Black Box Golf: Rocket Mortgage Classic 2025
The PGA Tour rolls into Detroit this week for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. Traditionally a venue that offers scoring opportunities and encourages attacking play, Detroit Golf Club features a mix of bentgrass and Poa annua greens and fairways, with generous landing areas off the tee. While the rough can punish the truly errant, this is a course where precision with the irons and a confident putter tend to separate the contenders from the rest. With many of the world’s best skipping the event ahead of the Open Championship, there is room for value down the board. Two players who stand out in that regard are Rickie Fowler and Byeong Hun An.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler’s career resurgence over the past couple of seasons has brought him back into focus at tournaments like this, where the winning score typically creeps towards 20-under par. Fowler is no stranger to Detroit Golf Club; he famously lifted the trophy here in 2023, producing a superb display of ball-striking and holing the key putts when it mattered most. That win, combined with his overall comfort on this style of parkland course, makes him an appealing option in the mid-range of the betting.
Statistically, Fowler’s 2025 season has been a mixed bag. His driving accuracy sits around 62%, and while his approach play has not been as sharp as during his prime, he remains capable of gaining strokes on the field when his iron game clicks. His putting, often the club that defines his weeks, has been average by Tour standards this season, but he has shown time and again that he can get hot with the flat stick on familiar greens. The bentgrass/Poa annua surfaces at Detroit suit him, and if he can find form with his irons, he has the scoring ability to keep pace in what is often a low-scoring shootout.
Fowler’s major advantage here is experience. He knows how to win on this course and how to handle the type of birdie-heavy Sunday this event frequently produces. Given the field strength and course profile, his odds—typically in the 40-1 to 50-1 range—offer fair value for each-way backers seeking both win potential and top-8 place insurance.
Byeong Hun An
Byeong Hun An enters the week as a player whose underlying numbers suggest he may be closer to a big performance than the market appreciates. At age 36 and ranked just outside the world’s top 40, An has long been regarded as one of the PGA Tour’s most reliable ball-strikers. His strengths lie in his ability to find fairways and hit greens — two skills that play well at Detroit Golf Club, where avoiding mistakes is nearly as important as creating birdie opportunities.
An’s statistics tell the story clearly. He ranks inside the top 25 on Tour this season in both strokes gained off the tee and strokes gained on approach. His driving accuracy is solid, and he has the power to take advantage of the course’s scorable par fives. The question mark, as always with An, is on the greens. His putting has been his Achilles' heel throughout his career, and at a venue where 20-under may be required to win, he will need at least an average week with the putter.
What makes An interesting from a betting perspective is that his ball-striking gives him a high floor, and if he can gain even a fraction on the greens, he has the potential to contend. He hasn’t yet posted a top-10 finish at this event, but that means he enters with little pressure and fresh eyes. If you can find him at prices north of 50/1, with firms offering extended each-way terms, he represents genuine value as an each-way play.
The Betting Case
Both Fowler and An fit the profile of players who can thrive at Detroit Golf Club. Fowler brings the proven ability to win on this course and the experience of navigating the type of low-scoring Sunday that so often defines the Rocket Mortgage Classic. An, meanwhile, brings elite-level ball-striking that could easily see him rise to the top of the leaderboard if his putting holds together for four rounds.
This is not an event where you need the longest hitter or the biggest name; it’s about who can find fairways, hit their irons close, and convert their chances on greens that, while generally receptive, can test those who lose confidence with the putter. Both Fowler and An tick enough boxes to warrant support in a field lacking in depth at the top end.
If you are building a betting portfolio for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Fowler at around 45-1 and An at 60-1 look solid each-way selections. Both have the tools to contend if they find their best over the four days, and both could capitalise in a week where many of the Tour’s elite are absent.
Suggested Bets
1 point ew RICKIE FOWLER »> 45-1 Paddy Power and Skybet 1-2-3-4-5-6 places
0.5 point ew BYEONG HUN AN »> 60-1 Paddy Power and Skybet 1-2-3-4-5-6 places