Rocket Mortgage Classic 2024 Each-Way Tips: Picks from 25/1 to 50/1

• 25/126.00 Taylor Pendrith is a former runner-up here

• 50/151.00 Ryan Fox is putting well and ready to win Stateside

• 40/141.00 Defending champ Rickie Fowler is coming back to form

After a series of stacked fields, the PGA Tour takes a bit of a breather this week.

One of those ones where three of the top five in the betting - fine players as they are - haven't managed a PGA Tour win.

That's 14/115.00 Cameron Young, 18/119.00 Min Woo lee and 20/121.00 Alex Noren.

Favouritism belongs to last week's runner-up Tom Kim, who almost gave this column a 50/151.00 winner before losing to, who else, Scottie Scheffler in a playoff after finding a plugged lie in sand at the first extra hole.

Kim is 12/113.00 here and probably has every chance but that's too short for this each-way preview.

Detroit Golf Club is a par 72 measuring 7,370 yards, using 17 holes from the North Course and one from the South. Designed by Donald Ross, it's a tree-lined track with small Poa Annua greens.

Let's be honest, an easy one too. Four of the five winners in this new event won with scores from -23 to -26.

Putt well and you shall be rewarded is the message. Looking at the top five SGP leaders in each of those 2019-2023 editions and 22 of those 25 players ranked 17th or better on the greens.

Also note that each of the Par 4 leaders for the week went on to either win or finish runner-up. That's not always the case on a par 72.

Let this birdie-fest begin!

Back Taylor Pendrith @ 25/126.00

The one I like from the top six in the betting has to be Taylor Pendrith.

The Canadian has mixed satisfaction and disappointment in the last couple of weeks.

On the plus side, his 16th place in the US Open at Pinehurst - another Donald Ross layout of course - represented his best finish in a major.

But it wasn't quite enough to get him a place on the Canadian Olympic team, that well-earned honour going to Nick Taylor and Corey Conners.

There is a second big late-season incentive though: to win a spot on the Internationals' Presidents Cup team.

There is even more incentive than usual for Pendrith and his fellow Canucks as the tournament is being held in Montreal, with Canadian legend Mike Weir captaining the team.

Pendrith is currently 12th on that list (only the top six get automatic berths) so will want to lock up a place without having to rely on Weir picking him.

Naturally, there's a chance of that but several other Canadians will also be vying to get a wildcard.

This is definitely a great opportunity for the 33-year-old to climb that list as he finished runner-up at Detroit GC on debut in 2022 and added 14th last year when leading at halfway for the second year running and sitting third with 18 to play.

Some of Pendrith's stats this season show why the course suits him.

He ranks 4th for Strokes Gained: Putting, 13th in Birdie or Better Conversion percentage and 27th in Birdie Average.

Pendrith's second place here in 2022 was his best PGA Tour finish until he made the big breakthrough at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in early May.

That was achieved with -23, the sort of score that will win this week, while it's interesting to see that his two Canadian Tour victories came just over a month apart and were won with -17 and -28.

Add in a record on Donald Ross courses showing five finishes of 17th or better in eight starts and this looks a great time and place to catch him.

Talking of this week's location last year, he said: "There's a bunch of family and friends out here, which is great to see. A lot of people seemed to have made the trip across the border. It's pretty close to here."

With seven top 25s in his last nine starts and such strong course form, he's well worth a punt.

Back Ryan Fox @ 50/151.00

Ryan Fox is one of plenty of players in the field looking for a first PGA Tour win.

But he's knocked at the door more than most in recent times and is available at 50s.

Since finishing fourth in April's Zurich Classic pairs event, he's placed fourth in May's Myrtle Beach Classic and seventh in the Canadian Open earlier this month.

That latter needs some detail adding.

The Kiwi was the halfway leader after opening 66-64 and looked to be the one taking control in round three after a fast start.

He eventually started the final round in second but slipped out of contention.

Still, as winner Bob MacIntyre proved, being in contention in a recent event (the Scot's round positions at Myrtle Beach were 1-2-2), can be an excellent learning experience.

Fox's Sunday slide in Canada is still fresh in the mind and this could be a good chance to emulate MacIntyre and make amends if he gets in similar position.

The four-time DP World Tour winner is 27th for Strokes Gained: Putting this season and his big hitting (17th Driving Distance) should also serve him well as it has done past winners here.

He's only played on two Donald Ross courses, both in majors. But he made the cut in both and was 23rd in the first at Oak Hill (2023 US PGA).

Talking in the Canadian Open where he expressed his liking for tree-lined courses, Fox said of his season to that point: "Before the Masters I was really struggling, wasn't hitting it great. I generally hit a cut and I'm standing there and I could miss it left and right, which is not a great feeling.

"The Masters was the first week I kind of felt like I had some control again. Took a while to kind of put the scores together, but certainly been feeling a lot better about my golf game since then."

Nicely rested after making the cut in the US Open, Fox can hit the birdie trail again and hopefully challenge seriously again for that first win Stateside.

Back Rickie Fowler @ 40/141.00

Rickie Fowler ended a four-year win drought when shooting -24 to win this title after a playoff against Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa last year.

The former Ryder Cup star had been dropping hints after form of 13-5-9-6 coming in and the narrative straight after was clear: Rickie's back!

Except against all expectations and punter predictions, he hasn't had a top 10 since in 23 starts since!

It's hard to say why but it almost seemed like climbing the mountain again proved he could do it again and the hunger went.

But let's not write Fowler off again too quickly.

Of the three top 20s he's managed since last year's Rocket Mortgage win, two have come in his last seven starts and the most recent arrived last Sunday.

Fowler opened with a 64 in an elite field at the Travelers Championship, added a pair of 69s and then banked a top 20 via a closing 65.

The big difference was the flatstick - so often a strength in past years - as he ranked 2nd for Strokes Gained: Putting at TPC River Highlands.

His Approach numbers were in the positive again, building on previous good work with his irons which had seen him finish in the top 18 in that category in three of the last seven starts.

As well as winning this event, Fowler was runner-up on Ross's Pinehurst No.2 in the 2014 US Open while he also finished 12th here in 2020.

Fowler came into the interview room last week and was asked about why the season hadn't gone the way he wanted it to. His first thought was telling: the putter.

"Putting was something that I could rely on last year. I feel like a lot of it (poor results) can go back to not putting well.

"Putting well helps free up other things. You're not seeing putts go in and it kind of adds some extra stress to having to hit greens or hit it closer, chip it close, that circle gets quite a bit bigger once you see some go in."

The putter proved the catalyst for his return to form last year so hopefully the double dose of good vibes - being back at the scene of last year's win and the excellent performance on the greens last week - can combine again.

Read Steve Rawlings' Italian Open preview here