Rocket Classic 2026 preview picks analysis

As the PGA Tour season nears its conclusion, a strong field assembles at the Rocket Classic this week, with the target a simple one - finish the season in 70th place or better and you qualify for the end-of-season playoffs, where much gold is on offer.

Cameron Young will be looking to put his Open heartbreak behind him at the earliest possible opportunity. He had the Claret Jug at his mercy on the 18th hole but his drive found a fairway bunker and his next shot hit the lip and barely got out of the sand. It all ended up with with him dropping a shot in what was an otherwise brilliant 64. He then had to wait for two hours to find out if he had done enough. As he pounded balls on the range, Ryan Fox holed an 11-foot birdie putt to pip him by a single shot.

Young has suffered many disappointments in his career but this one must be hard to take. The thing that strikes me about the American is his ability to shake off those setbacks and I fully expect him to be in contention at Detroit Golf Club this week, where he will surely have the support of the gallery.

It is the second time he has finished runner-up at The Open and he must surely now be regarded as the best current player not to have won a major. So he will now set his sights on adding the FedEx Cup to the Players Championship he won in such fine style earlier this year.

Cameron Young

Twelve months ago, Keegan Bradley was riding high in the world rankings and was wrestling with the dilemma over whether or not to pick himself for the US Ryder Cup team. In the end he decided not to play and oversaw a calamitous home defeat at the hands of Europe.

He later said that he didn’t know whether he would ever get over it and his form in 2026 bears that out. He has now fallen outside the top 40 in the world rankings and the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings. His best finish is a tied 12th at the RBC Heritage.

It is also a big week for Brooks Koepka. The five-time major champion made a much-publicised return to the PGA Tour this year after spending nearly four years with LIV Golf.

Since Koepka’s return, he has competed in 15 events and made 10 cuts. His best finishes this season have been T9 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, T11 at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, T12 at The Masters, T13 at the Players Championship, T14 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and T18 at the Valspar Championship.

He is currently ranked 84th in the FedExCup rankings and clearly still has work to do if he is to make it to the playoffs.

2025 US Open champion J.J. Spaun and eight-time PGA Tour winner Patrick Cantlay are also in the field. Spaun’s victory at last year’s US Open was his second PGA Tour victory, and he added a third this year at the Valero Texas Open. He is 14th in the world rankings, with four top-10 finishes in 2026. This year will mark his seventh appearance at the Rocket Classic, where he has finished 13th or better three times.

Cantlay is ranked 39th in the world on the strength of eight top-25 finishes in 16 events this season. He has played the Rocket Classic twice and tied for second in 2022. An eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, he has not tasted success since the 2022 BMW Championship - a poor return for a golfer of his talent.

Last year Aldrich Potgieter claimed his maiden PGA Tour title at the Rocket Classic, prevailing after a marathon playoff. The hugely gifted South African made an 18-foot birdie putt on the fifth extra hole to defeat Max Greyserman.

"I finally got one to the hole," Potgieter said, after missed opportunities by Potgieter, Greyserman and Chris Kirk led to the longest playoff of the season on the tour.

At 20 years of age, Potgieter was the youngest player on the PGA Tour and its biggest hitter, averaging over 326 yards off the tee. He became the ninth player to win for the first time last season.

Potgieter previously won the Amateur Championship title at the age of 17 and became the youngest Korn Ferry Tour winner, paving the way for him to become the second-youngest player to earn a PGA Tour card through the minor league just after his 20th birthday. The youngest was Jason Day, who was 19 in 2007.

Kirk was eliminated after missing a four-foot putt on the second playoff hole - that after pushing a nine-foot putt past the cup on the first extra hole with a chance to win. Greyserman and Potgieter each had opportunities to win and end it on the 72nd hole at Detroit Golf Club, but could not convert on birdie opportunities to break a tie at 22 under par with Kirk.

"This one's going to sting for a little bit," Greyserman said. Potgieter, two strokes ahead entering the round, closed with a three-under 69, and Greyserman and Kirk each shot 67.

Tournament Winners

It was first held in 2019 and was won by Nate Lashley. It was won in 2020 by Bryson DeChambeau, in 2021 and 2024 by Cameron Davis, in 2022 by Tony Finau, in 2023 by Rickie Fowler and last year by Potgieter.

The Course

Detroit Golf Club is a par 72 that measures 7,370 yards and was designed by the legendary Donald Ross. It is a tree-lined course with generous fairways. Distinctive features include the bent tree between the 7th and 8th hole. Native Americans bent it as a sapling to serve as a marker for the original Indian Trail between Detroit and Pontiac.

Prize Money

The total prize fund is $9.5m, with $1.6m going to the winner along with 500 FedEx Cup points.

How To Watch

Thursday, July 30, Sky Sports Golf, 7pm, Friday, July 31, Sky Sports Golf, 7pm; Saturday, August 1, Sky Sports Golf, 7pm, Sunday, August 2, Sky Sports Golf, 7pm.