2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic: The Rundown

After a Major and another designated event, you would expect a much weaker field for the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic. However, this year’s field is likely the strongest in the Rocket Mortgage’s brief five-year history. Fourteen of the top 50 in the world golf rankings will be teeing it up this week.

Last year Tony Finau won gaining an impressive 14.1 strokes tee to green en route to a ridiculous score of 26 under. Patrick Cantlay, Taylor Pendrith, Cam Young, and Stephan Jaeger rounded out the top 5 all shooting -20 or better.

Cam Davis shot 68 or better in all four rounds and won in 2021 with a score of 18 under. He defeated Joaquin Niemann and Troy Merritt in a playoff.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic is held at Detroit Golf Club.

The course is a Donald Ross designed 7,300 yard par 72 with Bentgrass/ Poa greens.

There are 2 courses that combine to make 18 holes for the tournament. The four par fives are the easiest four holes on the course. The 635 yard 4th hole is the most difficult of the par fives but still boasts a 30% birdie rate. The 577 yard 17th is the easiest hole on the course and has a 47% birdie rate.

Two of the par threes are over 200 yards and play rather difficult while the other two are around 160 yards and play much easier. There are 10 par fours on the course, four are 350-400 yards and four are 450-500 yards.

With a lack of trouble and easier-to-hit fairways, driving distance is higher than tour average with players bombing as far as possible off the tee. Around 50% of drives are over 300 yards and the average drive is well over tour average coming in at 295 yards.

Greens in regulation percentage is also higher here coming in at 72%. Around 40% of approach shots are from 125-175 yards. With another 21% coming from over 200 yards. Missing greens isn’t necessarily the end of the world with scrambling being easier at Detroit Golf Club. However, winners have more than doubled the field in sand saves over the last four years.

Ultimately hitting greens and creating scoring opportunities will be key. Not capitalizing on those opportunities will take golfers out of contention as this will be a birdie fest with the winning score likely coming in at somewhere around -20.

There are 156 players in the field with the top 65 and ties making the cut

Rocket Mortgage Classic: The Key Stats

• Strokes Gained Approach
• Opportunities Gained
• Birdies or Better Gained
• Par 5 Scoring

Historical Cutline at The Rocket Mortgage Classic. 

• 2022: -2
• 2021: -2
• 2020: -4
• 2019: -4

Recent Winners of the Rocket Mortgage

• 2022: Tony Finau -26
• 2021: Cam Davis -18
• 2020: Bryson DeChambeau -23
• 2019: Nate Lashley -25