Rocket Classic 2026 Power Rankings - Top 10 Contenders at Detroit Golf Club
The PGA Tour closes out July at the Rocket Classic, four rounds over Detroit Golf Club from 30 July to 2 August for a $10,000,000 purse. This is our Power Rankings, deliberately not the projections model's order. The model is our paid product; these rankings use only public Statz surfaces, so the two lists come out differently by design.
The Statz Power Index blends four public inputs. The Statz Rankings index for the field carries the most weight, followed by a venue skill match that multiplies Detroit's course demand profile by each player's last-24-round strokes-gained splits, then raw last-24-round SG total, and finally venue pedigree from the last two editions here. Detroit rewards a narrow skill set: approach play and putting together make up roughly three-quarters of what separates this field, with driving the least important skill on the card. Here is how the field ranks. Countdown from ten.
10. Cameron Young
Cameron Young sits sixth in the Statz World Rankings and second in this field on that measure, and off the tee he is among the best here (+0.48 strokes gained, 29th on Tour over his last 24 rounds). He arrives fresh from a runner-up at The Open. The reason the Power Index has him no higher is the flat stick: he is losing strokes putting (-0.26, 190th) at a venue where putting is the single biggest demand. He was 6th here in 2024, so the course clearly suits enough of his game - but the model is warmer on him than this list is.
9. Davis Thompson
Davis Thompson is the pedigree pick. He was runner-up at Detroit in 2024 and backed it up with a share of 7th at last week's 3M Open, and over his last 24 rounds he gains +0.59 on approach (29th on Tour) - exactly what this course asks for first. The caveat is consistency: his 2026 has mixed those highs with missed cuts. But a proven Detroit finisher arriving in form earns his place in the ten.
8. Ben Griffin
Ben Griffin is 18th in the Statz World Rankings and gains +1.08 strokes a round over his last 24 (22nd on Tour). The number that matters at Detroit is his putting: +0.83, sixth-best on Tour, on a course where the greens do most of the separating. His recent form is dependable rather than spectacular - a share of 3rd at the Charles Schwab, 10th at the Travelers, 14th at the PGA - and he was 13th here last year. A tidy, low-variance profile.
7. Si Woo Kim
Si Woo Kim is the highest-ranked player in the entire field on the Statz Rankings, fifth in the world by our numbers, and fourth in the field on last-16-rounds form at +2.10 a round. His recent card reads 6th at The Open, 9th at the Scottish and runner-up at the CJ Cup. So why only seventh? His last-24 splits are good without being elite in any one category, and he has no standout finish at Detroit, so the venue skill match - the Index's second-heaviest input - comes out merely solid. A strong all-rounder rather than a perfect fit.
6. Jake Knapp
Jake Knapp is the Index's clearest venue-history call. He finished 4th at Detroit in 2025, he is 21st in the Statz World Rankings, and his approach play - +0.71 over his last 24, 16th on Tour - fits the examination. Be clear-eyed about the risk, though: his last-24 SG total is only +0.53 (62nd), and his recent form is thin, a share of 13th at last week's 3M Open standing out against a run of missed cuts. This is a ranking built on pedigree and ball-striking, with current form the honest question mark.
5. Blades Brown
Blades Brown is where the Power Index departs most sharply from the market. Over his last 24 rounds he gains +1.75 strokes a round - fifth on the entire PGA Tour - and his approach play is second on Tour at +0.98, the exact skill Detroit demands most. He is fifth in this field on last-16-rounds form (+2.05), with recent finishes of 9th, 11th and a 3rd in Puerto Rico. He has no Detroit record to lean on and his body of elite-field results is still young, which is why the model is more reserved - but on public strokes-gained numbers, he belongs this high.
4. Chris Gotterup
Chris Gotterup is seventh in the Statz World Rankings and gaining +1.64 a round over his last 24 (7th on Tour), form that includes a recent win at the John Deere, 11th at the Scottish and 10th at the PGA. His putter is a genuine weapon here (+0.77, 9th). What keeps him off the top of this particular list is the venue skill match: his approach ranks 45th and his around-the-green work is a weakness (-0.15, 186th), so the demand-weighted fit sits a notch below the names above him. The projections model, weighted differently, is more enthusiastic.
3. J.J. Spaun
J.J. Spaun ticks every box the Index cares about. His approach play is elite - +0.87 over his last 24, 9th on Tour - at a course that prizes it, he gains +1.44 strokes a round overall (10th), he was 10th here in 2024, and he is eighth in this field on recent form. There is no glaring hole in the profile and a proven Detroit finish underneath it. A quietly excellent fit, rewarded here with a top-three spot.
2. Wyndham Clark
Wyndham Clark tops the public ball-striking and putting data. He is second on the entire PGA Tour in last-24 SG total (+2.40) and, crucially for Detroit, first on Tour in putting at +1.37 a round. He is second in the field on last-16 form (+2.34) and a US Open champion this season. On a green-dominant course, the Statz Power Index has no reason to rank him lower. The projections model does hold him back - it reads his course fit and history less kindly - and that disagreement is worth a closer look on the projections pages. On public numbers alone, he is a whisker off top spot.
1. Jackson Koivun
Jackson Koivun is the hottest player in the field and the Power Index's number one. He won last week's 3M Open, he leads the whole field on last-16-rounds form (+2.54 a round), he is third on the entire PGA Tour in last-24 SG total (+2.38), and he ranks second on Tour in putting (+0.93) - the single most valuable skill at Detroit. He has no history at this course, which costs him nothing in three of the four inputs. The model is more restrained on a player with a short elite record; the Power Index, reading current form and venue-matched skill, puts him top. The full model verdict is on the projections pages.
The name that's missing
One player the Power Index leaves outside its top ten but the model rates as a headline contender: Russell Henley. He is eighth in the Statz World Rankings and fourth in this field on the Statz Rankings, so he is no outsider - but the Index's venue skill match and pedigree inputs do not flag him. His last-24 approach number is modest (+0.14, 110th), no split stands out, and he has no recent finish at Detroit to score. He lands 17th on our public-surface list.
The projections model sees it very differently, making him the purest stylistic fit in the field and one of its leading picks for the week - which is exactly why he headlines our Rocket Classic betting preview. When the public data and the model disagree this openly, that gap is the whole story. The full picture - win, top-five, top-ten and make-cut probabilities for all 158 players - is on the Golf Projections pages.