After an exhilarating run of signature events, difficult conditions and major championships, the PGA Tour gets a little breather with the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Detroit Golf Club hosts once again and has averaged a winning score of -23.2 over five years since the tournament's inception in 2019. This is one of the only courses on Tour in which golfers can launch drivers with little regard for where the ball ends up because these fairways are very generous, and the rough is spotty and not very penal.
As long as golfers avoid tree trouble off the tee, they can fire mid irons and wedges at pins while trying to catch a hot putter.
While most birdie-fests on the PGA Tour are purely putting contests, tee to green play has been imperative at Detroit Golf Club. In five years of playing the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the winner has not ranked worse than fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green for the week.
This shows that ball-striking will remain important rather than just relying on a very hot putter and is significant because ball-striking is a lot more predictable than trying to guess whose putter will catch fire.
Here are your 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic One & Done Picks.
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic One & Done Picks
Tom Kim +1400
The options at the top of the board are bleak this week with Tom Kim entering as the betting favorite at 14-1 on bet365, and I am not sure people are running to grab the lowest-priced golfer on the odds board. While Kim does not fit the bomber narrative many are looking for this week, his floor is very high.
The 22-year-old is trending in a great way and checks boxes across the board. Yes, he will play from farther back than most of the best players in this field off the tee, but his mid-iron game is as strong as anyone's right now. Kim will hit a ton of fairways and greens, and the putts will fall.
He has a tie for seventh here in 2022, which tells me he knows he can eclipse that since he is in far better form and more experienced now.
If he can win at Sedgefield Country Club, like he did in 2022 by five shots, he can figure out these Donald Ross greens in Detroit. The majority may skip over Kim as they are waiting to use him at the Wyndham Championship or have already clicked him.
If you have Tom available and are looking to go toward the top of the board, give the young man a roll in your 2024 Rocket Mortgage One & Done pool.
Nicolai Højgaard +6000
There was a time earlier this season when Nicolai Højgaard was around 20-1 in a very similar field and course at the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta. He opened at +1900 odds at bet365 on Monday morning of that event and closed at +1700.
The form was surely better heading into that Mexico Open in February, but he has shown some signs of late. His tie for 50th at The U.S. Open will go overlooked as he was inside the top 20 for a majority of the event but fell off late on Sunday.
He is finding his ball-striking again after gaining on approach in three of his last four starts. He ranks 20th on the entire PGA Tour in Driving Distance and 12th in Ball Speed, which will rate out much better in this field.
Højgaard has the distance, is trending in other facets of the game and is a winner.
Just last November, this 23-year-old took down the field at the DP World Tour Championship, which included beating the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood.
This is an absurd number on one of the most talented golfers in the field who should excel in this style of golf.
Chris Gotterup +12000
PGA Tour winner Chris Gotterup is an absolute bomber. He ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in Driving Distance which is good for second in this field. Gotterup fits the bill of the bomber who will be in full-send mode from the jump this week in Detroit.
He has the ability to spike with either the wedges or the putter, which are both avenues to succeed. This is a course I will run Gotterup out on a yearly basis because it allows him to tap into his best skill set — the driver. He will not be a popular One & Done selection, but he surely has the upside to help you gain ground as a contrarian play.
