Michael Thorbjornsen captured his first PGA Tour victory Sunday at the Rocket Classic, closing with a bogey-free 7-under 63 at Detroit Golf Club to finish at 18-under 262 and win by two strokes over Xander Schauffele.
The 24-year-old Massachusetts native, a Stanford alumnus and the top player in the 2024 PGA Tour University rankings, posted rounds of 69-64-66-63. He sealed the win with a spectacular 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.
After turning on 2-under 33 to reach 13 under, Thorbjornsen surged on the homeward nine amid windy conditions. He birdied No. 10, then holed a delicate 35-foot chip from the rough right of the 12th green for birdie — a shot CBS analyst Trevor Immelman called a “1 in 100.” Consecutive birdies on the par-5 14th and par-3 15th pushed him to 17-under and created separation. Thorbjornsen finished the round hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
Schauffele (65) finished alone in second on 16-under, one clear of overnight leader Davis Riley (70) who finished solo third. Rasmus Højgaard (68) grabbed the fourth spot at 14 under.
Thorbjornsen’s previous career-best PGA Tour finish was a tie for second (at both the 2024 John Deere Classic and 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship).
The consecutive wins by 24-year-old Thorbjornsen and 21-year-old Jackson Koivun (3M Open) marked the first time since 2017 that successive PGA Tour champions were both 24 or under. The previous pair was then-23-year-olds Schauffele (The Greenbrier, July 9) and Bryson DeChambeau (John Deere Classic, July 16).
The win also closed the book on the Rocket Classic (formerly the Rocket Mortgage Classic), after Rocket Companies declined to continue as title sponsor beyond 2026. The event, played at Detroit Golf Club since 2019, featured a renovated par-70 layout this year.
Thorbjornsen earned $1.8m of the $10 million purse and moved to No. 38 in the FedExCup standings with the breakthrough victory.
