The PGA Tour heads to Detroit for the sixth edition of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, headlined by defending champion Rickie Fowler. It’s the first of two stops in the Midwest (Michigan and Illinois) before heading over to Scotland to prep for the 2024 British Open.
After a three-week span of two Signature events bookending the U.S. Open, the field in Motown will be less than stellar with only one player ranked in the OWGR’s top 20 – Tom Kim (16).
Other familiar names include Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young and Robert MacIntyre.
2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic
The Skinny
Tournament: Rocket Mortgage Classic
Tour Debut: 2019
Dates: June 27-30, 2024
Event Seq: 29th of 36
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: $9,200,000
Winning Share: $1,656,000
Win Pts (FEC/OWGR): 500/40
TV Network: GOLF/CBS
Defending Champion: Rickie Fowler
How to Follow the Rocket Mortgage Classic
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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 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), Tony Finau (2022) and Rickie Fowler (2023), who was probably the most popular champ.
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: 7370
Par 3s: 4 (5, 9, 11, 15)
Par 5s: 4 (4, 7, 14, 17)
2023 Hardest: Par-4 6th (4.192)
2023 Easiest: Par-5 7th (4.595)
Rocket Mortgage Field Overview
Fan favorite Rickie Fowler will defend his title in Detroit but enters in suspect form – still seeking his first top-10 finish of 2024.
He will be joined by only one player ranked in the top-20 of the Official Golf World Rankings: Tom Kim (16).
Other top contenders include Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young, Alex Noren, Chris Kirk, Robert MacIntyre and Akshay Bhatia.
Players in the Official World Golf Rankings’ top 50, not already mentioned, include Min Woo Lee, Stephan Jaeger and Nicolai Hojgaard.
Other familiar names include Maverick McNealy, Luke List, Charley Hoffman and Garrick Higgo, among others.
Top-5 Betting Favorites
Pos-Player(Odds)
1. Tom Kim (12-1)
2. Cameron Young (14-1)
3. Min Woo Lee (16-1)
4. Akshay Bhatia (18-1)
5. Alex Noren (25-1)
Full Field: Odds & Book Rank
Carey Hoffman contributed to this preview.
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