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Rocket Mortgage Classic: Dark Horse Candidates in Detroit

By Christopher O'Day

HONOLULU, HI - JANUARY 10: Brian Stuard of the United States plays a shot on the tenth hole during the first round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 10, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
HONOLULU, HI - JANUARY 10: Brian Stuard of the United States plays a shot on the tenth hole during the first round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 10, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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LA QUINTA, CA – JANUARY 21: Charley Hoffman chips onto the second green during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CA – JANUARY 21: Charley Hoffman chips onto the second green during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

Charley Hoffman – 60/1

Charley Hoffman comes in first on my list of dark horse players to watch. Heading into the week, I love looking for players that struggle in one specific area, but are very strong in multiple areas.

Hoffman fits that to a T. Around the green, Hoffman really struggles. He ranks a lowly 179th in Strokes Gained Around the Green, actually losing .274 strokes per round. Right alongside that is his awful bunker game, in which he ranks 201st in sand save percentage, at only 37.14%.

However, he is a very good player off of the tee, and on approach shots as well. Off the tee is his second best SG stat, ranking 49th. His second shot, the SG on approach shots, is where he really shines. He ranks 27th here.

If he is playing well of the tee and pairing that with good approach shots, he might be able to avoid a lot of the issues that he has been prone to run into around the green. For Hoffman to score and score often this week, the indicator of this will be his fantastic tee to green play.

He recently showed the ability to do this as well, as he scored incredibly well during round three of the Charles Schwab challenge. He carded a 63, which put him in good enough position for the week to finish T-13th. Hoffman is a great candidate in this weaker field to go off for a round or two, and put himself in a good position to win.

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