by Patrick McDonald Updated On: July 4, 2021, 2:00 am ET
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Heading into Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, one thing is clear. It’s anyone’s tournament to win. With 14 players within four-strokes of the lead, this week’s final round has an eerily similar feel to last week’s Travelers Championship. While I don’t envision another eight-hole playoff in our future, there is a decent chance extra golf may be required.
DETROIT - Through three days of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Joaquin Niemann has yet to slip up.
Admittedly, he came close during Saturday s third round. An air-mailed wedge shot left him short-sided in a bunker, but he displayed deft touch from the sand and saved par or better for the 50th consecutive hole. He didn t drop a shot coming in, and through three rounds at Detroit Golf Club he remains bogey-free as he looks to win for the second time on the PGA Tour.
Niemann shares the lead at 14 under alongside Troy Merritt, whose third round included a hole-in-one on No. 11 but not much else after that. As a result it s Niemann who is a clear favorite heading into what could be a wide-open final round in the Motor City, with the top 11 players separated by just three shots.
We are going back to the well with selecting the best player on Thursday to win for us on Friday. This strategy has worked for us at a decent clip this season and I expect that to continue in the second round. Tomorrow, our selection lies with the big Swede, Norlander, who has been striking the ball beautifully over the last couple of weeks.
He finished inside the top-25 at the Palmetto Championship and made the cut last week at the Travelers Championship. Clearly trending in a nice direction, I expect Norlander to make his way into the weekend in Detroit. First, he’ll need another solid round, after posting 4-under in the first-round. Norlander gained strokes in all four major statistical categories on Thursday and should do something similar on Friday.
Kevin Kisner ($8,500): Kisner comes in with some serious momentum after making a late charge at the Travelers, closing with a 63 to snag a top-10 finish. He also has an eye for Donald Ross layouts like Detroit GC, preferring to lean on accurate irons and deft touch around the greens. It s a big reason why he has had success at events like the Wyndham, another Ross design, and why he finished third here a year ago with bookend rounds of 65 and 66. Kisner also made the cut here in 2019 and has broken par in seven of eight career rounds in the Motor City. He s been pretty quiet this year and recently endured a stretch of five missed cuts in six starts. But last week signaled a possible turnaround, and he s now on a venue that fits his eye and one where he knows how to go low.
A triple-digit longshot leads the way in terms of top liabilities, with Robby Shelton attracting some attention at a price of +35000. Kokrak and Wolff are both among the five most expensive sweats for oddsmakers this week, as are Higgo and former U.S. Open champ Gary Woodland (+5000).
Some notable names not making any of the above lists: current major champions Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) and Phil Mickelson (+6600), as well as fan favorites Rickie Fowler (+5000), Bubba Watson (+4000) and Jason Day (+3300).
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