Day: June 27, 2021

The First Look: Rocket Mortgage ClassicThe First Look: Rocket Mortgage Classic

The PGA TOUR heads back to Detroit for the third edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. The tournament was one of the first in the TOUR’s Return To Golf in 2020 and saw Bryson DeChambeau win by three shots over Matthew Wolff. DeChambeau returns to defend his title alongside a field full of TOUR stars. FIELD NOTES: Reigning PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson will make his tournament debut; it will mark his first start in Michigan since 2002… Players in the FedExCup top 10 include defending champ DeChambeau and Jason Kokrak, both two-time winners this season… Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama will play the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the third year in a row as 13 major champions are set to play including Jason Day, who held the 36-hole lead at the Travelers Championship… Sponsor Exemptions include college stars Austin Eckroat and Davis Thompson, plus Flint, Michigan native Willie Mack III. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Detroit Golf Club (North), par 72, 7,370 yards. Detroit GC’s North course, a Donald Ross design, was opened more than a century ago. The club underwent an upgrade recently as it prepared for the TOUR’s arrival in 2019. It’s the flattest course on TOUR, according to ShotLink data, and while the front-nine is tree-lined, the back nine is open for birdies in bunches – DeChambeau closed with three straight a year ago. STORYLINES: Matthew Wolff will be back in action in Detroit looking to improve on his runner-up result from a year ago. Wolff took two months away from golf to focus on his mental health but returned to finish T15 at the U.S. Open… PGA pro Jeff Roth, 63, will play after the Michigan PGA voted that his exemption for winning the 2019 Michigan PGA Professional Championship should carry over into 2021. The exemption was cancelled in 2020 because of COVID-19 protocols. Roth is a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, having won more than 70 pro tournaments… Fans return in 2021 after the event was held without them during the height of the pandemic… Nate Lashley, who had lost his parents and college girlfriend in a plane crash, won after being the last player into the field in 2019… DeChambeau emerged from the TOUR’s COVID-19 break 40 pounds heavier and considerably longer off the tee last year… Rickie Fowler looks to break a long winless drought, while Will Zalatoris aims for his first victory, which would give him full PGA TOUR status. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Nate Lashley (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Nate Lashley (2019, first round), J.T. Poston (2019, second round) LAST TIME: DeChambeau, who had been playing better than anyone after the COVID break, won by three with a 7-under 65. Matthew Wolff birdied holes 12, 13, and 15 to cut the lead to one, but DeChambeau finished birdie, birdie, birdie to leave no doubt. It marked his sixth TOUR win and was his seventh straight top-10 finish. Kevin Kisner finished in solo third while Ryan Armour, Adam Hadwin, Tyrrell Hatton, and Danny Willet rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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