This year’s iteration of the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club is quite a tricky one to handicap.

This is the PGA Tour’s eighth visit to Motown for this event, and it’s also the last, as the sponsor declined to renew the partnership for 2027.

The timing couldn’t be worse.

For the first seven years of the partnership between the PGA Tour, Rocket Mortgage, and Detroit Golf Club, this tournament was viewed as, frankly, a joke.

The field was always devoid of any star power, and the course was easily overwhelmed by the B-listers who did make the trip. The average winning score at Detroit Golf Club is 22-under par, and relative unknowns like Cam Davis (twice), Nate Lashley, and Aldrich Potgieter have lifted the trophy in Motown.

That’s not the recipe for a tournament to become a financial success, so the powers that be had the course renovated for 2026, hoping to modernize the track and make the tournament more exciting.

The most notable changes are that Detroit Golf Club will now play as a par 70 instead of a par 72, and the seventh and 17th holes have been converted from short Par 5s to long Par 4s.

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. 

And it really is a shame, because this year’s tournament has some serious oomph to it.

Whether because of the renovations, because it’s last call in Detroit for the PGA Tour, or some other reason, this year’s field for the Rocket Classic is the strongest in the event’s history.

Cameron Young is the 10/1 betting favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, but the Open Championship runner-up isn’t the headliner in this field. That honor belongs to 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun, who just took home his first PGA Tour title at last week’s 3M Open. This will be Koivun’s fourth start since turning pro at the John Deere about a month ago.

The Auburn alum is 20/1 to go back-to-back, putting him in the same range as Chris Gotterup (18/1), Xander Schauffele (20/1), Si Woo Kim (20/1), and Wyndham Clark (22/1).

2026 Rocket Classic picks

Si Woo Kim (22/1, BetMGM)

One of the best players in the world at the moment, Si Woo Kim is playing as well as you can without actually winning a title in 2026.

The South Korean has finished inside the top-10 in half of his 20 starts this season, and he’s twice been a bridesmaid, including at the CJ Cup in May.

It’s been over 3.5 years since Kim’s last PGA Tour win, but he should be as confident as any player in this field after consecutive top-10s at the Scottish Open and Open Championship.

Russell Henley (27/1, DraftKings)

Currently the No. 5 player in the world, Russell Henley has been steady as she goes in 2026. The Georgia Bulldog has a win, four top-5s, and 11 top-25s in 16 outings in 2026.

Those numbers are remarkably similar to what Henley posted in 2025, when he nabbed a win and 10 top-10s in 19 starts.

The renovations at Detroit Golf Club will require much more precision off the tee, and Henley has very few peers in that department these days.

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Emiliano Grillo (115/1, DraftKings)

We’ll go back to the well with Emiliano Grillo to fill the long-shot spot on our betting card this week.

The Argentine was in the final pairing on Sunday alongside Koivun, but he fell off the pace and finished T7. As tough as it was to see our 100/1 pick go up in smoke, it was also another encouraging showing from one of the streakiest players on Tour.

Sitting in the triple-digits again, there’s no reason not to go back to the 33-year-old after his best performance of the season.

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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.