2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic Picks Include Sungjae Im, Ludvig Aberg

PublishedJune 27, 2023 6:15 PM EDT|UpdatedJune 27, 2023 6:15 PM EDT

The PGA Tour heads to Motor City this week for the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club in Michigan. This year's Rocket Mortgage Classic field is the strongest yet since this event started in 2019.

Defending champion, and World No. 14, Tony Finau returns to the Detroit GC to defend his title. Finau is joined by six other players in the top-50 of the Official World Golf Rankings such as Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim, and Rickie Fowler.

Detroit GC is a Par 72 course with Bentgrass greens, four Par 3s, four Par 5s, and 10 Par 4s. This is a Donald Ross design, which should be a pitch-and-putt, birdie-fest.

Previous Rocket Mortgage Classic winners (odds via GolfOdds.com)

The average winning score of the past five Rocket Mortgage champions is 23-under par with an average cut-line of roughly 3-under par and +10500 odds.

My PGA Tour 2022-23 season has gone to hell. I dropped -5.33 units (u) last week at the 2023 Travelers Championship with my only cash being a matchup bet of JT over Cameron Young.

Word for the wise: When making placement bets, look for sportsbooks that don’t apply “dead-heat” rules. And always shop around for the best odds.

Rocket Mortgage Classic 2023 Bet Slip

Sungjae Im

This feels like a slump-buster event for Im. Im has missed the cut in three of his last five starts. Two of those missed cuts were the 2023 U.S. Open in June and the PGA Championship in May.

In the four events entering the PGA Championship, Sungjae finished T6 at THE PLAYERS, T16 at the Masters, T7 at the RBC Heritage, and T8 at the Wells Fargo. All of these are “elevated events” and the Rocket Mortgage Classic is NOT.

Sungjae skipped last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic but finished T8 at this event in 2021. Im leads this field for total Stroked Gained (SG) at comp courses to the Detroit GC and is 6th in SG: Tee-to-Green (T2G) at easy Par 72 courses over the last 50 rounds.

Sungjae Im hits a shot from the 9th tee during the 3rd round of the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Detroit Golf Club has some of the easiest Par 5s on Tour and Im crushes Par 5s. Over the last 36 rounds, Im ranks 9th in this field for Par 5 scoring. Sungjae is 7th in Par 4 Efficiency: 450-500 and there are four holes within that range at Detroit GC.

Im isn’t long off-the-tee (OTT) but he’s accurate and 4th in this field for SG: OTT over the last 36 rounds. I bring this up because three of the 1st four Rocket Mortgage Classic winners since this event launched in 2019 are “bombers”. Im makes up for his lack of length OTT with precision and accuracy.

Finally, the 1st four Rocket Mortgage Classics have been “birdie-fests” with the average winning score being 23-under Par. Sungjae is 4th in this field for Birdies-or-Better (BoB) Gained over the last 36 rounds.

1st Rocket Mortgage pick: Sungjae Im

Chris Kirk

Wedge or short-iron play is vital at Detroit GC because 46% of approach shots are from 150 yards and in. Over the last 36 rounds, Kirk ranks 1st in this field in Proximity (PROX) from 125-150 yards out, 2nd in PROX: 75-100, and 3rd in PROX: 100-125.

Since the Detroit GC doesn't have a lot of defense, the Rocket Mortgage Classic turns into putting contests. Kirk putts really well on the Detroit GC’s greens: +5.7 SG: Putting last year, +1.8 SG: Putting in 2021, and +2.9 SG: Putting in 2020.

Chris Kirk lines up a putt on the 17th green during the 2nd round of the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

He is 5th in total SG in three Rocket Mortgage Classic starts. He finished T21 at the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic, T12 in 2021, and T17 last year. Plus, Kirk is 9th in SG: T2G at easy Par 72 courses over the last 50 rounds.

The knock on Kirk's argument to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic is his horrible form. Kirk has missed three straight cuts entering this week. But, Kirk has legit win equity as The Honda Classic 2023 winner. This is more than you can say for several of the golfers with better odds than Kirk.

2nd Rocket Mortgage pick: Chris Kirk

Byeong Hun An

Low-key An is one of the longest golfers OTT this season. An has the 5th-longest driving distance on Tour this season and is 2nd in this Rocket Mortgage Classic field. His length OTT is part of the reason An is 5th in this field for SG: T2G at easy Par 72s.

Over the last 36 rounds, An is 24th in this field for SG: Approach (APP) and 2nd in PROX from 100-125 yards out. An is just 49th in BoB Gained but he doesn't give a lot of shots back to the field; An is 1st in this field for Scrambling.

Byeong Hun An walks on the 5th green during the 3rd round of the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

At Detroit GC, there are four Par 4s from 350-400 yards and four Par 4s from 450-500 yards. An is 19th in Par 4 EFF: 350-400 and 2nd in Par 4 EFF: 450-500. He's also ranked 27th in this field for Par 5 scoring.

Finally, An is 4th in this field for total SG over the last 24 rounds and 10th in my Rocket Mortgage Classic power rankings while having roughly the 12th-best odds to win.

3rd Rocket Mortgage pick: Byeong Hun An

Ludvig Åberg

In his 1st two starts as a full-time PGA Tour pro, Åberg picked up +6.2 SG: OTT at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open and +4.2 SG: OTT at last week's Travelers Championship. He finished 24th at the Travelers and 25th at the Canadian Open.

Åberg is already one of the longest golfers OTT, which, as we discussed above, is a huge help at the Detroit GC. He can go "bombs away" at this course since there isn't a lot of danger for wayward tee shots.

The Texas Tech graduate joined Jon Rahm as the only 2-time Ben Hogan Award winner this year. He also won the 2023 Jack Nicklaus and the 2023 Haskins Award and ranked 1st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in Sept. 2022.

Åberg earned full-time PGA Tour status by finishing No. 1 in the PGA TOUR University Ranking. He is a future star on Tour and will be competing in events shortly. Eventually, Åberg won't have this juicy of a price in non-"elevated events".

4th Rocket Mortgage pick: Ludvig Åberg

Taylor Moore

Moore checks a lot of the boxes to make my Rocket Mortgage Classic betting card. He's got above-average length OTT, is an elite putter and plays well at easy tracks.

Over the last 36 rounds, Moore is 29th in this field for driving distance, 13th in Par 4 EFF: 350-400 yards. Moore is 25th in BoB Gained during this stretch, which means he can score, and 17th in Scrambling.

Also, Moore is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. He ranks in the top-10 for putting inside of 10 feet and 27th in SG: Putting this season.

Taylor Moore tees off on the 1st hole during the final round of the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Moore has played badly of late, missing three consecutive cuts. But, Moore has true win equity after winning the 2023 Valspar Championship and he is 7th in this field for SG: T2G at easy Par 72s,

Lastly, Moore finished T6 at last year's Rocket Mortgage Classic while picking up strokes in the five major golf stats including +9.2 SG: T2G, +6.4 SG: APP, and +2.3 SG: Putting.