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Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate for the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.
Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller!
In this article we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic - PGA DFS Overview
Detroit Golf Club
7,370 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Poa Annua /Bent Mix - Designer: Donald Ross
Before its PGA Tour debut a couple of years ago, we were all basically guessing as to how this layout by legendary architect Donald Ross would play. The answer is...pretty darn easy, as the pros basically have no trouble at all with Detroit Golf Club, with each edition of the Rocket Mortgage producing winners at 23-under par or better.
It might not be fair to call this layout "cookie-cutter", but that's the impression that I've walked away with after each edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, as the event is the definition of a straightforward birdie fest. There are no secrets at DGC (other than a couple of sneaky OB areas)...score on the four Par-5s, strike your irons well, and make putts. As a result, I'll be targeting players this week that have strong approach games, great Par-5 scoring ability, and can rack up birdies in bunches. I never give much weight to putting stats, but I will at least glance at some Poa numbers this week, as players will need to make some putts to go low.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Detroit Golf Club | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 296 | 282 |
| Driving Accuracy | 64% | 62% |
| GIR Percentage | 72% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 61% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.53 | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Off The Tee
- Birdies or Better Gained
- Total Driving
- Par-5 Scoring
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Poa Annua)
- Par-4 Scoring
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Bryson DeChambeau ($12,200)
Bryson was $12.3k last week in a tough Travelers field. He comes in at $12.2k this week for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, against a field that is no comparison to last week's. DeChambeau is the defending champion of this event and will once again try to pummel Detroit Golf Club into submission. If the putter is going well, he'll have a great chance to defend his title. He'll be extremely popular, but don't overthink this one.
Hideki Matsuyama ($11,900)
The 2021 Masters champion sticks out as one of just a handful of elite options in this week’s watered down field. Hideki also has some experience in this event, going T13-T21 in two previous Rocket Mortgage starts.
Matsuyama hasn’t logged any truly notable finishes since his breakthrough win at Augusta in April, but his game log doesn’t really reflect just how well he’s struck the ball. The Japanese star hasn’t posted a top-10 in four post-Masters starts, but he still leads this week’s Rocket field in SG: T2G over the last 12 rounds with the catalyst being his unsurprisingly-sharp iron play. He’s gained over six strokes on Approach in two of his last four outings and grades out fifth in Birdie Opportunities Gained.
Patrick Reed ($11,800)
Patrick Reed is on record saying that he likes this golf course and it must be true, as he's set to tee it up at Detroit Golf Club for the third consecutive year. Reed posted a T5 in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019, but missed the cut last year...typical Patrick Reed stuff. Although he's typically tough to get a bead on statistically, his ball striking has actually been extremely consistent as of late. He's gained strokes both T2G and on Approach in seven of his last eight starts. We'll need players that can rack up birdies this week and Reed leads the field in Birdies or Better Gained over the last 24 rounds.
Joaquin Niemann ($11,200)
After a splashy start to 2021 with a couple of runner-up finishes, Joaquin Niemann has settled in as one of the most consistent performers on the PGA Tour this year. The youngster ended a long-running made cut streak earlier this month at Memorial, but has rebounded with solid - if unspectacular - outings in his last two starts at the U.S. Open and last week's Travelers. The Chilean logged a T5 in his lone Rocket Mortgage start in 2019 and brings a level of consistency to what feels like a volatile DFS slate.
