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Rickie Fowler will look to defend his Rocket Mortgage Classic title this week as the PGA Tour heads to Michigan for the FedEx Cup points event at the Detroit Golf Club’s North Course.
Fowler, of course, won last year’s championship in a three-way playoff, beating Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa in just one hole with a birdie. It was part of Fowler’s 2023 resurgence, giving him his first win since 2019.
Fowler, whose odds sit at +4000 heading into Thursday’s first round, would be the first back-to-back champion in the event’s six-year history if he can get it done in the Motor City.
Joining Fowler are nine other golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings top 50, including No. 16 Tom Kim, who just lost to Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at The Travelers. Kim is the early favorite this week to win in Detroit, sitting at +1200 odds, according to BetMGM.
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Scheffler, who is not in this week’s field, has won six times this year on Tour and it’s not even July. The last player to have that many wins this early in the season was Arnold Palmer in 1962. Read that again.
Cameron Young, who is fresh off a third-round 59 during at The Travelers, will also be teeing it up this week. Young is 23rd in the Official World Golf Rankings and is right behind Kim in the odds at +1400.
FrontPageBets takes a look at golfers to watch as the PGA Tour stops in Michigan for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club.
Young will make his first trip back to the event after finishing second there in 2022.
Young is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory since turning pro in 2019. He’s had some close calls, however, finishing runner up seven times. That includes solo second at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews during a season he had five second-place finishes.
After an opening-round 2-over-par 72 last week at The Travelers, Young shot 66, 59 and 66 to finish tied for ninth.
In his first-and-only trip to Detroit Golf Club two years ago, Young fired a four-round, 21-under, which included a second-round 63.
Ranked No. 36 in the OWGR, Lee has made 11 of his last 12 cuts, including six top-25s and one top-10, which was a T2 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in early March.
Lee finished T21 in the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Pinehurst and is on a streak of five consecutive tournaments finishing inside the top 26.
This will be the first time Lee will tee it up in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Zalatoris is continuing to regain his top form after back surgery, sitting at No. 42 in the OWGR.
In his two previous starts at this event, Zalatoris made the cut both times, with his best finish T20 in 2022. He shot a 7-under 65 in the final round of that year’s tournament in Detroit.
Since returning full time after surgery, Zalatoris has made 11 cuts in 15 starts with three top-10 finishes, including at T2 at The Genesis Invitational in February. He also finished T9 at the Masters.
Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds
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Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com. Szvetitz is a 24-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros. His “View From The Lazy Boy” column won multiple state and national awards. He can be reached at mszvetitz@timesdispatch.com.
