June 28, 2023 • 9 mins
The PGA Tour heads into the Motor City this week to play the Rocket Mortgage classic in Detroit Michigan. The field is anchored by the great Justin Thomas as well as returning Champion Tony Finau. The MoJoKing is here to talk to you about the course, some history and to make some long shot selections.
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https://www.skygolf.com/products/?AffiliateID=2367352
It's fast.
It's fun.
It's Hidden Gems Golf.
HGG is brought to you by SkyGolf. Click below to take a look at their excellent catalog to help your golf game. Every click helps or affiliates know you care. Appreciate your support.
https://www.skygolf.com/products/?AffiliateID=2367352
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Hitty Jem's Golf, wherewe dig a little bit deeper to find
secret treasure for your betting and DFSpleasure. Yeah Baby, Happy birthday,
Uncle Warren, Happy birthday Ava.Hello all, I am Demojo King and
(00:23):
this is episode number sixty seven ofHidden Gems Golf, brought to you by
the Mighty nineteen Media Group and sponsoredby Sky Golf. More about our illustrious
sponsors in a bit. This weekwe'll be discussing the Rocket and Mortgage Classic
being played in Detroit, Michigan,the Motor City. As many of you
know, this is our second yearof Hitting Gems Golf, and I have
(00:45):
to say each episode is a learningexperience, and certainly each year has been
as well. The month of Junein particular has been quite the lesson both
this year and last. One thingthat I have learned is that in future
years of Hitty Jem's Golf, Imay just take June off. June has
been lots of fun in some ways, and also lots of trouble as far
(01:07):
as getting this podcast done, butwe are back on track now. You're
welcome. Another lesson learned is thatI must do better at this tournament.
I was clearly uncomfortable previewing the RocketMortgage last year. It seemed like I
(01:27):
had no real feel for the tournament. I think I found a path this
year. What a difference a yearmakes. This is the ninety Media Girl
presentation. All right, this weekwe'll be discussing the Rocket Mortgage Classic,
being played at the Detroit Golf Clubin Detroit, Michigan. This tournament was
first played here in twenty nineteen andhas been held at the Detroit Golf Club
(01:49):
since its inception. The course wasbuilt by Donald Ross in nineteen sixteen and
later renovated by Robert Trent Jones anda couple of others. The course is
a part seventy two and his seventhousand, three hundred and seventy yards.
It's greens and fairways feature a bentgrass pole of grass mix and the roughest
blue grass. The course is knownto have fast greens, wide fairways,
(02:13):
couple of reachable par fives, issome short r fours as well, four
of those par fours under four hundredyards. Still, this course does not
yield a ton of eagles, butis a place where golfers can go low.
How low you ask last year,Tony feenwe Rock the competition, winning
at twenty six under. He wasfollowed by Patrick Kntley, Tyler Pendriff and
(02:36):
Cameron Young at twenty one under.I think it should be noted that Stephen
Yeager rounded out the top five.In twenty twenty one, it was Cam
Davis taking the title of defeating JoachimNiemann and Troy Merritt in a playoff at
eighteen under. Alexander Norn and HankLibyota rounded out the top five. In
twenty twenty Rising d Shambo bullyed thecourse to win at twenty three. Matthew
(03:00):
Wolfe bombed his way to a secondat twenty under. They were followed by
the smooth finesse style of Kevin Kissner. Nate Lashly dominated the inorgural tournament here
at twenty five under. I believehe was the last second in addition to
the tournament if my memory is correct. He was followed by Doc Redman,
Rory Stabattini and West Roach at nineteeneighteen and eighteen under respectively. Two quick
(03:27):
final notes about the course. Thecourse superintendent is Sam Monahan and this is
his first year as a superintendent ever. Congratulations to him. And also it
must be noted that a storm camethrough Detroit last week and the staff has
been scrambling to clean up some ofthe tree damage. It looks like mister
(03:49):
Monahan and his crew were up tothe task and all is well for this
upcoming week. Friends of hidden Gems, let me introduce sky golfs Skycaddy ESX
