Detroit — The Rocket Classic wrapped up its eighth and final playing at Detroit Golf Club this week, marking the end of the first and only annual PGA Tour stop played within Detroit’s city limits.
Fans who turned out for the tournament’s closing weekend said they will miss it.
Patrick Linehan, 24, of Kalamazoo, whose parents are members of Detroit Golf Club, said he comes to the tournament to share the experience with Metro Detroit’s golf enthusiasts.
“It’s a whole festival,” Linehan said. “I would say 11 out of 10, absolutely devastated that they’re not doing it next year. Gutted, because it’s such a great time.”
His friend, Brooke Harvey, 26, of Kalamazoo, said the tournament is an exception to her general disinterest in golf.
“I actually don’t really watch golf but I love going to the PGA,” Harvey said. “I actually do watch golf when I’m here.”
Rocket Companies, the Detroit-based mortgage lender founded by Dan Gilbert, decided in June to end its decade-plus run as title sponsor amid uncertainty over the changing landscape of the PGA Tour and its scheduling. This took months of negotiations in which Rocket declined to exercise its option for 2027.
Christian Kraft, of Grand Rapids, who was attending for the third time, said the tournament feels like “tradition at this point” and called its conclusion “pretty sad.” He said the drive from the west side of the state was worth it for a rare chance to see pro golfers in action.
“Overall, even if it’s not going to be sticking around, I think this was good for the city to have something like this. Hopefully it’ll come back,” Kraft said.
His friend Nik Krupka, 24, of Ann Arbor, said the tournament’s draw for him has less to do with golf and more with the chance to visit friends downtown.
“It’s less about the course for me, than it is about having a chance to just come downtown, come to Detroit and see my friends,” Krupka said.
Detroit Golf Club members Erin and Evan Woolford, of Berkley, said they will not miss the disruption the tournament brings to club operations as it is set up and broken down each year.
“It will be nice when the club isn’t closed for two weeks in the middle of peak summertime, but it’s been a really cool experience today, so I do think we’ll miss it going forward,” Erin Woolford said. “… We knew we wanted to come on the last day of it being here.”
Her two young children, 6-year-old Elice and 2-year-old Emerson, spent the day getting their faces painted and playing mini-golf on the course.
Evan Woolford, 38, called the tournament’s end bittersweet.
“I think it’s great for the city. I think it’s great to have golf in Michigan, but being a member here at the club, it’s hard to give away your membership for all the construction,” he said. “I will miss it for sure: the people, everyone coming down, all the kids getting into the game of golf.”
The tournament’s finale came after a $16.1-million renovation of Detroit Golf Club that was unveiled for this year’s tournament, won by 24-year-old Michael Thorbjorsen on Sunday.
The PGA Tour said the Detroit market remains a priority and that officials are exploring potential new sponsors and venues. Rocket has not entirely ruled out a future return, though it’s highly unlikely for 2027.
mjohnson@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Golf fans sad to lose Detroit’s Rocket Classic
Reporting by Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
