6 Players Who Could Use Big Week at the Rocket Classic

When your job title is PGA Tour golfer, it’s always a good week to have a good week.

Some weeks, though, are better than others.

In most cases, we’d mean major championships – or at the very least, signature and playoff events.

Then again, there are times when a player just needs a good week, either to capture a little momentum or cross a specific points threshold.

This week’s Rocket Classic features a better-than-usual field, as a group of big-name players appear headed to Detroit for the sole reason that they need a good week.

Let’s examine six of those situations – and why this could be such an important tourney for ‘em.

6 Players Who Could Use Big Week at the Rocket Classic

Patrick Cantlay

Quick: Take a guess where the man who found himself mired in the middle of “Hatgate” finds himself on the current U.S. Ryder Cup points list. Third? Sixth? Try 14th. It would have sounded ridiculous six months ago to suggest that Cantlay might not be part of the team at Bethpage Black, but that could very well be the case.

For a player who isn’t exactly a dynamic personality and only has one natural partner in Xander Schauffele – and, oh yeah, sparked a global controversy the last time amid reports that he’d wanted to be paid for competing – there are plenty of reasons to leave him off the roster if his game isn’t in great shape. It’ll take a lot of work to climb back into the automatic qualifiers, but he at least needs some strong performances to remain in the conversation as a captain’s pick. 

Hideki Matsuyama

While some players “need” a big week soon, others just really want one – and that’s the case for Matsuyama, who won the season-opening Sentry Championship and hasn’t posted a single top-10 since then. Sure, there are five other top-25s, but for a player of his caliber, that’s hardly a main goal. In his last five starts, he hasn’t finished better than 30th, though a final-round 65 at the Travelers Championship on Sunday could portend better results. He knows he needs it, which likely explains why he’s playing the Rocket for just the second time in the past four years.

Tony Finau and Matt Fitzpatrick

At 51st and 74th on the FedEx Cup points list, respectively, each has some work to do in order to reach a few important checkpoints. Finau is outside the top-50, which would not only qualify him for the BMW Championship but also for all signature events next season, while Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Then there’s the not-so-inconsequential matter of the Ryder Cup, as it appears each would have to make some serious headway to even be in consideration for a captain’s pick.

Rickie Fowler

Two years ago, Fowler ended a 1,610-day drought by winning this tournament in a playoff and celebrating with a lengthy exhale. He’s now 69th in the FedEx Cup points standings, despite receiving exemptions into six of the eight signature events this year, most of them without a cut. That’s a lot of extra opportunities for one of the game’s more popular players and while we can debate whether that’s fair, it does put a little bit more of a spotlight on Rickie’s success – or lack thereof, as he’s just barely inside the current cut line to make the playoffs. There is some reason for optimism, though, as he’s finished 16th or better in three of his last five starts and now comes to a place where he’s enjoyed some success.

Michael Thorbjornsen

Change is coming to the PGA Tour next season, as only the top 100 on the FedEx Cup points list will retain status thereafter. This will be the last year with 125 keeping their playing privileges, and while there aren’t many big-name players outside the current demarcation line who could lose their playing privileges, Thorbjornsen is among those who are cutting things close. Despite finishing tied for second at the Corales Puntacana Championship and T-4 at the Zurich Classic, the former No. 1-ranked amateur remains 110th on the points list. He hasn’t played since withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge with a wrist injury over a month ago, but he’ll return this week. If he’s fully healthy, he’ll need to at least do enough to keep from sliding any further.