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Rocket Mortgage Classic Each-Way Tips: Take the Maverick approach

Dave Tindall
26 July 2022
4:00 min read

Maverick McNealy is Dave's headline pick

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The PGA Tour heads to Michigan and Dave Tindall has three each-way tips for the action at Detroit Golf Club...

"As for fitting the right profile, McNealy ranks 43rd in Driving Distance, 32nd in SG: Putting, 2nd in Eagles and 20th in Birdie Average."
Back Maverick McNealy each-way @ 34.033/1

Main Bet: Maverick McNealy each-way @ 34.033/1

With Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Davis winning the last two editions of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the immediate thought is that this is a week for big hitters.

The second places for Matthew Wolff (2020) and Joaquin Niemann (2021) add to that belief.

Last year's result also franked the idea that strong putting is needed as the top five contained those ranked 2nd, 4th, 8th, 15th and 22nd in SG: Putting for the week.

A year earlier, winner DeChambeau was 1st for SGP and runner-up Wolff 5th. And in the inaugural edition, champion Nate Lashley ranked 2nd for SGP.

The winning scores? 25-under in 2019, 23-under in 2020 and 18-under (three-man playoff) in 2021. In other words it's a birdie-fest.

Lashley and Troy Merritt (one of last year's playoff losers) don't hit it far but an overall view is that we're looking for a big hitter, who putts well and makes a bunch of birdies.

So, using this uncomplicated approach, my first pick is Maverick McNealy at 33/1.

The 26-year-old has been touted for great things since being ranked as the world's No.1 amateur in 2017 and qualifying for the US Open at a teenager.

For some, his ascension to the upper ranks hasn't gone as fast as others although his end-of-year world ranking has gone up impressively: 662nd in 2018, 417th in 2019, 166th in 2020 and 69th in 2021.

Last season he had two second places on the PGA Tour but still the win is yet to come.

McNealy has plateaued a little this season but he looks like a player on the brink of another forward thrust after two top 10s in his last four starts.

That was tied eighth at the John Deere Classic and tied ninth in the Barracuda Championship and between the two, he came to the UK to finish a decent tied 16th in the Genesis Scottish Open.

As for fitting the right profile, McNealy ranks 43rd in Driving Distance, 32nd in SG: Putting, 2nd in Eagles and 20th in Birdie Average.

Detroit Golf Club looks an ideal venue for him and we have actual evidence rather than smart guesswork as the American has finished tied eighth (2020) and tied 21st (2021) in his two appearances here.

"I love bentgrass greens," McNealy said last week and we're on a bentgrass/poa mix this week. He backed those words up by finishing 3rd for SG: Putting on these surfaces in 2020 and again had positive numbers last year.

Main Bet: Cameron Champ each-way @ 51.050/1

If we're looking for a big hitter, then why not head to the top of the DD charts.

There we find Cameron Champ, whose average drive is 319.7 yards.

Of course, there's more about him than smashing it miles and that's shown by his three PGA Tour titles: the 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship, the 2019 Safeway Open and the 2021 3M Open.

Add in his victory in the Web.com's Utah Championship in 2018 and his four wins have been secured with scores between 15-under and 24-under. That's the ball-park we're in this week.

Champ certainly doesn't win any award for consistency but the pattern of his career shows that when he starts to emerge from a poor stretch, a win can follow.

Last season he'd suffered a run of four missed cuts and a WD before bouncing back to form with an 11th at the John Deere before going on to capture the 3M Open.

His other two victories followed 'tells': the 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship coming on the back of a 25th and his Safeway Open victory being preceded by a 28th.

Heading into this year's Masters, Champ had form of MC-MC-61-67-MC-46-MC-MC-66. He made a mockery of that with a tied 10th at Augusta National and then rode that to a sixth in the Mexico Open on his next start.

So the fact that he's followed five missed cuts with a tied 16th at the 3M Open last week could be highly significant.

When Champ produces these change of momentums, his whole game comes with him. That includes the putter so after six tournaments with negative SGP numbers, the flatstick (3.393) helped fuel his impressive show at the 3M Open.

Indeed, Champ said last week: "I've figured out some equipment problems I've had for quite a while, so this is probably the most excited I've been in a very, very long time. I'm putting it good."

It's also worth noting that he started the 3M Open with a 75. Over his final 54 holes the American only took two more swings than winner Tony Finau.

As for course form, Champ was second at halfway here in 2019 and closed with a 66 to take tied 12th in 2020.

It looks a good track for him to produce his 'bounce back to form' act once more.

Final Bet: Patrick Rodgers each-way @ 81.080/1

I looked at a few players for the third and final slot.

Towards the front of the market, Cam Davis could put up a bold defence while Adam Scott definitely fits the bill due to his vastly improved putting.

The 2013 Masters champion is a healthy 39th for SG: Putting this season.

Nick Hardy shows up pretty well in all three areas I'm looking at and it's between him and Patrick Rodgers for the last pick.

Due to price - Rodgers is 80s to Hardy's 66s - I'll go with the latter.

Rodgers is 33rd in Driving Distance this season and 18th in SG: Putting. Tick, tick.

He's had a decent campaign (83rd in the FedEx Cup standings) and before a missed cut in the Scottish Open he'd made eight of his last nine cuts.

In two of those he was eighth at halfway, the first after opening 69-68 in the US Open at The Country Club.

The putter is hot after Rodgers ranked 4th for SGP in two of his last three starts on American soil: he gained over 6.7 strokes on the greens at both the Canadian Open and John Deere Classic.

He was also 9th for SG: Approach at the John Deere.

Rodgers hasn't really pulled up any trees yet in this event but he's made both cuts and scored consistently.

This is a free hit given that he's already into the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the 80s looks nice.

Also at 80s, Kurt Kitayama has popped up a few times this season, posting top threes in the Honda Classic, Mexico Open and Scottish Open.

He's also played this course before but missed the cut.