Forty-one-year-old Nate Lashley, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019, started this year’s tournament with a bang.
He aced his second hole of the day, the par-3 11th, which measures 217 yards and is typically known as one of the more difficult holes at Detroit Golf Club. It also marked the first hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career.
“It was one of those shots, just a little right of the pin. I hoped it would carry the bunker, but it must have just taken a perfect bounce and gone in the hole,” Lashley said after his 2-under 70 on Thursday.
“Pretty decent shot, but also a lot of luck involved there.”
Lashley pushed his 4-iron a tad, but it caught the side-hill perfectly and rolled right into the hole. After his round, the former Arizona Wildcat revealed that he had previously posted an ace in a Korn Ferry Tour event. He also said he had a hole-in-one on Pebble Beach’s 7th hole, perhaps the most famous par-3 in the world, during an AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am practice round three years ago. Lashley said he had 11 holes-in-one before Thursday’s ace, marking his first during a PGA Tour competition.
“Something I’ll always remember,” Lashley added.
“This golf course has a lot of memories, so just another one right there. Having a hole-in-one, being my first on Tour will be another fun thing for me here in Detroit.”
The highlight of Lashley’s career came at Detroit Golf Club in 2019, when he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in wire-to-wire fashion. He opened with a 9-under 63 that year and never looked back, winning his first PGA Tour event by six strokes.
He has not won another PGA Tour title since, but he did tie for third at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season. His next best finish came at The Players Championship, where he tied for 13th. On the flip side, Lashley has missed nine cuts in 15 events he has played, as he has made plenty of bogeys this season.
More bogies followed after his ace on Thursday.
“A little disappointed with my round today, a lot of bogeys really,” Lashley said.
“I hit it okay, missed a few fairways, and got in some bad spots, but can’t make five bogeys around this golf course. It’s a lot of birdies out there, so hopefully something to improve on [Friday].”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
The PGA Tour is in Detroit, Michigan, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where Rickie Fowler will attempt to defend his title. After an entertaining three-week stretch of golf, this tournament does not feature some top-ranked players, but it still employs a strong field of golfers looking to push their way up the FedEx Cup standings.
Detroit Golf Club, a Donald Ross design, is one of the flattest courses players face this season. It will likely be a birdie fest as scores tend to be low.
Nate Lashley won at 25-under in 2019 at the inaugural event. The last couple of years have seen similar results. Tony Finau won at 26-under in 2022, and Rickie Fowler ended his drought with a 24-under final score. Even the cut line is low, as players typically have to finish 36 holes at 5-under or lower to make the weekend. The last five cut lines of this tournament have been: 4-under, 3-under, 3-under, 5-under, and 5-under.
Get ready for a birdie barrage.
Here is the one-stop information shop for the Rocket Mortgage Classic
Rocket Mortgage Classic:
Where: Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, MI (Par-72, 7,370-yards)
When: Jun. 27-30th
Purse: $9,200,000 ($1,650,000 1st place)
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Defending Champion: Rickie Fowler
Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
How to Watch The Rocket Mortgage Classic
Golf Channel and CBS Sports will share television coverage. Check out the full schedule below:
Thursday, June 27: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, June 28: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, June 29: 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3:00-6 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday, June 30: 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3:00-6 p.m. ET (CBS)
How to Stream The Rocket Mortgage Classic
ESPN+ will exclusively air early round and featured group coverage all four days of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Peacock will have simulcasts of the Golf Channel’s broadcast.
Coverage on Peacock can be streamed here.
In addition, fans can tune into CBS Sports streaming service Paramount+ while CBS airs its third and final round broadcasts.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic Preview:
Defending champion Rickie Fowler ended his four-year-long drought last year when he defeated Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa in a playoff.
However, he recorded only one top-20 finish since that victory, which came at the Travelers Championship last week. He tied for 20th, which, considering he began the championship with a 6-under 64, proved to be a rather disappointing finish—much like how his entire 2024 season has gone.
Nevertheless, Fowler looks to become the first back-to-back winner in this tournament’s history.
Cameron Young, who shot a 59 at TPC River Highlands last week, is in the field. He finished second to Finau in 2022.
Michael Thorbjornsen, who made his professional debut last week at the Travelers, will play again this week in Detroit. The former Stanford Cardinal tied for 39th, which included a second-round 6-under 64.
