DETROIT — From breakthrough wins to career-affirming victories, the Rocket Mortgage Classic has run the gamut in champions through its first four years.
It was little-known Nate Lashley who went wire-to-wire to win the inaugural event in 2019 followed by the powerful Bryson DeChambeau blasting the ball around Detroit Golf Club to victory in 2020. Cam Davis won in a three-man playoff in 2021 before Tony Finau captured the 2022 title, his second straight victory on the PGA Tour and one that cemented him as one of the top players in the world.
Who will it be in the fifth playing of the annual tournament? There are plenty of highly ranked players in the field to choose from, but will this year offer another unknown? Play begins Thursday morning and here are our bets at who might be the last golfer standing on Sunday evening.
THE FAVORITES
Tony Finau
He was first on the list a year ago and why not? He had just won at the 3M Championship then posted a record 26 under to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Finau has added two more victories this season — he has six career wins — and has 11 top-25 finishes. He missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May, but has been solid the last two weeks at the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship. It all has Finau in prime position to defend his title.
Max Homa
Homa is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 9 and has two victories this season along with eight top-10 finishes. He’s got the game to win anytime he tees it up but has missed the cut in his last two events, including two weeks ago at the U.S. Open. He’ll have a good chance to turn things around this week on a course he’s fared well at with a pair of top-25 finishes in each of the last two tournaments.
Justin Thomas
Arguably the biggest name in the field, Thomas is focused on working his way back up the FedEx Cup rankings, where he currently stands 66th. It’s been a struggle recently for the two-time major champion. He missed the cut at The Masters, tied for 65th as the defending PGA champion then missed the cut in back-to-back weeks at The Memorial and The U.S. Open. He bounced back last week with a tie for ninth at the Travelers Championship, just in time for his first appearance in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Collin Morikawa
One of the Tour’s young, up-and-coming stars, Morikawa is making his first appearance at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and comes to Detroit Golf Club as the 20th-ranked player in the world. However, he also comes with injury concerns as a bad back as been hindering him for several weeks. He was forced to withdraw from The Memorial, but managed a tie for 14th at The U.S. Open before firing a second-round 63 last week at The Travelers Championship.
Keegan Bradley
Momentum mattered last year when Tony Finau managed to go back-to-back, and it’s Bradley who will attempt to do the same this year after rolling to a victory last week at The Travelers Championship. It’s been a career resurgence of sorts for the 2011 PGA champion and he’ll be looking to continue that this week in a tournament he’s missed only once.
FIVE MORE TO WATCH
Sunjae Im
The South Korean was the Rookie of the Year on Tour in 2019 and has won twice on Tour heading into this season that has seen him finish in the top 10 seven times along with 12 top-25 finishes. He’s missed the cut in three of his last five events but fired four rounds in the 60s last week at The Travelers Championship.
Tom Kim
The 22nd-ranked player in the world, Kim tied for second at The U.S. Open two weeks ago, then tied for 38th last week when he couldn’t overcome a third-round 72, despite shooting 65 on Sunday.
Hideki Matsuyama
A regular at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Matsuyama has been playing well of late, finishing in the top 30 in six of his last seven events. An eight-time winner on Tour, it seems to be only a matter of time before he notches No. 9.
Rickie Fowler
It wasn’t long ago that Fowler was lost, no longer a regular contender on Tour. However, things have flipped this season as he has 14 top-25 finishes and had three straight top-10s through the U.S. Open two weeks ago. Last week’s tie for 13th at The Travelers Championship included a third-round 60 for the Rocket ambassador.
Cam Davis
Davis has been unable to find the form that helped him win the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic and has missed the cut in half of the 20 tournaments he’s played this season, including three of the last four. But there might not be a better place to straighten things out than the course he won at two years ago.
DARK HORSES
Zach Johnson
His last Tour win was at The Open Championship in 2015, but the captain of the American Ryder Cup team will definitely have fan support and is coming off a final-round 65 to lead to a tie for 29th last week at The Travelers Championship.
Luke Donald
Once the top-ranked player in the world, Donald hasn’t won anywhere since 2013. But as the captain of the European Ryder Cup team, how fun would it be if he and Johnson found themselves near the lead on Sunday? Maybe it’s wishful thinking but it would be a heck of a tease for this fall’s Ryder Cup.
Nate Lashley
The champion of the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic will always a be a fan favorite, and he’ll have plenty of support this week. He’ll need it as he has missed the cut in two of his last three events, though he does have a pair of top-10 finishes this season.
Brian Harman
After a second-place finish last week, Harman has jumped up to No. 40 in the world rankings and might not exactly qualify as a dark horse. However, he hasn’t won since the Wells Fargo Championship in 2017, meaning he has a long dry spell to end.
Sepp Straka
The 36th-ranked player in the world, Straka got his first win at last year’s Honda Classic before backing that up this season with a tie for fifth. He comes to Detroit Golf Club have shot four rounds in the 60s last week at The Travelers Championship.
