive heat warning in place, with temperatures expected to reach 95 degrees.

But then storms are expected to arrive on Wednesday, flushing out the extreme heat but bringing in its place heavy rain, with plenty expected to fall during the middle of the week.

How that will impact proceedings only time will tell, but there should be a more settled picture heading into the weekend, where sunshine, low winds, and temperatures in the region of 82 degrees have been predicted.

DETROIT WEATHER

Last Year’s Results from the Rocket Classic

It was another birdie-fest at the 2024 Rocket Classic, with nine players at double-digits under par at the halfway stage.

Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai were the co-leaders through 18, and Saturday 68s maintained their advantage at the 54-hole stage.

Scoring was more difficult on Sunday, with both Bhatia and Rai exchanging birdies and bogeys, with Davis Thompson – three birdies in his last five holes – and Min Woo Lee, who somehow made double-bogey at seven – propelling themselves up the leaderboard.

But it was Cam Davis who was the steadiest ship, playing his front nine in 34 before making seven pars on the home stretch – given the chaos going on around him, that was enough for the Australian to win by one and clinch a second Rocket Classic title in the space of four years.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for this Week’s the 2025 Rocket Classic

It’s the first time in a while we’ve had a full field, halfway cut event to draft for, and this Rocket Classic event is ideal given the relative weakness of some of those towards the top of the salary cap.

Let’s enter contests accordingly:

• GOLF TOUR $300k Drive the Green – With $5 multi entry, gamers have pick variations of their central lineup in this contest, which delivers a top prize of a cool $50k.

• GOLF TOUR $30k Tee-to-Green – This $6 entry game has a much smaller field of teams to beat – just 5,882, to be exact, with a $5k top prize and plenty of other consolation payouts, too.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the 2025 Rocket Classic

With a high GIR count and birdies aplenty, there’s not a great deal of science that goes into predicting the Rocket Classic protagonists.

Simply finding the right position off the tee and hitting quality approach shots – from various ranges in the 125-225 yard bracket – is the most straightforward way to set up birdie opportunities at Detroit GC. 

There was 16 players tied at T10 or better last year, and only six of them ranked inside the top-ten for SG: Putting… that in itself is telling.

There’s been a diverse array of protagonists here over the years, but many can be described as high class in the ball-striking department – Davis, Rai, Bhatia, Thompson, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay and co all tick that particular box.

Although correlating courses aren’t that obvious straight off the bat, the top of the leaderboard provides some evidence of relatability.

Rickie Fowler has won the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale and the Rocket Classic, while Tony Finau has won the Rocket and lost in a playoff at the Phoenix. Patrick Cantlay has finished second at both events.

The Memorial Tournament offers up some visual similarities at Muirfield Village as well as some leaderboard overlaps, while the list of players to thrive at both Detroit GC and PGA National continues to grow. 

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2025 Rocket Classic   

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2025 Rocket Classic  

Top Tier Pick # 1

Keegan Bradley (Odds: 16/1, FPPG: 78.0, Salary: $10,400)

Make no mistake, Keegan Bradley wants an automatic place in the U.S.A’s Ryder Cup team.

The kind of guy he is, Bradley won’t want to be in the awkward position of having to pick himself as a captain’s selection… but he’s desperate to make it to Bethpage nonetheless. 

So, finish in the top six of the standings, which leaves nobody in any doubt that you’ve earned your place.

Winning tournaments: that’s the best way to go about it, and Bradley isn’t the kind of personality that will be out until the wee hours celebrating his win at the Travelers Championship.

Instead, all eyes will be on Detroit GC, where he’s played some excellent golf over the years – six of his last 16 rounds here have been at two strokes or better than the day’s scoring average.

Key Stats:

• SG: Approach – 22nd
• SG: Off-the-Tee – 28th
• Birdie Average – 43rd

Top Tier Pick #2

Ben Griffin (Odds: 22/1, FPPG: 73.9, Salary: $9,800)

An overwhelming desire to make America’s Ryder Cup team sees Ben Griffin pack up his clubs and travel anywhere he can at the minute.