four that SEX four hundred. Itlooks like a phone, but is singularly
geared to improve your golfing experience.It's preloaded with thirty five thousand verified courses
(04:10):
mapped out with precision. By walkingand surveying each course, Skycatty will give
you a full view of where youare playing. But this is way more
than just a map. It helpsyou not only determine the yardage of your
first shot, but helps you decidewhat to do with the arrest of the
path to the whole. Not onlythat, but it's precise on the greens
(04:30):
as well, showing you not onlypin locations, but all the contours on
the greens. Instantly become a smartergolfer with a true path to victory with
the SX four hundred. Click onmy link in the description and watch your
game grow with sky golf, allright, there is a clear dichotomy of
players who do well here. Theyhave been big hitters who have bombed and
(04:53):
gouged their way to the top,but there have also been precision hitters who
have bobbed and weave their way upthe letable. But the best indicator to
win the tournament is simply to bea top tier player, and I'll class
all of them anyway, And forthat reason, I may just take Justin
Thomas in my winning Dunns despite thelower purse. I need a win,
(05:15):
and why not take the best inthe field who may have just figured it
out. In the final three roundslast week, JT was playing much more
like JT by the end of theTravelers, maybe he is officially back.
With that said, I could easilysee how you might lean towards defending champion
Tony Feenwe or Hideki Matsuyama, oreven super hot Ricky Fowler at longer odds.
(05:39):
But far from hidden gems are TylerHendriff and Christian Bazudenhoes. Those guys
seem like worthy gambles as well.But in all honesty, I am either
going with the big time favorites orsome long shots. The middle ground is
for suckers. So let's dig deep, shall we, and now our featured
(06:00):
presentation. First up is the hundredand eleventh ranked player in the world,
twenty eight year old Lee Hodges.Hodges really struggled with his results in the
middle of the season and has struggledwith his putting the entire season. However,
he's shown the ability to do damageoff the tea and his approach game
has been in prime form for aboutpast month, with the exception of last
(06:25):
week slip up. The three weeksprior to that he had finished twenty fifth
at the Canadian Open, twelfth atthe Memorial, and twenty ninth at the
Charles Swab. I think a toptwenty this week seems in play for Hodges.
Next up twenty eight year old AndrewNovak. Novak is coming off a
miscut at the Travelers, but priorto that he had rattled off seven straight
(06:49):
made cuts. Actually, he's hada sneakily solid season, as he's sitting
in the top hundred in the FedExrace listen. Novak hasn't showed a pension
for flirting with the true leaderboards,but a bet for him to make the
cut seems like a very solid gamble. And our final hitting Gem selection is
the hundred and ninetieth ranked player inthe world, twenty four year old Kevin
(07:14):
Chun and You. Now, thelast few weeks, I've been jumping on
players returning from injury to not muchavail. But those selections were kind of
wishful thinking, and I think thisone is more of a strategic choice.
Unlike the Vinceualis and Atlanto Griffins ofthe world, Kevin You had already established
(07:35):
himself during the twenty two twenty threeseason. He had made eight of his
eleven cuts, including last weeks atthe Travelers. That was his first event
in four months. His knee lookedfine, and I expect him to dine
in Detroit. Not to mention hisoff the tea game is his strength,
(07:58):
and this is a nice place tohave that as a strength. All right,
the recap. The Hidden Gems selectionsthis week are Andrew Novak, Lee
Hodges, and Kevin You. Iguess I should point out that Mattie Schmidt,
Lucles and Brandon Matthews may have thepower to bully this course, but
(08:18):
with those guys, they're a highrisk, and I have forever forsaken mister
Matthews from being an HGG selection.So you didn't hear me suggesting that guy
at all. All right, that'sall I got. Good luck. I
appreciate all of you, and Dicky. Keep digging, okay, So keep
(09:03):
digging, keep digging, keep taking, keep digging. Let's keep taking like
a million times, keep digging inand then you'll find treasure in the snow.