The headliner of this event is Tom Kim, who fell to his best friend Scottie Scheffler in a one-hole playoff at the Travelers. This week will mark Kim’s ninth straight event on tour. He is someone to watch because his game is so sharp right now. His best finish at the Rocket Mortgage is a T-7 in 2022.
The sponsor exemption list is also impressive. Miles Russell will make his PGA Tour debut at 15-years-old. He won the Junior PGA Championship and Junior Players. Russell took the world by storm by making the cut earlier this year at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Neal Shipley is also in the field, making his first non-major start. He finished as the low amateur at the Masters and the U.S. Open.
This field may not feature any of the world’s Top 10 players, but it will be a fascinating week with plenty of talented players to watch.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic Round 1 Tee Times (ET):
*indicates starts on 10th tee 6:45 a.m. — Martin Laird, Lanto Griffin, Doug Ghim
6:45 a.m.* — Garrick Higgo, Kelly Kraft, Carl Yuan
6:56 a.m. — Aaron Baddeley, Sam Ryder, Max Greyserman
6:56 a.m.* — Tyler Duncan, Ryan Moore, Brandon Wu
7:07 a.m. — Matt NeSmith, Hayden Buckley, Kevin Yu
7:07 a.m.* — Nate Lashley, Kevin Tway, Jason Dufner
7:18 a.m. — Taylor Moore, Adam Svensson, Brandt Snedeker
7:18 a.m.* — Davis Riley, Peter Malnati, Brendon Todd
7:29 a.m. — Luke List, Chad Ramey, Adam Schenk
7:29 a.m.* — Nick Dunlap, Chris Kirk, Erik van Rooyen
7:40 a.m. — Brice Garnett, Vincent Norrman, Ryan Brehm
7:40 a.m.* — Robert MacIntyre, Tom Kim, Cameron Young
7:51 a.m. — Martin Trainer, Tim Wilkinson, Andrew Novak
1:38 p.m. — Chesson Hadley, Tyson Alexander, Sami Valimaki
1:38 p.m. * — Kevin Streelman, Bud Cauley, Scott Gutschewski
1:49 p.m. — Davis Thompson, Callum Tarren, Ryo Hisatsune
1:49 p.m.* — Ben Kohles, Chandler Phillips, David Skinns
2:00 p.m. — Jacob Bridgeman, Jorge Campillo, Danny Guise
2:00 p.m.* — Alejandro Tosti, Patrick Fishburn, Jackson Koivun (a)
2:11 p.m. — Nicholas Lindheim, Erik Barnes, Brandon Berry
2:11 p.m.* — Chan Kim, Trace Crow, Luke Clanton (a)
2:22 p.m. — Ryan McCormick, Kevin Dougherty, Angelo Giantsopoulos
2:22 p.m. — Ben Silverman, Wilson Furr, Ben James (a)
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
After three straight weeks of non-stop action at the Memorial, the U.S. Open, and the Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour heads to the Midwest for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Rickie Fowler prevailed in a playoff over Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa a year ago, as all three players finished at 24-under-par at the end of the final round. Expect a birdie barrage again this year at Detroit Golf Club, a Donald Ross design that PGA Tour pros seem to attack year in and year out.
Since the tournament’s inception in 2019, the average winner has been 23.2 strokes under par, with only one player finishing higher than 20 under: Cameron Davis, who, in 2021, won in a playoff at 18 under.
Like TPC River Highlands in Connecticut, this golf course plays into ball-strikers’ hands. That said, unlike what we saw at the Travelers Championship, this course does not have many lateral hazards and penalty areas. Bombers can bomb and gouge it around the property without hesitation, using their length to set up better opportunities. That helps explain why Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, and Davis have all won here.
But at the end of the day, this event will come down to putting. You need to putt well to post a low score, and whoever can consistently do that over four days will win in Detroit.
Rickie Fowler and his caddie celebrate their win at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.Photo by Brian Spurlock/Getty Images
Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds
Here are the current odds for players to win in Michigan this week, provided by DraftKings.
