Key Stats: Rocket Mortgage Classic (2024)
Key Stats based on the data modeling from Rocket Mortgage Classic results going back to 2019.
Scoring Average
Scoring Average is still serving as the baseline statistic for best performers.
Top 10 in the Field
Alex Noren
Keith Mitchell
Maverick McNealy
Davis Thompson
Aaron Rai
Taylor Pendrith
Akshay Bhatia
Robert MacIntyre
Doug Ghim
Mark Hubbard
Strokes Gained: Putting
Flat sticks maintains it’s position this week as one of the key stats. Here are the best putters in the field:
Top 10 in the Field
Taylor Montgomery
Aaron Baddeley
Taylor Pendrith
Beau Hossler
Justin Suh
Tyson Alexander
Peter Malnati
Ben Silverman
Matt Kuchar
Pierceson Coody
Greens in Regulation
Greens in Regulation percentage makes it’s way back to the key stats page. Here are the guys that will have looks from the putting surface this week.
Top 10 in the Field
Kevin Yu
Patton Kizzire
Lanto Griffin
Aaron Rai
Jhonattan Vegas
Keith Mitchell
Rafael Campos
Daniel Berger
Vincent Norrman
Andrew Novak
Driving Distance
The model likes the deep ball hitters two weeks in a row. Here’s the top bombers in the field:
Top 10 in the Field
Min Woo Lee
Kevin Dougherty
Chris Gotterup
Gary Woodland
Alejandro Tosti
Jhonattan Vegas
Vincent Norrman
Kevin Yu
Pierceson Coody
Carl Yuan
Strokes Gained: Around the Green
Finally, SG: Around the Green maintains a spot on the key stats page. Here are the best feel players in the field:
Top 10 in the Field
Webb Simpson
Aaron Baddeley
Jorge Campillo
Maverick McNealy
C.T. Pan
Alex Noren
Martin Laird
Robby Shelton
Davis Thompson
Beau Hossler
Frequent Flyers
Frequent Flyer Winners: A Whole Bunch of Guys
This week, probably because of the lack of the top players in this field, a bunch of guys hold two key stat top-10 appearances. Here is a quick (sorry if they are too quick, way too many guys to write about this week) breakdown of each of the frequent flyers and their chances this week:
Aaron Baddeley
Aaron Baddeley is an interesting appearance for this week. The PGA Tour field page just added a “Course Fit” section where he ranked first for possible fit this week. To be honest, I am not buying it. Baddeley clearly has the short game but tee to green is a bit of a struggle for him. Plus, in his last five he has two missed cuts and no top-25 finishes.
Scoring Average: 53rd | SG: Putting: 2nd | Greens in Regulation: 110th | Distance: 116th | SG: Around the Green: 2nd
Current Form Rating: 107th
Aaron Rai
Rai can sometimes be missed in stronger fields, but sneakily has been playing good golf lately. He has three top-25 finishes in his last five tournaments so he should be playing with the intention to win this week in a weaker field. He has a well-balanced game but needs the putter to be better this week.
Scoring Average: 5th | SG: Putting: 76th | Greens in Regulation: 4th | Distance: 98th | SG: Around the Green: 26th
Current Form Rating: 4th
Alex Noren
Well, well, well… We meet again Alex Noren. This week he is one of the higher priced players so his analytics darling stature is not as much help. But, he is playing solid golf and has one of the more well-balanced games in the field. He is solid with his approach and short game and a decent putter. In his last five tournaments, he has three top-25 finishes. Let’s see if this is the week where Noren can stand out in the crowd.
Scoring Average: 1st | SG: Putting: 32nd | Greens in Regulation: 14th | Distance: 95th | SG: Around the Green: 6th
Current Form Rating: 13th
Beau Hossler
Hossler is another guy on this page because of his short game, ranking 4th in putting and 10th in SG: Around the Green. Ranking in the top-20 in Scoring Average is also another positive sign for him, but his driving and approach game is not ideal. In his last five, Hossler has two top-25 finishes, but also three missed cuts. He is a real mixed bag going into this week, but a with a weaker field he might be worth a look.
