DETROIT >> A field of 156 will tee it up at the seventh annual Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club starting Thursday.

In the spirit of golf, here are 18 players to watch:

Five favorites

Like Morikawa, Cantlay is in a bit of a slump when it comes to winning. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2022. That also was the last time he played the Rocket Classic, when he finished tied for second, albeit a long way back, five shots, from the champion, Tony Finau. Cantlay, 33, is an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour who is ranked No. 20 in the world. During this season, he’s had three top-10s and eight top-25s in 14 appearances.

It’s been quite a breakthrough season for Griffin, 29, who’s won twice on the PGA Tour this season (including one team event) to skyrocket to No. 17 in the world golf rankings. He’s recognizable for his cheap aviator sunglasses and for playing Maxfli balls (yes, Maxfli is still a thing, it turns out), and he’s recognizable for some exceptional play this season. Even when he’s not winning, he’s contending, with eight top-10s in 21 tournaments.

Matsuyama seems to like playing in the Rocket. He’s committed to playing it for the fifth time in seven years, though first time since 2023. The 2021 Masters champion is ranked No. 12 in the world, and he’s got 11 PGA Tour wins, including one earlier this season. His recent history at the Rocket hasn’t been memorable, with a missed cut in 2023 and a WD with a wrist injury in 2021, but he tied for 13th in the first Rocket in 2019 and then tied for 21st in 2020.

The Australian has won just twice on the PGA Tour. Of course, both of those happen to have come at DGC, as he won the 2021 Rocket Classic in a lengthy playoff, then won again in 2024, winning by a stroke over a group of four, including Akshay Bhatia, who three-putted the 18th green on Sunday to miss out on a playoff. A return to Detroit might just be the tonic needed for Davis, 30, who has missed eight cuts this season and carded just one top-10.

Five others

One of the most charismatic golfers on the PGA Tour, Lee, 26, finally broke through with his first win on Tour back in March. The No. 38-ranked golfer in the world hasn’t been on top of his game since then, with nothing better than a tie for 49th and two missed cuts in the seven tournaments since he got into the winner’s circle. But he’s played well at the Rocket Classic, finishing tied for second in 2024 in his first trip to Detroit, just a shot behind champion Cam Davis.

One of four Kims in the field (and two others, Michael and Si Woo, are worth paying attention to, as well), Tom, 23, won three times on PGA Tour in 2022 and 2023, but hasn’t won since. He did finish tied for 33rd at the U.S. Open, his best result since early February. The personality is A-plus, and the talent is, too, as he’s shown it before at Detroit Golf Club. He shot a Sunday 63 in 2022 to finish seventh and earn PGA Tour status. He’s missed the cut the last two years.

Young, 28, hasn’t yet won the PGA Tour, though you’ve gotta believe that time is coming. He’s had a nice year, with four top-10s, three coming in the past six weeks. He’s played twice in the Rocket, and he tied for sixth in 2024 and tied for second in 2022. Scorching temps are expected in 2025, which should dry out the course, making it play even shorter. Young is one of longer hitters on the PGA Tour, and he makes a ton of birdies.

He could easily be listed among the favorites, given he finished runner-up at DGC a year ago. But there might be some scar tissue from the three-putt on the 18th hole on Sunday to miss out on a playoff. He wasn’t the first to three-putt that green, and he won’t be the last. Bhatia, 23, a lefty, has won twice on the PGA Tour and he’s No. 36 in the world, but he’s missed three of his last seven cuts and hasn’t had a top-10 since The Players in March.

Five dark horses

Another guy who doesn’t typically fit the dark horse label, because of his star power. But it’s been a struggle of late for Homa, 34, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since early 2023. This season has featured his most adversity as a pro, with a caddie breakup and seven missed cuts in 15 tournaments. He hasn’t had any top-10s and has just one top-25. There have been signs of progress, with a 64 at the PGA and a 68 at the Memorial and at the Travelers. He just hasn’t put it all together yet.

One of at least three amateurs who will be in the Rocket field (along with Michigan State’s Ashton McCulloch, who got a sponsor’s exemption from Rocket exec and ex-MSU AD Mark Hollis, and Alabama’s Dominic Clemons, who got a spot for winning the Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes last fall), La Sasso, 21, just won the individual title at the NCAA Championships. That got him into the U.S. Open, his first PGA Tour event. He missed the cut by three shots.

Fitzpatrick, 30, burst onto the nation’s golf radar in 2022, when he won the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and he’s won one more PGA Tour tournament since. But he’s had just one top-10 this season, as he’s dipped down to No. 75 in the world rankings. Still, that top 10 was recently, at the PGA Championship last month, and he was steady at the U.S. Open and Travelers. This marks his first appearance at the Rocket Classic.

Brehm, 39, has played in the last five Rockets, his home-state tournament, as a Mt. Pleasant native, Traverse City resident and Michigan State alum. He’s lost his full-time PGA Tour status, so this will be only his third PGA Tour start of 2025. So one magical week, in front of family and friends, could do him wonders. He’s one of four locals in the field, along with fellow Spartans James Piot and McCulloch and Benny Cook, the winner of the 2024 Michigan PGA.

Three more former champs

Finau, 35, was on quite a heater when he arrived at DGC in 2022, having just won the 3M Open in the Twin Cities. He made it back-to-back wins with a runaway victory at the Rocket, the fourth of his six PGA Tour wins. He hasn’t won, though, since 2023, and hasn’t had a top-10 finish since February. He’s fallen to No. 44 in the world. This marks his fourth appearance at the Rocket, and first since 2023, when he missed the cut in his attempt to defend his title.

He came out of nowhere to win the first playing of the Rocket in 2019, and while he hasn’t won since on the PGA Tour, he’s maintained his PGA Tour status since — no small feat, as it’s gotten harder and harder to keep your card in recent years. Lashley, 42, doesn’t have a top-10 this season and he has just two top-25s, but he’s playing better of late, making seven of his last eight cuts after he started his season with five missed cuts and a WD in his first seven tournaments.