Golf Glance: Finau defends in Detroit; Stricker seeks major Champions history

Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Travelers Championship (Keegan Bradley)

THIS WEEK: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit, June 29-July 2

Course: Detroit Golf Club (Par 72, 7,370 yards)

Purse: $8.8M (Winner: $1.584M)

Defending Champion: Tony Finau

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

Streaming on ESPN+: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Twitter: @RocketClassic

NOTES: The Detroit Golf Club had several trees uprooted by storms on Sunday, but all holes but No. 10 were open for players to practice on by Monday afternoon. ... Brian Harman leads the tour with three runner-up finishes this season, including last week. His 28 top-10s since the start of the 2017-18 season are the most among players without a win during that span. ... Hayden Buckley and Patrick Rodgers withdrew on Monday and were replaced in the field by Sean O'Hair and Nicolai Hojgaard. That also created a sponsor's exemption for Kyle Stanley. ... The Open Qualifiers in the field are Kyle Reifers, Brett Stegmaier, Peter Kuest and Andy Spencer. ... Zac Blair, who tied for second last week, needs 25.482 FedEx Cup points in his next seven starts to be able to play the remainder of the season out of the Major Medical category. ... Chase Johnson will make his second start in the event after winning The John Shippen National Golf Invitational last week at Detroit Golf Club. He missed the cut two years ago.

BEST BETS: Finau (+1200 at BetMGM) will defend a PGA Tour title at the same course for the first time in his career and is seeking his fifth in win the past 12 months. ... Rickie Fowler (+1200) has four consecutive top-13 finishes but is still seeking his first win since 2019. ... Collin Morikawa (+1600) is seeking to win in a tournament debut for the fifth time in his career. Only Tiger Woods (7) has accomplished the feat more times since 1983. ... Justin Thomas (+1600) is also making his tournament debut. Currently 66th in the FedEx Cup standings, Thomas is looking to build off a T9 last week. ... Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) has shown solid form of late with five top-20s in his past nine starts. ... Max Homa (+1800) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 9. Homa has a pair of wins this season but has also missed his past two cuts. ... Tom Kim (+2000) is already a two-time winner on Tour and finished T8 at the U.S. Open two weeks ago.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: John Deere Classic, Silvis, Ill., July 6-9

LPGA Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: KPMG Women's PGA Championship (Ruoning Yin)

THIS WEEK: OFF.

Race to the CME Globe leader: Jin Young Ko

NEXT TOURNAMENT: U.S. Women's Open, Pebble Beach, Calif., July 6-9

Champions Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: Dick's Sporting Goods Open (Padraig Harrington)

THIS WEEK: U.S. Senior Open, Stevens Point, Wis., June 29-July 2

Course: SentryWorld (Par 71, 7,218 yards)

Purse: TBA (Winner: TBA)

Defending Champion: Harrington

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday, 12-3 p.m., 6-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-2 p.m. (Peacock), 2-6 p.m. (GC); Sunday, 12-2 p.m. (Peacock), 2-5 p.m. (GC)

Twitter: @ChampionsTour

NOTES: Stricker is seeking to become the first player in Champions history to win three consecutive majors, having already claimed the Regions Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship in May. Stricker won the U.S. Senior Open in 2019. ... Defending champion Harrington is also coming off a victory last week.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Kaulig Companies Championship, Akron, Ohio, July 13-16

LIV Golf League

LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf D.C. (Individual: Harold Varner III; Team: Torque GC)

THIS WEEK: LIV Golf Valderrama, Andalucia, Spain, June 30-July 2

Course: Real Club Valderrama (Par 71, 7,028 yards)

Purse: $20M Individual (Winner: $4M); $5M Team (Winner: $3M)

Individual standings leader: Talor Gooch

Team standings leader: 4Aces

Defending Champion: Inaugural event

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (The CW App); Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW Network, LIV Golf Plus)

Twitter: @livgolf_league

NOTES: This begins the second half of the 14-event 2023 schedule. All events consist of a 54-hole shotgun start, with the lowest three scores each day used for the four-player team scores. ... Valderrama was the host course for the 1997 Ryder Cup won by Team Europe, while Sergio Garcia won the 2011 Andalucia Masters held at Valderrama. ... At the end of the season, the players who finish in the top 24 of the standings will secure their spot for 2024 as part of the "Lock Zone." Players finishing between 25-44 will be in the "Open Zone" and face potential trade or release by their team. Those who finish 45 and below will be in the "Drop Zone" and relegated. They will also automatically qualify for the promotions tournament and a chance to reclaim their spot. Team captains are exempt from relegation.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf London, Hertfordshire, UK, July 7-9