The PGA TOUR heads from Minnesota to the Motor City for this week’s Rocket Classic. The Rocket Classic has been a regular part of the summer schedule since 2019 and has always been held at Detroit Golf Club. It usually brings plenty of drama and has been decided by one stroke or in a playoff in three straight seasons. The tournament tees off on Thursday, July 30, and will conclude on Sunday, August 2, weather permitting.
Let’s start the week with a look at the format, history, and course for the Rocket Classic.
The Format of the Rocket Classic
The format of the Rocket Classic is a standard full-field event on the PGA TOUR with 145 players in the field and a cut to the top 65 players and ties after Round 2. Scoring is standard stroke play with the lowest cumulative score after four rounds winning the championship.
With just two tournaments before the FedExCup Playoffs, this event is in a critical spot in the schedule for players looking to make a push in the playoffs and secure their PGA TOUR membership for next season. After the Rocket Classic and next week’s Wyndham Championship, the top 70 players in the FedExCup Standings will advance to the FedEx St. Jude Championship and take a huge step towards securing their status for next season’s big events.
The purse for the Rocket Classic will be announced later this week, but last year, the total purse was $9.6 million, with $1.728 million going to the winner.
The History of the Tournament
The Rocket Classic became a regular summer stop on the PGA TOUR in 2019, when Nate Lashley won the inaugural event. It has moved around the calendar from before to after The Open Championship in its brief history, and the event in its current form will come to a close after this year, as Rocket Companies announced it will no longer sponsor the event. The event could continue with a new sponsor or move to a different spot in the calendar, but its future is up in the air at this point.
The Rocket Classic has had a good run as the first PGA TOUR event held within the city limits of Detroit, and its champions have typically been very popular players. Bryson DeChambeau won the second-ever Rocket Classic, and fan-favorites Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler claimed wins here over the last few seasons. Cameron Davis won the event twice, and last year, South African Aldrich Potgeiter won the event at only 20 years old. It took a dramatic five-hole playoff for Potgeiter to claim the win over runners-up Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk.
This year’s Rocket Classic features the strongest field in the event’s eight-year history, including four of the top 10 and eight of the top 20 ranked players in the world. It should be another dramatic and exciting week of golf with playoff implications and plenty of excitement on Sunday.
Be sure to check ou this week’s full field and opening odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
A Closer Look at the Course
Detroit Golf Club will be very different this year for what could be the final time the PGA TOUR stops by. With radical schedule changes coming in 2028, there is definitely a chance the course re-enters the rotation, but how it plays this week will be critical after significant changes from last season.
Since last year, Detroit Golf Club has had a $16.1 million restoration project, and the Donald Ross design will play as a par 70 this year instead of a par 72, as it has for the last seven tournaments. Hole No. 7 and Hole No. 17 played as short par 5s but will now be long par 4s. They were the easiest and second-easiest holes on the course each of the last seven years, giving up plenty of birdies and eagles, but now will likely play as some of the toughest holes on the course with the par adjustment.
The change to the scorecard isn’t the only shift, though, as much of the course transformed with the renovation. The update removed the one water hazard on the course and filled in the former pond with fescue, or native grass, which is a new feature all over the Detroit Golf Club. The bunkers were deepened and expanded, and the green complexes were raised and expanded. The goals of those changes were to give the course more character and make it more difficult.
The renovations have received rave reviews overall, but it seems likely that the first look at the new Detroit Golf Club will also be the last for the PGA TOUR. Even though the Detroit market could return to the schedule in the future, it seems unlikely that it would be at this venue, according to multiple reports.
For a closer look at the new holes and the course layout, check out the official site of the Rocket Classic.
Even with the new changes, it makes sense to look at players who perform well in low-scoring conditions and can hit it a long way off the tee. Bombers off the tee have typically played well at this venue, although the changes could lessen their advantage slightly this year. The course also places a notable emphasis on wedge play instead of long-iron play, so leaning into Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, especially with distance, makes sense this week. Strokes Gained: Approach is still essential as well, though, and is almost always the single most reliable stat to lean on.
As you get ready for this week’s tournament, be sure to get your DFS fantasy golf lineups and betting cards filled out with help from DK Network! We’ll have ongoing coverage throughout the week to help you enjoy this weekend’s tournament.
