Breaking down our Rocket Mortgage Classic DraftKings picks for the PGA DFS slate this week with top plays, top fades and a winning lineup.
After an exciting win for Tony Finau in Minnesota, we move onto the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club this week with the PGA Tour regular season coming to a close. And I’ll be fully transparent as always: We need a bounce-back week for our DraftKings picks as we look at the PGA DFS slate.
Last week was awful for me in every capacity. DFS lineups, best bets, anything that involved prognosticating the 3M, I was awful at. That’s on me, but we’re going to deliver the goods this week as we’ve locked back in and are ready to take down DraftKings and our opponents in PGA DFS contests.
So with that in mind, we’re going through it again with our top plays and fades from each pricing tier before we construct our Rocket Mortgage Classic PGA DFS lineup with our DraftKings picks. Let’s start with the guys we like this week in Detroit.
DraftKings picks for the Rocket Mortgage Classic PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays
$10,000: Cameron Young ($10,100) – Truth be told, I’m not in love with the $10K range this week but Young definitely stands out. He’s been consistently finishing in the Top 10 or Top 5 this season and has been overdue for a win at this point. His game also suits Detroit Golf Club with his ability to bomb it down into the fairway and use an underrated short game to score. He should finish well this week and, if I’m in this range, he’s the only option in my book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhVMlhNQ1FQ?feature=oembed
$9,000: Kevin Kisner ($9,100) – There is a lot of merit to the idea that bombers will have an advantage at the Rocket Mortgage Classic but Kisner has bucked that trend the past two years with two Top 10s and one Top 5 finish. He might not be having a half-swing wedge into greens but he knows how to maneuver well around this course and his combination of course history and quality recent form make him impossible for me to look away from him. Also Consider: Cameron Davis ($9,700), Adam Scott ($9,300)
$8,000: Mark Hubbard ($8,000) – I think we’re actually looking at a misprice for Hubbard here. This is a guy who has finished inside the Top 15 in each of his last three starts, including two Top 5s, and finished T12 at this event in 2020. He’s dialed in on approach and with his putter along with still being a highly accurate driver. Thus, I love for him to score well and be in contention yet again at the Rocket Mortgage. Also Consider: Denny McCarthy ($8,900), Davis Riley ($8,600), Cameron Tringale ($8,500), Gary Woodland ($8,100)
$7,000: Chris Kirk ($7,800) – Smashing this pick as hard as possible. Kirk is my outright pick to win this week and you’re getting a discount because of arguably his two worst starts of the year coming into this tournament. On the whole, though, he’s been T21 and T12 in two trips to Detroit, has the wedge game to thrive from short distances and is going to his best putting surface statistically by a long shot. He’s due for a win and I love for him to be in the mix this week, particularly only in the $7K range. Also Consider: Scott Stallings ($7,700), Tom (Joohyung) Kim ($7,600), Troy Merritt ($7,600), Taylor Pendrith ($7,500), Jhonnatan Vegas ($7,400), Kurt Kitayama ($7,200), Callum Tarren ($7,100)
$6,000: Chesson Hadley ($6,900) – Normally, it’d be better to go at least slightly deeper into the $6K range for my top play but I can’t ignore Hadley’s value at this spot. He has three Top 10s and four Top 35 finishes in his last five starts and is trending to try and make the FedExCup top 125 again. While his history at the Rocket Mortgage isn’t great with 1-for-3 on made cuts, he’s playing great golf and he offers a lot of value at this spot. Also Consider: Lee Hodges ($6,800), Sepp Straka ($6,700), Brandon Hagy ($6,500)
DraftKings picks for the Rocket Mortgage Classic PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades
$10,000: Will Zalatoris ($10,400) – Just looking at the spreadsheet and the game, Will Zalatoris should make a ton of sense here. Yet, when it comes to birdie-fests on easier golf courses, the young star hasn’t been as successful as you’d think. For whatever reason, he actually tends to struggle (by his standards) in this type of event. Because of that, I’m staying away from him this week and looking elsewhere for higher-upside players.
$9,000: Max Homa ($9,900) – This might shock some people because anyone who has followed me knows that Homa is my guy and someone who has paid off hugely for me throughout the season. Having said that, Homa has been on his honeymoon and decisively not playing golf or practicing since The Open. That leads to some uncertainty about rust and sharpness, which brings in enough risk that I don’t want to pay this price for him on DraftKings.
$8,000: Webb Simpson ($8,300) – Simpson hasn’t been playing poorly lately but it’s not been great either. He’s been better than three missed cuts in his last four starts would indicate but the Strokes Gained numbers don’t blow you away and, simply, he’s not scoring low. That’s a problem for this tournament and I don’t think he has the form at the current moment to hang with the numbers that are going to be required to win or even contend in Detroit.
$7,000: Chris Gotterup ($7,400) – In all honesty, Gotterup should thrive here — but the same was true last week. His approach play fell off from recent weeks at the 3M Open and I’m admittedly a bit spooked. More importantly, I expect he’s going to be popular in DFS games for this price, so I think this is a point where you can pivot and be different in building your lineup, even if you are risking on the youngster capitalizing on his immense upside.
Rocket Mortgage Classic: Best DraftKings golf lineup
- Adam Scott ($9,300)
- Kevin Kisner ($9,100)
- Davis Riley ($8,600)
- Mark Hubbard ($8,000)
- Chris Kirk ($7,800)
- Callum Tarren ($7,100)
In the end, I’m not going into the $10K range and, instead, am looking for a more balanced lineup — even though I like some guys in the $6K range quite a bit.
We’ve already talked about Kisner, Hubbard and Kirk, so the other three guys deserve some space. Scott has not played a lot this year but is trending well with a hot putter and good approach numbers along with Top 15 finishes in each of the last two majors. I don’t think he wins but I think he needs FedExCup points and puts up a strong finish.
Riley — sigh — I just can’t quit him. He let me down in more ways than one last week but his game has still been so strong that I think he kicks off the rust and gets his form back in Detroit to finish his rookie regular season strong. That leaves us with Tarren, who finished T7 last week, bombs it off the tee, and has three T22 or better finishes in his last four starts. I love him to keep up this trend at a course that might be the best fit for his game yet.