In 10 seasons on the PGA Tour, Troy Merritt has made 252 career starts but has just 19 top-10 finishes (for a frustrating 7.5 percent rate). Still, the few occassions the 35-year-old Idaho native has had a share of the lead entering the final round of an event—as he does at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic with his 14-under score—he tends to stick around on Sundays. Three previous times Merritt has been a 54-hole leader on tour, and he’s won two of the three for his two career victories (2015 Quicken Loans National and 2018 Barbasol Championship) while finishing third in the other (2015 RBC Heritage).
Before feeling too confident in Merritt’s chances on Sunday at Detroit Golf Club, however, consider the track record of Joaquin Niemann, who is also tied for the lead at 14 under. The Chile native, 22, has nearly as many top-10s as Merritt (16) in a quarter as many starts (87). And the one previous time Niemann was a 54-hole co-leader, he won his lone PGA Tour title, the 2019 Military Tribute at the Greenbrier.
More intriguing is the fact that Niemann has yet to make a bogey this week. Should he keep that up and win the title he would become only the second tour winner since 1972 to go bogey-free for 72 holes, joining J.T. Poston with his win at the 2019 Wyndham Championship.
Should either stumble, there a few hungry chasers. Hank Lebioda and Cam Davis are both one-stroke back and eager to win his first tour titles. Same with Brandon Hagy, who starts Sunday two off the lead.
For all these contenders, a Sunday win would also mean the largest payday of their careers. The prize money payout at the Rocket Mortgage is $7.5 million overall with the winner earning $1.35 million. Here’s the breakdown of the prize money payout for every golfer who made the cut this week. We’ll update the post after the finish to add individual names and how much they earned.