The PGA Tour makes the short trip from Minnesota to Michigan for the fourth edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, headlined by world No. 4 Patrick Cantlay.
Joining Cantlay as headliners this week at Detroit Golf Club will be four more top-20 ranked names in Will Zalatoris (No. 13), Tony Finau (16), Cameron Young (19) and Max Homa (20).
Co-starring in the Motor City event will be Rocket Mortgage spokesman Rickie Fowler, alongside Americans Kevin Kisner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland, Stewart Cink and Harris English, among others.
Other familiar names include international players such as Adam Scott, Jason Day, Si Woo Kim and Sepp Straka.
2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic
The Skinny
Tournament: Rocket Mortgage Classic
Tour Debut: 2019
Dates:Â July 28-31, 2022
Where: Detroit, Michigan
Course:Â Detroit Golf Club
Distance: Par 36-36-72, 7340 yards
Architect: Donald Ross
Format: Stroke-play, 72 holes/36-hole cut
Field: 154 players
Purse: $7,500,000
Winning Share: $1,350,000
Win Pts (FEC/OWGR): 500/48
TV Network: GOLF/CBS
Defending Champion:Â Cameron Davis
How to Follow the Rocket Mortgage Classic
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 3-6 p.m. (GOLF); Sat-Sun: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
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PGA TOUR RADIO: Thu-Fri: 12-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 1-6 p.m.
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LINKS: Website | Facebook | Instagram
Tournament History
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.
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, who now plays on the LIV Golf tour, is the tournament’s marquee champion. The big bomber won the 2020 edition, and two months later claimed his maiden major at the U.S. Open. Other winners include Nate Lashley (2019) and Cameron Davis (2021).
The Course: Detroit Golf Club
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, new 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 72 (36-36), while stretching 7,249 yards for the event. It will include the traditional four par-5s, four par-3s, and the 10 par-4s.
Scorecard: Detroit GC
Fast Facts
Detroit Golf Club
Course: Tournament Configuration
Established: 1899
Architect: Donald Ross
Par: 36-36-72
Yards: 7249
Par 3s: 4 (5, 9, 11, 15)
Par 5s: 4 (4, 7, 14, 17)
2021 Hardest: Par-3 11th (3.183)
2021 Easiest: Par-5 17th (4.589)
Rocket Mortgage Field Overview
Reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay will make his debut in Detroit, and enters in fine form (T8 British Open, T4 Scottish Open).
He will be joined by four others ranked in the top-20 of the Official Golf World Rankings, including Will Zalatoris (13), Tony Finau (16), Cameron Young (19) and Max Homa (20).
In total, nine major champions are set to tee it up this week including Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley and Gary Woodland, among others.
Players in the Official World Golf Rankings’ top 50, not already mentioned, include Kevin Kisner, Harris English, Joohyung Kim and Cameron Tringale.
Other marquee names include Rickie Fowler, Maverick McNealy, Harry Higgs, Charley Hoffman and Garrick Higgo, among others.
Top-5 Betting Favorites
Pos-Player(Odds)
1. Patrick Cantlay (10-1)
2. Tony Finau (14-1)
2. Will Zalatoris (14-1)
4. Cameron Young (16-1)
5. Max Homa (20-1)
Related: 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic Power Rankings
Full Field: Odds & World Rank
Carey Hoffman contributed to this preview.
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