Matthew Wolff ($10,900)
Speaking of volatile, let's touch on Matthew Wolff, a player that's just as likely to miss the cut as he is to win this event. Wolff battled Bryson DeChambeau down the stretch in this event last year, ultimately posting a runner-up finish. If you follow the PGA Tour much at all then you're probably familiar with Wolff's decision to take some time away from the game this year, as well as his strong return at the U.S. Open, so I won't dive into it here other than to say that this kid is as explosive a player as there is on the PGA Tour. Yes, there's certainly some risk involved here, but Wolff is the type of player that can miss several cuts only to then win a golf tournament. This week's driver-friendly-go-make-birdies layout suits what he does best and will give him an opportunity to get back in the winner's circle.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Doc Redman ($10,100)
The "mid-priced" range is actually the weakest for me this week, which will lead to me constructing a lot of lineups with a "Stars & Scrubs" slant. That said, Doc Redman does stick out for me at $10.1k, as he brings a nice blend of strong course history and trending form. Redman famously posted a runner-up finish in this event as a Monday qualifier back in 2019 and followed that up with a T21 in last year's Rocket Mortgage. The form hasn't been there for the majority of this year, but he has picked things up as of late though, recording a top-10 at the AT&T Byron Nelson and a runner-up finish at the Palmetto Championship just in the past six weeks. He’s gained strokes on Approach in each of his last five starts and appears to be heading to Detroit with his arrow pointing up.
Garrick Higgo ($9,900)
The Euro Tour stud translated his winning ways to the U.S. earlier this month with a victory at the Palmetto Championship. DFS players haven't hesitated to jump on Higgo as a result, as he's carried noticeably-strong ownership in his subsequent starts. That will likely be the case again this week, but I believe the course fit is much better for the young South African here at Detroit Golf Club in comparison to his recent outings at Torrey Pines and TPC River Highlands. Higgo's three wins on the Euro Tour were with total scores under par of -27, -25, & -19...which tells me his explosive game is best geared for the type of scoring conditions we'll see this week at the Rocket Mortgage.
Maverick McNealy ($9,100)
Maverick McNealy stands out as one of my favorite plays on the board this week. The game log doesn't blow you away, but it paints a picture of a talented young player that's getting comfortable on the PGA Tour and trending in the right direction. McNealy has posted a couple of top-fives this year (Pebble Beach & Heritage) and heads to town off a couple of solid performances at the Charles Schwab and Travelers. He gained 4.7 strokes OTT at TPC River Highlands last week - an area that I'm heavily weighting on this layout - and grades out 17th in this field in Birdies or Better Gained over the last 24 rounds. A T8 finish in last year's Rocket Mortgage reflects the great fit for him on this golf course and he always sticks out as a strong option on Poa greens.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Sepp Straka ($8,900)
Straka is a course horse that's coming in off a strong ball-striking performance at the Travelers last week. His T8-T11 record at the Rocket Mortgage rivals that of anyone in the field and a mark of +5.4 SG: Approach last week certainly grabs my attention, especially at this sub-$9k price tag. He's an erratic player, but has demonstrated an affinity for tournaments where scoring is easy. Straka's rank of 16th in this field in Birdies or Better Gained indicates his ability to go low.
Troy Merritt ($8,700)
He's not the type of player that will pop in statistical models, but Troy Merritt has been getting things done nonetheless for the last couple of months. Merritt has quietly logged three top-eight finishes over his last seven starts. In addition to the recent form, the Minnesota native also has a T8 result (2020) on his Rocket Mortgage resume.
Hank Lebioda ($8,200)
Unlike our first two value play selections, Hank Lebioda has struggled in his two previous trips to Detroit Golf Club, logging a pair of missed cuts in prior Rocket Mortgage starts. However, we can make the argument that Lebioda is an improved player at the moment, as he heads to this year's edition of the Rocket on the heels of a T5 finish last week at the Travelers. The top-five marked his fifth consecutive made cut and he's gained an average of 3.2 strokes T2G over his last five tournaments.
Brian Stuard ($8,100)
We'll close out the week with a hometown boy, Brian Stuard. Stuard is a Jackson, Michigan native and Oakland University alum that's very familiar with this Detroit Golf Club layout. After posting "only" a T30 with no fans at last year's Rocket Mortgage, the hometown favorite will once again have a huge cheering section this week and those supporters helped buoy him to a T5 result in the 2019 version of this event. Outside of the "hometown boy" narrative, we can give him a look due to his solid performance last week at the Travelers. "Stu" logged a respectable T30 at River Highlands and has now gained strokes T2G in five of his last six starts.
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