Ahead of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Compleat Golfer staffers pick their winners, contenders and players who may just miss the weekend.
Winner
Wade Pretorius: Again, I’ll pass on Bryson but only because Andre has picked him and I don’t like repetition. I do feel, though, that he must be the overwhelming favourite. Beyond Bryson, who is as low as 6-1 to win, I think this week Patrick Reed will go the distance. He’s played in every event so far and arrives after a 64 in his final round at the Travelers and placed fifth here last year.
Andre Huisamen: For the second week in a row I’m going to throw Bryson DeChambeau‘s name in the hat due to the consistency he’s been hammering down since the restart. Three consecutive top-10 finishes proves he is on to something and his big hitting has certainly presented him with an added advantage. After explaining his new diet over the weekend at the Travelers, I believe another big week of massive drives will be on the cards, which will put him in contention once again.
Top 10
Pretorius: Viktor Hovland. Quickly turning into one of the golfer’s I follow closely, the 22-year-old is another on his fourth week in a row. He starts two top 25s and his T11 at TPC River Highlands last week. Could just win this thing.
Huisamen: I really like the look of Abraham Ancer lately and he is another player who could be closing in on an important victory on Tour. But, for this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, I’ll back the Mexican to complete another top-10 finish after just missing out at the Travelers Championship. Ancer narrowly succumbed to Webb Simpson at the RBC Heritage two weeks ago by finishing one shot off the pace in second place and is also hitting his straps in terms of consistency.
Social golf on Saturday
Pretorius: Very unpatriotic of me but I think Charl Schwartzel will falter this week. T41 and a MC in his two previous starts … at 150/1, the bookies aren’t too keen on him either this week.
Huisamen: One player who’s been rather disappointing since the return at the Charles Schwab Challenge is Matthew Wolff. He showed a lot of encouraging signs at The Match: Champions for Charity during the lockdown but he finished in 54th spot at Colonial and followed that up with successive missed cuts at the Heritage and Travelers. Of course, I hope he gets some rhythm going at the Rocket Mortgage this week, but unfortunately my gut says he’s going to be taking it easy again once the weekend starts.