You know, it's recording your audio. Not here, not you're dancing,
I know, keep digging. Ohmy goodness,
Welcome to Hitty Jem's Golf, wherewe dig a little bit deeper to find
secret treasure for your betting and DFSpleasure. Yeah Baby, Happy birthday,
Uncle Warren, Happy birthday Ava.Hello all, I am Demojo King and
(00:23):
this is episode number sixty seven ofHidden Gems Golf, brought to you by
the Mighty nineteen Media Group and sponsoredby Sky Golf. More about our illustrious
sponsors in a bit. This weekwe'll be discussing the Rocket and Mortgage Classic
being played in Detroit, Michigan,the Motor City. As many of you
know, this is our second yearof Hitting Gems Golf, and I have
(00:45):
to say each episode is a learningexperience, and certainly each year has been
as well. The month of Junein particular has been quite the lesson both
this year and last. One thingthat I have learned is that in future
years of Hitty Jem's Golf, Imay just take June off. June has
been lots of fun in some ways, and also lots of trouble as far
(01:07):
as getting this podcast done, butwe are back on track now. You're
welcome. Another lesson learned is thatI must do better at this tournament.
I was clearly uncomfortable previewing the RocketMortgage last year. It seemed like I
(01:27):
had no real feel for the tournament. I think I found a path this
year. What a difference a yearmakes. This is the ninety Media Girl
presentation. All right, this weekwe'll be discussing the Rocket Mortgage Classic,
being played at the Detroit Golf Clubin Detroit, Michigan. This tournament was
first played here in twenty nineteen andhas been held at the Detroit Golf Club
(01:49):
since its inception. The course wasbuilt by Donald Ross in nineteen sixteen and
later renovated by Robert Trent Jones anda couple of others. The course is
a part seventy two and his seventhousand, three hundred and seventy yards.
It's greens and fairways feature a bentgrass pole of grass mix and the roughest
blue grass. The course is knownto have fast greens, wide fairways,
(02:13):
couple of reachable par fives, issome short r fours as well, four
of those par fours under four hundredyards. Still, this course does not
yield a ton of eagles, butis a place where golfers can go low.
How low you ask last year,Tony feenwe Rock the competition, winning
at twenty six under. He wasfollowed by Patrick Kntley, Tyler Pendriff and
(02:36):
Cameron Young at twenty one under.I think it should be noted that Stephen
Yeager rounded out the top five.In twenty twenty one, it was Cam
Davis taking the title of defeating JoachimNiemann and Troy Merritt in a playoff at
eighteen under. Alexander Norn and HankLibyota rounded out the top five. In
twenty twenty Rising d Shambo bullyed thecourse to win at twenty three. Matthew
(03:00):
Wolfe bombed his way to a secondat twenty under. They were followed by
the smooth finesse style of Kevin Kissner. Nate Lashly dominated the inorgural tournament here
at twenty five under. I believehe was the last second in addition to
the tournament if my memory is correct. He was followed by Doc Redman,
Rory Stabattini and West Roach at nineteeneighteen and eighteen under respectively. Two quick
(03:27):
final notes about the course. Thecourse superintendent is Sam Monahan and this is
his first year as a superintendent ever. Congratulations to him. And also it
must be noted that a storm camethrough Detroit last week and the staff has
been scrambling to clean up some ofthe tree damage. It looks like mister
(03:49):
Monahan and his crew were up tothe task and all is well for this
upcoming week. Friends of hidden Gems, let me introduce sky golfs Skycaddy ESX
four that SEX four hundred. Itlooks like a phone, but is singularly
geared to improve your golfing experience.It's preloaded with thirty five thousand verified courses
(04:10):
mapped out with precision. By walkingand surveying each course, Skycatty will give
you a full view of where youare playing. But this is way more
than just a map. It helpsyou not only determine the yardage of your
first shot, but helps you decidewhat to do with the arrest of the
path to the whole. Not onlythat, but it's precise on the greens
(04:30):
as well, showing you not onlypin locations, but all the contours on
the greens. Instantly become a smartergolfer with a true path to victory with
the SX four hundred. Click onmy link in the description and watch your
game grow with sky golf, allright, there is a clear dichotomy of
players who do well here. Theyhave been big hitters who have bombed and
(04:53):
gouged their way to the top,but there have also been precision hitters who
have bobbed and weave their way upthe letable. But the best indicator to
win the tournament is simply to bea top tier player, and I'll class
all of them anyway, And forthat reason, I may just take Justin
Thomas in my winning Dunns despite thelower purse. I need a win,
(05:15):
and why not take the best inthe field who may have just figured it
out. In the final three roundslast week, JT was playing much more
like JT by the end of theTravelers, maybe he is officially back.
