The PGA Tour rolls into Detroit Golf Club for this week's Rocket Classic, and while Cameron Young and phenom Jackson Kuivon may be at the top of most betting cards, a closer look at the Rocket Classic odds will uncover some sleepers worth targeting.
My Rocket Classic predictions start with a surging Hideki Matsuyama and end with Billy Horschel as he looks to get his putter back on track in Detroit.
💤 Rocket Classic Open long shot picks
Picks were made on 7-28 at 2 p.m. ET.
🎯 Rocket Classic sleeper predictions
Sleeper pick to win: Hideki Matsuyama +3900
Hideki Matsuyama has not won since the Hero World Challenge in December, but good results have still come his way, especially lately.
He's on a T14-T14-T3 run over his last three starts and was a half-decent approach week away from really challenging Jackson Koivun at the top of the 3M Open leaderboard over the weekend.
He tops this week's field in total strokes gained over the last month (he's also third from tee to green and first around the green), and with this field lacking a few giants, this is a perfect opportunity for Hideki to get back in the Winner's Circle.
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Sleeper pick to win: Akshay Bhatia +5456
Akshay Bhatia lacks week-to-week consistency, but he's flashed to eight finishes of T17 or better, including a win at the Arnold Palmer back in March and a T5 at the Travelers before missing the cut at The Open last time out.
He finished T2 and just one shot back after having a share of the 54-hole lead here in 2024, and despite some so-so finishes through the summer, this is still a guy that ranks eighth in this field over the last six months in total strokes gained while sitting third in putting and ninth on approach.
His upside is proven to be good enough to win on the PGA Tour, and this near 50/1 price is well worth a spot on this week's card.
Sleeper pick to win: Billy Horschel +19900
More of a genuine long shot, Billy Horschel is coming off a T13 at the 3M Open in which he ranked fifth in strokes gained approach and sixth off the tee to finish the week second from tee to green.
He's second in this field on approach and fourth from tee to green over the last month, but what's holding him back is a flat stick that ranked 57th at the 3M Open and sits 130th over the last month.
Still, with the rest of his game in such a great spot, anything closer to an average putting week — he gained 4.4 true strokes putting here in his lone 2019 start — could have Horschel in contention come Sunday afternoon.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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