A Fond Farewell: Rocket Classic Ends
PGA Tour departs Detroit unless new sponsor is found
By Tom Lang
On the second day of August, an abbreviated ‘golf era’ ended in Michigan.
That Sunday, when Michael Thorbjornsen was crowned the most recent PGA Tour winner and recipient of $1.8 million, was the final round of the last Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club. That means at least for the near future, it looks like the PGA Tour has left Michigan a second time, like it did – in a remarkable coincident on the second day of August 2009 – when the much-beloved Buick Open cut bait after 50-plus years of golden golf memories.
The renewal of Michigan pro tour golf in 2019, thanks to Rocket Mortgage stepping up, meant so much to tens of thousands of golf fans in the Great Lakes State. Even better, it became the first PGA Tour event to be played inside the city limits of Detroit.
A top benefit was the city’s chance to showcase what it’s best known for – being an incredible sports city and birthing the automobile industry, creating great music by our own people, and as a gateway for international commerce.
A bittersweet benefit for the city was what Covid-19 shutdowns revealed in 2020 – the lack of Internet connectivity for many residents to search for jobs, for children to do schoolwork and many other factors that modern technology offers, yet too many Detroiters simply didn’t have. What became of this revelation was the tag of ‘worst city in the country for connectivity.’
The people at Rocket Mortgage and the tournament dug in to utilize the power of this special golf tournament to raise funds, to the tune of more than $10 million ever since, and increase nationwide exposure to the challenge of elevating Detroit to now one of the most wi-fi connected major cities in the U.S.
Another glaring memory for me personally was that same year, 2020, only the second year of the tournament, the planners faced the fact that Covid might shut down the tournament that was still in its infancy and trying to get off the ground to become established on the PGA Tour schedule. Detroit wouldn’t tolerate a cancelation. Concessions were made with the PGA Tour to delay it a few weeks and hold the event with zero fans in attendance.
TV crew production staff were allowed to function and broadcast it nationwide, but I was one of less than 20 non-TV media credentialed to cover and report on the tournament. The most surreal professional event of my life took place in near silence throughout the historic club across the street from Palmer Park. Even the Detroit Golf Club president wasn’t allowed inside the gates as a premium was put on distancing people.
Yet that event was a wonderful version of golf to behold, eventually claimed by Bryson DeChambeau as the second winner of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
His win, and a not long after move to LIV, was another challenging blow for the history of this tournament, which today everyone simply calls the ‘Rocket.’ LIV’s disturbingly-rich money model factored into the reality the Rocket is going away as well, because the PGA Tour’s answer to LIV’s draw of top talent has forever changed the landscape of how the Tour is now managed and how tournaments are evaluated. The Rocket, with little history to establish itself with a preferable spot on the calendar, became a tough draw for securing the best golfers for increased fan excitement.
But if you are one of the few fans who missed the 2026 tournament, you missed a good one. The field was by far the best the Rocket had seen in its eight years. Top names came in, and the newly-renovated DGC course was packed with golf lovers cheering on their favorites. The Sunday finale was a sea of people moving about the property having a good time with more fan-friendly options and accommodations than before.
Tournament director Mark Hollis’ team served the 2026 fans well … served the pro golfers well … and most importantly served Detroit well.
Thanks for the memories, Rocket Classic. You made so many – and we won’t forget you.