That will lead to fatigue at some point, but at courses that suit – like Detroit GC surely will – and in weak company, he’ll be chomping at the bit to get more points to his name.

Griffin is playing fantastic golf wherever he goes at the minute, and in tests of flag hunting and making putts, few are better placed than him right now to get the win.

Key Stats:

• SG: Approach – 34th
• SG: Putting – 35th
• Birdie Average – 47th

Mid-Tier Pick #1

Akshay Bhatia (Odds: 50/1, FPPG: 67.6, Salary: $8,200)

With chances to win at Detroit GC 12 months ago, Akshay Bhatia will be hoping to go one better in 2025.

The left-hander is playing some good golf right now; certainly in his approach play, putting up +2.36 at the Travelers Championship to go with meaty gains in weeks gone by.

The chipping yips hampered his progress at TPC River Highlands, but that shouldn’t be so much of a problem at Detroit GC, where rain-softened greens will surely provide considerable GIR numbers once more.

Key Stats:

• Birdie Average – 14th
• SG: Putting – 15th
• SG: Approach – 24th

Mid-Tier Pick #2

Chris Kirk (Odds: 80/1, FPPG: 53.6, Salary: $7,500)

Of all the players in this field that have played five or more times at Detroit GC, Chrik Kirk’s scoring average is second only to two-time winner Cam Davis.

So Kirk evidently loves it at the venue, despite a formline of 44-14-17-12-21 being filed under very good, rather than outstanding.

His form lately has been reasonably good, with positive approach play numbers even when missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament and Charles Schwab Challenge. Sandwiching those were T12 at the U.S. Open and T18 at the RBC Heritage, so there’s an argument to suggest Kirk is playing well enough to win against lower grade opposition.

Key Stats:

• Fairway Proximity – 55th
• SG: Approach – 66th
• Driving Accuracy – 75th

Low-Tier Pick

Austin Eckroat (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 57.6, Salary: $7,000)

After a lengthy period in the doldrums, Austin Eckroat seemingly returned to form at the Travelers Championship.

He opened with a fantastic round of 62 at TPC River Highlands, and while he tailed off from there, Eckroat still delivered a tremendous approach play performance.

It’s handy preparation ahead of a trip to a course that should suit. Okay, so he’s missed the cut twice at Detroit GC, but Eckroat is a winner at the correlating PGA National – and in this field, his pair of wins in 2024 marks him out as one of the most likely champions in this field.

Key Stats:

• Driving Accuracy – 31st
• Proximity to Hole – 61st
• Total Birdies – 67th

Sleeper Pick for the 2025 Rocket Classic

Matt Kuchar (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 63.8, Salary: $6,900)

Although it gets no easier to win on the PGA TOUR as you start to approach 50, it was roughly a year ago that Matt Kuchar nearly landed the 3M Open.

He ended up T3 there, but reminded us – and himself – of the class that has seen be a PGA TOUR regular for two decades.

Kooch’s approach play has perked up of late, and he’s played some good golf at Detroit GC: in six rounds at the venue, Kuchar has beaten the day’s scoring average by two strokes or more twice.

Key Stats:

• Proximity to Hole – 15th
• SG: Putting – 30th
• Driving Accuracy – 54th

Alternative Sleeper Pick for the 2025 Rocket Classic

David Skinns (Odds: 350/1, FPPG: 51.2, Salary: $6,400)

Having produced his best ball-striking performance in quite some time at the Canadian Open in his last start, David Skinns could be a savvy sleeper pick this week.

The Englishman posted rounds of 66 and 67 at Detroit GC last year, with his T17 finish there a real coup for anyone that drafted him as a bargain basement sleeper play.

Whether lightning strikes twice this year remains to be seen, but for Skinns to return to a venue he enjoys off the back of his first PGA TOUR top-ten in over a year at least bodes well.

Key Stats:

• Driving Distance – 32nd
• Proximity to Hole – 38th
• Approaches from 100 yards – 58th

This Week’s Sample Fantasy Lineup

Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only.  Be sure to mix-and-match to best fit individual contests.

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Fantasy Golf Predictions – This Season 

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