2026 Rocket Classic Primer: History, TV, Field, Odds

0
2026 Rocket Classic Primer Jake Knapp
Jake Knapp plays his shot from the 16th tee during the final round of the Rocket Classic 2025 at Detroit Golf Club on June 29, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus via Getty Images)

The PGA Tour heads to Detroit for the eighth and final edition of the Rocket Classic, headlined by the likes of Cam Young, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, and Chris Gotterup.

It’s the first of two final regular season stops ahead the playoffs, with the Wyndham Championship to follow, before three weeks of high-stakes golf, headlined by the 2026 Tour Championship.

Below, you’ll find more details to help you get primed for the 2026 edition of the Rocket Classic.


2026 Rocket Classic


The Skinny

Tournament: Rocket Classic
Tour Debut: 2019
Dates: July 30-Aug 2, 2026
Where: Detroit, Michigan
Course: Detroit Golf Club
Distance: Par 36-36-72, 7370 yards
Architect: Donald Ross
Format: Stroke-play, 72 holes/36-hole cut
Field: 156 players
Purse: 10,000,000
Winning Share: $1,800,000
Win Pts (FEC/OWGR): 500/50
TV Network: GOLF/CBS
Defending Champion: Aldrich Potgieter


How to Follow the Rocket Classic

Rickie Fowler plays a shot on the 14th hole during the second round of the Rocket Classic 2025 at Detroit Golf Club on June 27, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Raj Mehta via Getty Images)

TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 3-6 p.m. (GOLF); Sat-Sun: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

STREAM: Thu-Fri: 3-6 p.m. (NBC SPORTS APP); Sat-Sun: 1-3 p.m. (NBC SPORTS APP), 3-6 p.m. (CBS SPORTS APP)

PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Watch on ESPN+

PGA TOUR RADIO: Thu-Fri: 12-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 1-6 p.m.
(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

EVENT LINKS: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X/Twitter

PGA TOUR LINKS: Web | Instagram | X/Twitter | Facebook | YouTube


Tournament History

Golf legend Bobby Jones congratulates Horton Smith after Smith won the the inaugural Masters Tournament at Jones’ Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia on March 25, 1934. Credit: Getty Images

The Rocket Mortgage Classic might be lacking history, but the host venue, Detroit Golf Club, most definitely does not, which includes acting as the host venue for the 1941 Ryder Cup matches.

The Club itself has roots dating all the way back to 1899 and the North Course, where the event will mostly be contested (see Course section), is an original design of the legendary golf course architect Donald Ross, whose resume includes Pinehurst No. 2, East Lake, Oakland Hills, and Aronimink, among many others.

One of the Detroit Golf Club’s former club pros knows a few things about golf events: Horton Smith held the position from 1946 until 1963; the same Horton Smith who won the first ever Masters Tournament in 1934. Smith’s 32-win PGA Tour career also included a second Masters triumph in 1936.

The tournament also has roots going back to the Motor City Open, a PGA Tour event played at various clubs in and around Detroit for just under two decades.

Cary Middlecoff won 40 PGA Tour trophies including 3 majors. Credit: AP

The PGA Tour record for the longest sudden-death playoff was established at the 1949 Motor City Open when Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum played 11 holes at Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville, Michigan. The stalemated lasted until darkness, and tournament officials, with their mutual consent, declared them co-winners.

Another oddity: In 1955, the Motor City Open was originally scheduled to be played at Meadowbrook again. This was abandoned, however, when Meadowbrook professional, Chick Harbert, won the PGA Championship in 1954. Meadowbrook petitioned for and won the opportunity to host the 1955 PGA Championship. Due to this development, the Motor City Open was not held in 1955. This is the only time that a defending champion of a major championship has hosted the tournament the following year.

In 2019, the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic replaced The National event on the PGA Tour schedule, which was played for 12 years in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, hosted by Tiger Woods.

Bryson DeChambeau is interviewed after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 5, 2020 at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Bryson DeChambeau, who now plays on the LIV Golf tour, is the tournament’s only major-winning champion. DeChambeau claimed the 2020 edition, and two months later won the first of two U.S. Open titles.

Other winners include Nate Lashley (2019), Cameron Davis (2021, 2024), Aldrich Potgieter (2025), Tony Finau (2022) and Rickie Fowler (2023), who was probably the most popular champ.


The Course: Detroit Golf Club

A general view of the clubhouse entrance at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan on June 24, 2019, ahead of the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic. Credit: CBS Detroit

Detroit Golf Club is comprised of two historic golf courses – the North and South – both designed by Donald Ross in the early 1900s.

To accommodate a PGA Tour event, however, tournament organizers, and club officials, have blended the championship tracks together in order to create one big PGA Tour venue with extra yardage, pro-style tee boxes, additional sand hazards, rerouted holes, and ample room for the PGA Tour’s traveling circus (TV towers, stadium seating, galleries, concessions, hospitality tents, equipment/TV trucks, parking, and whatnot).

The newly-reconfigured Detroit Golf Club will play to a par 70 (35-35) in 2026 — where it previously played to a par 72 with 4 par-5s. For the 2026 edition, they’ve flipped the former par-5 7th (505) and 17th (537) into long par-4s.

Official Scorecard
The official scorecard of the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club.(Scorecard courtesy of PGA Tour Media)
Fast Facts

Detroit Golf Club
Course: Tournament Configuration
Established: 1899
Architect: Donald Ross
Par: 35-35-70
Yards: 7328
Par 3s: 4 (5, 9, 11, 15)
Par 5s: 2 (4, 14)
2025 Hardest: Par-3 11th (3.128)
2025 Easiest: *Par-5 7th (4.389)
* Now will play to a par 4.


Rocket Classic Field Overview

Cameron Young walks off the 14th green during the final round of the Cadillac Championship 2026 at Trump National Doral Miami on May 03, 2026 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato via Getty Images)

Cam Young, who nearly made it into a playoff at the British Open, is the odds-on favorite at 11-1 with Chris Gotterup and Xander Schauffele next at 16-1.

Newly minted PGA Tour winner Jackson Koivun will tee it up as he seeks to make the FedEx Cup playoffs. The young star currently sits on the number at 70.

Koivun and Si Woo Kim are offered at 18-1. Reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark is 20-1, slightly ahead of Jake Knapp, Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley — all at 25-1.

Hideki Matsuyama and Ben Griffin are 30-1 with the foursome of J.J. Spaun, Harris English, Brooks Koepka and Ryan Gerard rounding out the top 15 at 35-1.

Other familiar names: Rickie Fowler (45-1), Keegan Bradley (50-1), and Jordan Spieth (65-1), among others.

Top-5 Betting Favorites

Pos-Player(Odds)
1. Cam Young (11-1)
2. Chris Gotterup (16-1)
2. Xander Schauffele (16-1)
4. Jackson Koivun (18-1)
4. Si Woo Kim (18-1)

Full Field: Odds & Book Rank
Hideki Matsuyama and his caddie during a Pro-Am prior to the Rocket Classic 2025 at Detroit Golf Club on June 25, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus via Getty Images)


Carey Hoffman contributed to this preview.
*Pro Golf Weekly earns with qualified purchases at Amazon.

NO COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your name here

Exit mobile version