GOLF PICK 'EM: ROCKET MORTGAGE CLASSIC MATCHUP BREAKDOWNS
BY WILL GRAY
Golf Pick 'Em is back for another season of picks and prizes in the NBC Sports Predictor app.
The free-to-play game has returned in 2021 and continues this week with the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Each week participants will choose between a series of head-to-head matchups, plus select an overall tournament champion and winning score.
Participants can compete for weekly cash prizes, with a $50,000 jackpot available for any participants who earn a perfect score (increasing up to $100,000 during some of the biggest events of the year). There will also be at least $1,000 awarded each week in cash and prizes, even if there is no player with a perfect score.
The U.S. Open featured a jackpot winner, as one user took home $100,200 after picking Jon Rahm to win at 6 under and getting all 10 matchups correct.
Here's a look at some of the keys to this week's set of 10 matchups at Detroit Golf Club, where Bryson DeChambeau returns to defend the title he won last summer:
Bryson DeChambeau vs. Hideki Matsuyama
Keys: Last year DeChambeau apologized in advance to Donald Ross, then laid waste to his historic design. A three-shot win in Detroit preceded his U.S. Open triumph, and now he returns off a T-19 finish at the Travelers. Matsuyama is still basking in his Masters triumph and is making his third straight Rocket appearance, having finished T-13 and T-21 while breaking par in every round.
Edge: DeChambeau
Phil Mickelson vs. Rickie Fowler
Keys: Mickelson is making his tournament debut, having committed last year before the entire Tour schedule was upturned by the pandemic. He's coming off a made cut at Torrey Pines and T-61 finish at Travelers and is still just weeks removed from shocking the world at the PGA. Fowler has shown signs of progress in recent weeks, including a T-8 at Kiawah, but missed the cut last week in Connecticut. He has made the cut in both prior Rocket appearances, including a T-12 last year.
Edge: Fowler
Keys: Simpson finished T-8 last year in his tournament debut, including opening rounds of 68-64. His missed cut at the U.S. Open was his first since The Players. Reed has a mixed bag here, finishing T-5 in 2019 and missing the cut last year. He finished T-25 at Travelers for his fourth top-25 finish in his last five starts.
Edge: Reed
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Keys: Watson faltered down the stretch in Connecticut, turning a chance at a fourth Travelers title into a T-19 finish. He's looking to turn things around at this event, having missed the cut each of the last two years. Day's T-10 at Travelers was his first top-10 result since Pebble Beach in February, and he'll look to build upon that momentum (which included the 36-hole lead) on a course where he missed the cut last year with rounds of 70-70.
Edge: Watson
Kevin Kisner vs. Max Homa
Keys: Kisner made a late rally in Connecticut, shooting a final-round 63 to snag a tie for fifth, and now he heads to a course where last year he finished solo third after a 72-hole score of 18 under. Homa won earlier this year at Riviera and finished T-42 last year in his Rocket debut, but he's coming in off a pair of missed cuts at Torrey Pines and TPC River Highlands.
Edge: Kisner
Jason Kokrak vs. Joaquin Niemann
Keys: Kokrak has already bagged two wins this season, the most recent of which came last month over Jordan Spieth at Colonial. He has made one appearance at Detroit GC, finishing T-29 back in 2019. Niemann finished T-5 that year, carding four straight rounds in the 60s, and he enters off a T-36 finish last week at the Travelers.
Edge: Kokrak
Matthew Wolff vs. Harold Varner III
Keys: Wolff fell back to earth after an unexpected week at Torrey Pines, missing the cut at the Travelers on a course where he continues to historically struggle. He was the 54-hole leader at this event a year ago, ultimately finishing second behind DeChambeau. Varner finished T-47 at Travelers and is making his third Rocket start, having finished T-30 last year after missing the cut in 2019.
Edge: Varner III
Keegan Bradley vs. Charley Hoffman
Keys: Bradley did not play the U.S. Open but has missed two straight cuts, shooting 72-67 at Travelers. His lone appearance here ended with a T-46 result a year ago. Hoffman has been trending in the right direction for a few weeks, including top-3 finishes in Fort Worth and San Antonio, and hasn't missed a cut since February, although he did make an early exit at this event two years ago.
Edge: Hoffman
Will Zalatoris vs. Gary Woodland
Keys: Zalatoris remains in search of his first Tour win, and he enters off a rare missed cut at the U.S. Open. This will be his tournament debut but his consistent season is highlighted by a runner-up at the Masters and T-8 finish at the PGA. Woodland's lone Rocket appearance came in 2019, when he missed the cut fresh off his U.S. Open triumph, and he has made four of his last five cuts dating back to a fifth-place showing at Quail Hollow.
Edge: Zalatoris
Sungjae Im vs. Brandt Snedeker
Keys: Im remains one of the Tour's ironmen but he actually had a week off last week, resting after two straight T-35 finishes at Congaree and Torrey Pines. He has made the cut in each of his two appearances in Detroit, including a T-21 finish in 2019. Snedeker missed the cut by a shot in Connecticut, his first early exit since The Players in March, and while he missed the cut here last year he did finish T-5 in 2019 after rounds of 65-67 over the weekend.
Edge: Snedeker
