Steve Palmer's Rocket Mortgage Classic predictions & free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf red button from 11.45am Thursday

Best bets

Bryson DeChambeau
4pts 15-2 general

Jason Kokrak
2pts each-way 28-1 Hills

Joaquin Niemann
2pts each-way 25-1 Hills, Power

Sepp Straka
1pt each-way 90-1 bet365

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The third Rocket Mortgage Classic takes place at Detroit Golf Club this week and most of the world's finest are giving it a miss - Bryson DeChambeau is the only member of the top eight in attendance.

Patrick Reed, who has not quite been finding top gear lately, missed the cut in last year's Rocket Mortgage, while Hideki Matsuyama has also been struggling to peak in the wake of his Masters triumph in April.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Bryson DeChambeau 15-2

Pre-tournament thunderstorms have softened Detroit GC and the defending champion must be licking his lips at the prospect of attacking the ancient layout again this week.

The flat, easy course can be demolished by players who can hit their ball long and high, cutting corners on doglegs. Bryson DeChambeau actually apologised to course designer Donald Ross in his pre-event media conference last year, explaining how he was going to throw the traditional Detroit GC strategies out the window.

Bomb and gouge tactics won DeChambeau a US Open a couple of months after he showcased the same method in the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He putted well on his way to a 23-under-par total, but it was his enormous driving distance which proved most decisive. The musclebound Californian can overwhelm DGC again and retain the trophy.

There is no Brooks Koepka to worry about this week - their spat can be put firmly on the backburner - and DeChambeau should be fully focused on the assignment ahead. The Stateside Majors are over and his main targets for the remainder of the season are probably to get to ten PGA Tour wins (he has eight going into this week) and win the FedEx Cup. Further Rocket Mortgage glory can help both ends.

Next best bet

Jason Kokrak 28-1

Another powerhouse may provide the main challenge to DeChambeau - Jason Kokrak has never carried more confidence, having rapidly gone from maiden to multiple PGA Tour champion.

Kokrak defeated Xander Schauffele in a duel at Shadow Creek for the CJ Cup, then beat Jordan Spieth in a similar match at Colonial a month ago. Those two brave efforts against world-class opponents have shown Kokrak has the courage to marry to his improving golf game.

Kokrak appears to have peaked in his mid-30s, his putting going from a weakness to a strength. He put a new set of irons in the bag at Colonial and fell in love with them, gaining almost 15 shots on the field from tee to green.

His only previous start at DGC resulted in a tie for 29th in 2019, but he was a nervous maiden with short-game issues back then. Kokrak is up to world number 24 and a different animal for his Rocket Mortgage return.

Other selections

Joaquin Niemann 25-1

Sepp Straka 90-1

Like Kokrak, Joaquin Niemann has played in only one of the two previous Rocket Mortgage Classics, finishing fifth in 2019. He carded four rounds in the 60s and showed an immediate affection for the track. Three months later, the Chilean became a PGA Tour champion.

At the start of this year, Niemann strongly threatened victory No. 2, finishing runner-up in both Hawaii events, losing a playoff to Harris English at Kapalua before ending up one shot shy of Kevin Na in the Sony Open.

Niemann is a former world number one amateur who is still only 22 and has bags of scope for improvement. A solid 2021 campaign may turn into a winning one on Sunday.

Complete the Rocket launch with Sepp Straka, who may have timed his return to form perfectly. The Georgia-based Austrian, a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, opened and closed with a 66 on his way to tenth place in the Travelers Championship last week.

Despite arriving off missed cuts in the Travelers before both previous DGC visits, he finished 11th in the 2019 Rocket Mortgage and eighth last year. It is reasonable to expect even better this time after last week's positive outing.

Players to note

Garrick Higgo
The South African, a two-time champion on the European Tour this year before making his PGA Tour breakthrough in the Palmetto Championship, must be respected given the lack of strength in depth in this line-up.

Will Zalatoris
The PGA Tour maiden has been presented with another fantastic opportunity to get off the mark. He needs to win soon to secure a place in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Detroit Golf Club course guide

Course Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan
Prize money $7.5m ($1.35m to the winner)
Length 7,370 yards
Par 72
Field 156
Course records- 72 holes 263 Nate Lashley (2019) 18 holes 63 Nate Lashley (2019, twice), JT Poston (2019)

Course winners taking part Nate Lashley, Bryson DeChambeau

When to bet By 11.45am on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf red button from 11.45am Thursday

Time difference Michigan is five hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - Travelers Championship 1 H English (40-1), 2 K Hickok (300-1), 3 M Leishman (70-1), 4 A Ancer (28-1), T5 K Kisner (125-1), H Lebioda (200-1), B Harman (28-1), B Garnett (300-1)

Spectator quota 20 fans per 1,000 square feet

Course type Parkland

Course overview The inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic took place in 2019 on a mixture of holes from the two Donald Ross designs at Detroit Golf Club – the North Course (17 of the holes) and the South (the third hole). The club opened in 1916 and had a major overhaul in the build-up to the Rocket Mortgage Classic. As well as DGC, famous designer Ross has crafted many other PGA Tour venues, including East Lake, home of the Tour Championship, Plainfield Country Club, which hosted the 2011 Barclays and the 2015 Northern Trust, Oak Hill Country Club, which staged the 2003 and 2013 US PGAs, Oakland Hills, which hosted the 2008 US PGA, Sedgefield CC, home of the Wyndham Championship, Aronimink, which staged the 2010 and 2011 AT&T National and the 2018 BMW Championship, and Pinehurst, which hosted the 1999, 2005 and 2014 US Opens. Despite tree-lined fairways, heavy bunkering and small, poa annua greens at DGC, the course has proved a doddle for the PGA Tour stars, with winning scores of 25 and 23 under par. There are a couple of water hazards – on the seventh and 14th – but four par-fives create excellent scoring opportunities on a flat, easy layout.

Story of last year Bryson DeChambeau cruised to a three-shot triumph over Matthew Wolff, before the same one-two in the US Open a couple of months later

Weather forecast Pre-tournament thunderstorms seem set to soften the track, before a largely sunny, warm competition, with light to moderate breezes

Type of player suited to the challenge This classic, typically firm, fast Donald Ross design traditionally demanded accuracy from tee to green, especially on approach to small, undulating greens, and the first two home in 2019 were precision operators. Last year, though, Bryson DeChambeau and Matt Wolff employed bomb and gouge tactics to overwhelm the track, and pre-event rain lends itself to the powerhouses again

Key attribute Accuracy

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