With that said, I could easilysee how you might lean towards defending champion
Tony Feenwe or Hideki Matsuyama, oreven super hot Ricky Fowler at longer odds.
(05:39):
But far from hidden gems are TylerHendriff and Christian Bazudenhoes. Those guys
seem like worthy gambles as well.But in all honesty, I am either
going with the big time favorites orsome long shots. The middle ground is
for suckers. So let's dig deep, shall we, and now our featured
(06:00):
presentation. First up is the hundredand eleventh ranked player in the world,
twenty eight year old Lee Hodges.Hodges really struggled with his results in the
middle of the season and has struggledwith his putting the entire season. However,
he's shown the ability to do damageoff the tea and his approach game
has been in prime form for aboutpast month, with the exception of last
(06:25):
week slip up. The three weeksprior to that he had finished twenty fifth
at the Canadian Open, twelfth atthe Memorial, and twenty ninth at the
Charles Swab. I think a toptwenty this week seems in play for Hodges.
Next up twenty eight year old AndrewNovak. Novak is coming off a
miscut at the Travelers, but priorto that he had rattled off seven straight
(06:49):
made cuts. Actually, he's hada sneakily solid season, as he's sitting
in the top hundred in the FedExrace listen. Novak hasn't showed a pension
for flirting with the true leaderboards,but a bet for him to make the
cut seems like a very solid gamble. And our final hitting Gem selection is
the hundred and ninetieth ranked player inthe world, twenty four year old Kevin
(07:14):
Chun and You. Now, thelast few weeks, I've been jumping on
players returning from injury to not muchavail. But those selections were kind of
wishful thinking, and I think thisone is more of a strategic choice.
Unlike the Vinceualis and Atlanto Griffins ofthe world, Kevin You had already established
(07:35):
himself during the twenty two twenty threeseason. He had made eight of his
eleven cuts, including last weeks atthe Travelers. That was his first event
in four months. His knee lookedfine, and I expect him to dine
in Detroit. Not to mention hisoff the tea game is his strength,
(07:58):
and this is a nice place tohave that as a strength. All right,
the recap. The Hidden Gems selectionsthis week are Andrew Novak, Lee
Hodges, and Kevin You. Iguess I should point out that Mattie Schmidt,
Lucles and Brandon Matthews may have thepower to bully this course, but
(08:18):
with those guys, they're a highrisk, and I have forever forsaken mister
Matthews from being an HGG selection.So you didn't hear me suggesting that guy
at all. All right, that'sall I got. Good luck. I
appreciate all of you, and Dicky. Keep digging, okay, So keep
(09:03):
digging, keep digging, keep taking, keep digging. Let's keep taking like
a million times, keep digging inand then you'll find treasure in the snow.
You know, it's recording your audio. Not here, not you're dancing,
I know, keep digging. Ohmy goodness,
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