Sleeper Picks: Rocket Classic
4 Min Read
All-time greatest shots from Rocket Classic
Written by Rob Bolton
NOTE: Sleeper Picks did not appear in Rob’s Power Rankings, but each presents value for the bet specified.
Outright
Stephan Jaeger (+7000) … Cam Davis captured his second Rocket Classic title last year at +6600 to win, so I’m staying in that vicinity with Jaeger. Tournaments yielding low scores cater to diving deeper on the board, but this range is short of whimsically hurling a dart at your favorite player just because. Before Jaeger broke through for victory at the Texas Children’s Houston Open 15 months ago, he was a persistent threat to challenge on racetracks like Detroit Golf Club. In fact, he bubbled up into the mix for a solo fifth here in 2022 and a T9 in 2023. That aligns with his profile as a fit-over-form consideration. Case in point, he hasn’t connected top-35 finishes all year, but he’s scattered three top 10s among five top 20s to sit 48th in the FedExCup.
Stephan Jaeger holes eagle putt at the Memorial
He can win putting contests, so this faith relies on better precision on approach for which he’s average compared to his peers.
Top 5
Chris Gotterup (+850) … After consecutive hits in this market, Kevin Yu fell short at the Travelers Championship at T25, but that leaderboard was stacked. Eying to begin another streak, Gotterup presents the kind of firepower you target for this finish. Long off the tee and accurate on approach, he’ll put himself in a position to capitalize on opportunities to score on a course on which he has experience. He’s 2-for-2. On top of that, he’s been a top-25 machine of late with five in his last seven starts, including a T23 at the U.S. Open. It’s a favorable departure from how he opened 2025, so you’re buying into his gradual surge and objectively respectful odds.
Top 10
Quade Cummins (+1000) … Paying this off would constitute his first-ever top 10 on the PGA TOUR. Of course, the rookie is only 15 starts into his membership, and he’s one of 14 in his class of 32 who have yet to connect, but he’s the highest-ranked in the FedExCup among them (at 135th). He’s also on the bounce of a fourth-place finish at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open on the Korn Ferry Tour. His performance included one eagle, 22 birdies and a second-round 62. It’s the kind of tune-up that can only help ahead of this week’s shootout.
Top 20
Jake Knapp (+270) … It’s not unusual for fresher faces to have a tough time once the PGA TOUR reaches the heart of the spring. Generally speaking, depths of fields are stronger, courses are more challenging and weather steps forward as a challenge. This was his reality after he was quick to his coronation as a rookie last year and it’s played out similarly this season. However, he owns the lowest round of the year (59 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches) and his skill set feeds into fulfilling this bet.
Jake Knapp nearly aces No. 13 at Charles Schwab
Currently above league average in hitting greens in regulation but third in converting those chances into par breakers. Also ninth in par-5 scoring. (Detroit Golf Club is a stock par 72.) Sat T19 after three rounds in his debut here last year before settling at T31, so there’s a chip on his shoulder to reverse that. And he’s fresh off another 54-hole pounding that had him T6 at the RBC Canadian Open, where he backpedaled to finish T27. I had to scroll twice to find him his deep on the page for these odds. This is a coup.
Top African
Thriston Lawrence (+260) … The PGA TOUR rookie is in a market of four with relatively even odds, all of whom are fellow countrymen from South Africa. Erik Van Rooyen is shortest at +190, Aldrich Potgieter is +250 and Garrick Higgo is +300. Van Rooyen finished T6 here last year but he’s been scuffling across five starts. Potgieter hasn’t played since finishing T6 at the Charles Schwab Challenge a month ago. It ended a 1-for-8 slump since losing in a playoff at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, so his inconsistency is documented.
Higgo also has struggled since winning the Corales Puntacana Championship in April and has played just thrice since. The angle for Lawrence is that he’s fresh off a T12 at the U.S. Open after a long stretch of his own inability to find solid footing since gaining membership via the DP World Tour. But the more interesting result was a T4 at the Soudal Open on his home circuit three weeks prior. He cited a need to return to familiar surroundings and lifestyle for a reset. It worked.
Odds were sourced at FanDuel.
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