Tom Kim +1200
Cameron Young +1400
Min Woo Lee +2000
Akshay Bhatia +2000
Will Zalatoris +3000
Stephan Jaeger +3000
Maverick McNealy +3000
Keith Mitchell +3000
Alex Noren +3000
Taylor Pendrith +4000
Robert MacIntyre +4000
Davis Thompson +4000
Aaron Rai +4000
Rickie Fowler +4500
Michael Thorbjornsen +4500
Erik van Rooyen +4500
Taylor Moore +5000
Ryan Fox +5000
Chris Kirk +5000
Nicolai Højgaard +5000
The clubhouse at Detroit Golf Club during the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Rocket Mortgage Classic Insight, Predictions
Tom Kim continues to shine
Fresh off a solid performance at the Travelers Championship, where he fell just short to World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff, Tom Kim arrives in Michigan for his ninth straight start on the PGA Tour.
He also arrives as the favorite, an exciting development for the young man who recently turned 22. But he deserves to have odds this low at +1200 to win. This golf course is not long by tour standards, and Kim does not have the length many of his peers possess. Instead, he relies heavily on his short-to-mid irons, an attribute that was on full display in Connecticut. He ranked third in strokes gained on approach in Cromwell.
Of course, ball-striking is meaningless if you cannot convert those birdie opportunities. He will have to hole some putts to give himself a chance again, but Kim’s putter worked well for him last week, ranking 20th in strokes gained with the putter. Sure, he could have made a few more, but overall, his game is in solid form. He has not missed a cut since the Valero Texas Open and has two top-five finishes in the past month.
We like him to post his third top-five this week in Detroit at +320.
Cameron Young continues to rise from slump, and contend
Before Friday’s second round at the Travelers Championship, where he shot a 4-under 66, Cameron Young had 10 straight rounds in the 70s dating back to his missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open. Of those 10, Young posted only one score of even par or better, a second-round 72 at the Memorial.
But something clicked for him in Connecticut. After his Friday 66, Young fired a historic 59, vaulting himself into contention going into the final day. He then began Sunday’s round with four straight birdies, leading many to ask if he could shoot another sub-60 score on back-to-back days. Alas, that mantra was short-lived, as he wound up with another 66 on Sunday.
Cameron Young at the 2024 Travelers Championship.Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Still, Young recorded a tie for ninth, his best finish since the Masters.
Now, he heads to Michigan with some confidence, as he will compete in the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the first time since 2022, when he tied for second. He has the length to bomb it all over Detroit Golf Club, and we like his short-iron play and wedge game to show up again. Give us Young to finish in the top five at +360.
Young Gun Lurks
Michael Thorbjornsen got a taste of the big stage last week in New England in his professional debut. The former Stanford Cardinal, who earned his PGA Tour card via the PGA Tour University rankings, played well, all things considered. The Wellesley, Massachusetts native tied for 39th as he fired a 6-under 64 during round two and a 4-under 66 on day three to post a respectable finish.
But we like him to play even better this week. Thorbjornsen oozes confidence, much like Ludvig Åberg this time a year ago. If you recall, Åberg played alongside Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. The young Swede impressed the European captain, as Donald compared him to a young Rory McIlroy. Of course, only a few months later, Donald selected Åberg to join the team, a testament to his meteoric rise into the top 10 of the world.
Granted, this is not to say that Thorbjornsen will have a similar experience, but he does boast a ton of talent. He can hit the ball a mile and has a nifty short game. So we believe that he will post his first top-10 finish as a pro, doing so at a +500 price.
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic Champion is…
In my U.S. Open Dark Horses piece, I selected Alex Noren as one of my picks. At the time, his game was trending in the right direction, fresh off a tie for 12th at the PGA Championship. He had missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, his first of the year, but rebounded with a tie for 22nd at the Memorial. Hence, I figured Noren’s ball-striking acumen would serve him well at Pinehurst No. 2.
I was wrong. Noren missed the cut, as he could not garner any momentum at the U.S. Open. But he has not played anywhere since then.
Now, Noren, who ranks ninth on the PGA Tour in overall strokes gained, will show up in Michigan well-rested and ready to go. He also plays well at Detroit Golf Club, recording a T-4 in 2021 and a T-9 in 2023, with six of those eight rounds being in the 60s.
Noren may not make many birdies, which could hinder his chances this week, but the 41-year-old Swede rarely makes mistakes—a much more critical factor. He ranks third on the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance and third in overall scrambling, two facets that help at any golf tournament.
So, give me Noren to win this week at +3000, as Sweden will have its first winner on the PGA Tour in 2024.
For all other sports betting content, check out SB Nation’s DraftKings site.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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