Draftkings Rocket Mortgage Classic First Round Picks 6/27/24

This Thursday, Draftkings Golf fans will be presented with the first round of the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Let’s take a look at the first round of this event from a DFS perspective.

Before I discuss my Draftkings player selections, let’s review where the first round of the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic will be played.

The first round of the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic will be played at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. The Golf course is a par 72 that measures approximately 7,370 yards.

I wanted to emphasize that the purpose of this article is not to provide an exact DFS lineup.

Having stated that, this article will provide multiple player options in an effort to assist the reader in generating a unique lineup that will hopefully have the potential to win a DraftKings GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest!

For those readers who are not aware, the rules and scoring for DraftKings single round showdown contests are vastly different than the traditional classic contests offered by the platform.

If you need to review the specific rules for the single round showdown contests feel free to check out the DraftKings website.

Here are my DraftKings player selections for the first round of the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Draftkings Picks

Alex Noren $10,100

Alex Noren arrives at this week’s event on the heels of eight consecutive top 24 finishes on the PGA Tour, including an 11th place result at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open in March.

In relation to this week’s 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic field, in the last 50 rounds played on the PGA Tour, Alex Noren ranks second in bogey avoidance, fourth in strokes gained around the green, 13th in strokes gained approach, and first in strokes gained on par fours.

Alex Noren has also played well at the Detroit Golf Club in the past. Noren finished ninth at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Aaron Rai $9,100

The talented Englishman has accumulated two consecutive top 19 finishes on the PGA Tour, including a 14th place result at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open earlier this month.

Due to Aaron Rai’s quality finish at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open I decided to take a hard look at the relevant player statistics for the tournament to see how Rai fared relative to the field.

Upon the completion of four rounds of competitive play at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open, in relation to the field, Aaron Rai ranked first in driving accuracy (78.6%), fifth in GIR (greens in regulation-79.2%), first in strokes gained tee to green (2.741), and second in strokes gained off the tee (1.269).

Similar to Alex Noren, Aaron Rai has posted a quality result at this week’s PGA Tour event previously. Rai finished eighth at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Lee Hodges $7,600

Lee Hodges arrives at this week’s event in rather good form. Hodges has accumulated three top 24 finishes in his last five tournaments played on the PGA Tour, including a 12th place result at the 2024 PGA Championship last month.

Hodges also checks the box for me when it comes to key player statistics. Let’s take a quick look at Lee Hodges recent player data to better shed light on my previous statement.

In relation to this week’s 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic field, in the last 36 rounds played on the PGA Tour, Lee Hodges ranks 11th in strokes gained approach, first in strokes gained on par threes, and fifth in bogey avoidance.

Additional Golfers I like to perform well in the first round (Draftkings price noted): Tom Kim $10,900: Cameron Young $10,600: Taylor Pendrith $9,500: Davis Thompson $8,700: Doug Ghim $7,500: JJ Spaun $7,000: Kevin Tway $6,900.