After last week’s birdie-fest at the Travelers Championship we… have another one!
This tournament only came onto the PGA Tour in 2019 but the four winning scores are -25, -23, -18 and -26.
One slight wrinkle is that there were some big winning margins so the runners-up had scores of 19, -20, -18 and -21.
Still, let’s be realistic, scorecards this week will be full of birdies and the odd eagle too.
Detroit GC is a Donald Ross design and features 17 holes from the North Course and one from the South.
That composite track adds up to a par 72 measuring 7,370 yards at maximum. Greens are a Poa-bentgrass mix.
Nate Lashley, the inaugural winner, said last year: “If you hit the fairways here, you can really score, you’re going to have a lot of birdie putts.
“A lot of weeks the courses are really difficult, so it’s a nice change coming here. You hit good shots and you can shoot a good score.”
Angles to consider
1/ Driving Distance
Lashley and a few others high on past leaderboards show that short hitters can do well but the last three winners here are big hitters: Tony Finau, Cam Davis and Bryson DeChambeau. Rain in the build-up could tip the balance their way even further.
2/ Strokes Gained: Putting
In each of the last two years, four of the top five finishers have ranked in the top 15 for SGP. As for the 2019 (Lashley) and 2020 (DeChambeau) winners, they were 2nd and 1st respectively for SGP.
3/ Par Breakers
The top three birdie makers last year all finished in the top five. Finau racked up 27 on his way to victory. That followed on from 2022 when winner Cam Davis and runner-up Troy Merritt led the way in par breakers, both collecting 23 birdies and an eagle.
Selections
The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler seems to be throwing all around the bull at the moment without quite nailing it. But this could be a great chance. He’s 29th in Driving Distance, 8th for Par Breakers and 48th in Strokes Gained: Putting. The price is a tad short but a win looks imminent.
Taylor Moore
Moore was sixth here last year and despite some patchy recent form his stats suggest he can shine at Detroit GC again on his return. The American, who won the Valspar Championship in March, is in the top 60 for Driving Distance and the top 30 for Strokes Gained: Putting. He also has a real liking for Donald Ross courses.
Harry Hall
Hall is a Tour average hitter (298.5 yards) but he’s way up the charts in the other two categories mentioned, ranking 7th for Putting Average and 23rd for Par Breakers. Those skills have helped him finish seventh in Puerto Rico, 10th at the Mexico Open and third in the Charles Schwab Challenge three starts ago.
Tips 2-1; +37.55pts
