The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits Detroit Golf Club for the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Designed by iconic architect Donald Ross in 1913, Detroit Golf Club will play as a Par 72, 7,370 yard layout this week. This year’s edition is headlined by 7 of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Last year’s edition was won by Tony Finau, who set a new tournament scoring record of -26 to beat Cameron Young, Taylor Pendrith, and Patrick Cantlay by five strokes.
Player to Fade:
This season has been one to forget for Kyle Westmoreland, as he has only made 5 cuts across 20 starts, with a best finish of T-27 coming at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Westmoreland is ranked outside the top 100 in 5 of the 6 major Strokes Gained categories and it doesn’t look like his game is going to be radically improving anytime soon. A missed cut is certainly in the cards for Westmoreland.
Dark Horse:
Brandon Wu is quietly putting together a solid season on tour, with 3 top 10’s and 6 top 25’s in 25 starts this season. Wu finished T-30 here last year and has some momentum from finishing in the top 30 in 4 of his last 7 starts. Wu is ranked 9th on tour this season in Total Birdies, which should benefit him well this week, as Wu will have to go low to have a good showing. A top 25 finish is certainly within reach for Wu.
Top 10:
Snapping a winless streak of over 7 years earlier this season at the Honda Classic, Chris Kirk has gone a bit cold, with 1 top 10 and 2 top 25’s since then. Kirk has had solid success in this event through the years, finishing in the top 25 in all 3 of his previous trips to Detroit Golf Club. Kirk’s game is solid throughout the bag, ranking 27th in Strokes Gained: Total, and his short game is strong as well, ranking 12th in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. A win isn’t out of the realm, but a top 10 finish would certainly get Kirk’s game heading in the right direction as the FedEx Cup Playoffs draw closer.
Winner:
Tom Kim is having a great season on tour, with 1 win, 5 top 10’s, 9 top 25’s, and just 4 missed cuts in 20 starts. Kim had success here last year, tying the course record by shooting a 63 in the final round on the way to a 7th place finish. There are very few holes in Kim’s game right now, as evidenced by his 26th place ranking in Strokes Gained: Total and ranking 18th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Some weeks you just get a gut feeling about a player and we predict that this will be one of those week’s for Tom Kim, as he will bring home the victory in the Rocket Mortgage Classic!