Detroit Golf Club was a friendly venue to score in the 2025 Rocket Classic. There have been plenty of red figures found, and players had to reach under the age of 6 just to reach the weekend. This proved to be a challenge for some of the biggest names on the field, as Patrick Cantray and the latter Keegan Bradley had to know that he had sweated and cut numbers down on Friday evening.
These two had to be crushed just to get Saturday’s tea time, but Morikawa climbed into the fight with the marquee group. This week, Morikawagawa, a friend and former California teammate in a bag, is in his bag. Turn his second caddy into seasonshot an 8-under 64 on Friday, surged into the top 10 of the leaderboard at 11 under, shooting the lead three times.
After starting the season with two runner-ups and a solid finish in the Masters and Players Championships, Morikawa fell from the best in the world. His most successful finish since the Masters is the T17, and he is looking for a recent swing – he has been playing without gloves recently to feel the club better. He found it for at least a day in Detroit. Morikawa heads for the weekend with his first chance of winning the 2025 season.
The 28-year-old American is part of the 15-way tie in 7th place, due to the field being quite condensed. This is because 18 holes co-leaders Aldrich Potgieter and Kevin Roy are stagnant and the field can catch up. Min Woo Lee, who is under nine after the first round, got worse with one over 73, dropping 33 spots on the leaderboard. The result was a 6-under cut line, with leaders (Chris Kirk, Andrew Putnam, and Philip Knowles) separated the entire field over the weekend with just eight shots.
Among the large group of people under 11 years of age is Jake Knapp who made the day’s round at 11 under 61 to raise 123 locations on the leaderboard at 11 under 61 after Thursday’s 72 year old was one of the worst rounds of the day. Knapp’s 61 set up a new course record at Detroit Golf Club (breaking one set by Podgiator and Roy on Thursday night).
This kind of volatility is what you can do at Detroit Golf Club this weekend. This is because if a player enters a groove, the player can take it very low. It could be an attractive weekend as everyone who reaches the final 36 holes feels that they are within Reid’s eyesight and can build the kind of scores that can bring victory.
leader
T1. Chris Kirk, Philip Knowles, Andrew Putnam (-14): All three players at the lead were shot dead this week by Kirk, who shot 65 seconds in a row, with Knowles and Putnam shooting 66-64 and 64-66 respectively, reaching a 36-hole lead. The challenge for all three players is to keep the score as it has become clear that they won’t be able to win this week in Detroit. With six career victories, Kirk is the most experienced man on the leaderboard. He certainly hopes it gives him the edge to get into the weekend.
Candidate
4. Jackson Suber (-13)
T5. Aldrich Potgieter, Mark Hubbard, Michael Thorbjornsen (-12)
T7. Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Jake Knapp, Matsuyama Hideki, Gary Woodland, Luke Clanton, and 10 others (-11)
Suber has been increasing for the majority of his rookie campaign on the PGA Tour, but there is plenty of talent in Ole Miss products and it seems comfortable on this course. He is looking for his second career top ten and tries to get himself into the mix on Sunday to feel what it’s like to chase his first victory. Both Potgieter and Hubbard stalled a bit after an incredible first round, but continue to be part of the conversation going forward. They will hope to get hot again to move to the top in the third round on Thursday.
The large group of T7 is where you start to get the biggest names to threaten for victory. Griffin wants to continue his career year and earn his third victory of the season, but Woodland’s return will continue in another strong position on the weekend. Matsuyama, like Morikawa, has a new caddy this week as his wife is in a bag to give his ordinary caddy a break, and it seems to make the Japanese stars feel comfortable. Clanton is looking for his best finish since turning the pro earlier this month, and could be bringing the PGA Tour to life.
Notable players who missed the cut
- Wyndham Clark (-4)
- Max Homa (-3)
- Ricky Fowler (-2)
- Tom Kim (-1)
- Cam Davis (E)
- Keith Mitchell (+5)
2025 Rocket Classic Update Odds, Picks
Odds via betmgm
- Chris Kirk (13/2)
- Andrew Putnam (9-1)
- Collin Morikawa (9-1)
- Ben Griffin (11-1)
- Michael Solbyonsen (14-1)
- Harry Hall (16-1)
- Hideki Matsuyama (16-1)
- Aldrich Potgieter (18-1)
- Luke Clanton (18-1)
- Mark Hubbard (18-1)
- Max Glazerman (18-1)
- Jackson Suber (22-1)
- Jake Nap (25-1)
The good news for bettors is that there is still a lot of stuff to have an odds board up and down. The bad news is, given the scoring we saw in the first 36 holes, it’s hard to confidently predict anything about this weekend. At the top, I feel the best about those who believe they will continue to score on both Saturday and Sunday – Griffin and Morikawa.
Further down the board, I take a couple swing with people who can get super low with big odds. Watching Min Woo Lee (100-1) do it once this week, he can make up for the ground with Harley while he’s back six times. Si Woo Kim (125-1) is also an offensive player who can stack birdies, and that’s the kind of mentality someone will need to go back and win this weekend.