Scoring Average: 18th | SG: Putting: 4th | Greens in Regulation: 69th | Distance: 68th | SG: Around the Green: 10th
Current Form Rating: 55th
Davis Thompson
Honestly, I have not been following Thompson’s career closely so it was a bit of a surprise to see his name popping up a lot with my analyses. But, recently he has been really solid. In his last five he has three top-25 finishes (plus a T27 at the Memorial) which includes a T9 finish at the US Open. So, he is either building towards something or in for a big let-down.
Scoring Average: 4th | SG: Putting: 52nd | Greens in Regulation: 69th | Distance: 32nd | SG: Around the Green: 9th
Current Form Rating: 2nd
Jhonattan Vegas
Vegas has yet to really flash this season, but his tee to green game should give him some chances to score this week. Obviously, the short game and putter has to improve for him to have a chance, but I think a lot of aspects of everyone’s game are not complete. He has one top-25 finishes in his last five and three missed cuts. Tough call, would lean towards staying away.
Scoring Average: 33rd | SG: Putting: 112th | Greens in Regulation: 5th | Distance: 6th | SG: Around the Green: 95th
Current Form Rating: 78th
Keith Mitchell
Mitchell has made appearances in some of my lineups as more of a value pick. This week he is a little bit more expensive but still could be worth a look. He is one of the closest in the key stats from separating into the frequent flyer winner and I feel he is a better short game player than his stats would show. In his last five, Mitchell has two top-25 finishes. Overall, Mitchell is a solid choice this week, but he would have to step up and be a real contender.
Scoring Average: 2nd | SG: Putting: 92nd | Greens in Regulation: 6th | Distance: 11th | SG: Around the Green: 76th
Current Form Rating: 9th
Kevin Yu
Kevin Yu makes appearances in the key stats when it comes to his approach game. He will likely have a lot of good looks this week. But his short game leaves a lot to be desired. In his last five, he has one top-25 finishes. Yu kind of feels like a toss of the coin.
Scoring Average: 25th | SG: Putting: 111th | Greens in Regulation: 1st | Distance: 8th | SG: Around the Green: 110th
Current Form Rating: 21st
Maverick McNealy
Here we go, I am slowly becoming the leader of the Maverick McNealy fan club. He is highly priced this week, but I have an overall good feeling about him. His short game is very good, and the rest of game should be good enough to keep him around the top-25 of the leaderboard. Plus, his current form is good with three top-25 finishes in his last five tournaments.
Scoring Average: 3rd | SG: Putting: 18th | Greens in Regulation: 63rd | Distance: 34th | SG: Around the Green: 4th
Current Form Rating: 3rd
Pierceson Coody
The Coody twins popped up on the radar during the Zurich Classic as a pairing and have since been playing okay golf. Pierceson has a pretty well-balanced game that seems to be growing. I don’t know if he is ready to make a leap this week though. In his last five, Coody has one top-25 finish which was an impressive T5 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Scoring Average: 79th | SG: Putting: 10th | Greens in Regulation: 38th | Distance: 9th | SG: Around the Green: 43rd
Current Form Rating: 22nd
Taylor Pendrith
Pendrith might become a popular pick this week given some high-profile finishes recently. In his last five, he has three top-25 finishes including an impressive T16 showing at the US Open. Surprisingly, his current form ranking is not that impressive. But, with his putting ability he might be able to keep his recent results going.
Scoring Average: 6th | SG: Putting: 3rd | Greens in Regulation: 74th | Distance: 12th | SG: Around the Green: 43rd
Current Form Rating: 29th
Vincent Norrman
Norrman makes his first appearance in key stats page because of his tee to green ability. I don’t think he has a well-balanced enough game to be considered a contender this week though. In his last five, he has two missed cuts and no top-25 finishes.
Scoring Average: 115th | SG: Putting: 119th | Greens in Regulation: 9th | Distance: 7th | SG: Around the Green: 103rd
Current Form Rating: 136th
