Rocket Mortgage Classic Continues to Evolve in Year 4
Players like Will Zalatoris, Adam Scott and Tony Finau heading to the Motor City, July 26-31
By Tom Lang
Most fans, even diehard golf fans, don’t know a very important fact about professional sports – that golf raises more money for charities than pro baseball, football, hockey and basketball, combined.
Fans across the nation watching golfers ‘chase a little white ball’ around are responsible for supporting medical breakthroughs, equipment for new hospital wings, social service agencies and food banks – just to name a few.
In metro Detroit, the Rocket Mortgage Classic, in just the first three years, has funded more than $5.25 million in charitable donations, with the largest percentage going to try eliminating what’s been dubbed the ‘Digital Divide’ with the tournament’s ‘Changing the Course’ initiative.
The Covid-19 breakout in early 2020 almost immediately revealed that Detroit was the most under-prepared city in the country for people to work remotely; and the same for students to participate with classmates. Realizing this was the impetus for Rocket Mortgage the corporation, and the tournament as well, to jump into action and use professional golf to make significant changes.
There are lots of details we could share, but the main point is applauding the fact that in the past year, 17 technology hubs at locations around the city have been added to the initial five sites. That opportunity, along with other connectivity solutions, has made Detroit now one of the most digitally-connected cities in the nation. Sports TV host Mike Tirico is on the Board of the tournament and said in his 25 years of travel covering golf, he’s never seen a PGA Tour event more connected to the city that hosts.
“Every event has a mission of some kind, and one thing I can say that I’m impressed with ours is that we are very focused and hold ourselves accountable at making it bigger and better every single year,” said tournament director Jason Langwell. “And I think that’s evidenced how we’ve gone from five to 22 Tech Hubs and that gives you a lot of pride when you can talk about the why for what you do, not just the how and the what.”
How Does Golf Make it all Happen?
It’s due to professional golfers like former World No. 1’s Jason Day and Justin Rose, plus Will Zalatoris, Matt Kucher, Adam Scott, reigning Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler and Kevin Kisner playing in such events for fans to come out and enjoy. All the TV revenues, sponsors support and fans buying tickets allows the tournament, after expenses, to distribute millions of dollars to charities in the region.
“I want people to know when they buy tickets for the event, and food on the course, it’s going to impact the outcome here in Detroit and support this mission of ending the Digital Divide,” Langwell added. “It’s what we’re most proud of and it’s our reason for being; it’s why we get out of bed every day and we continue to make improvements every year.”
Michigan Players:
While the behind-the-scenes support is very important to Detroiters, no one can argue that come tournament week, July 26-31, the PGA Tour stars are the show. In addition to the national names and defending champion Cam Davis of Australia (who won a five-hole playoff last year) Michigan will have no less than three pro golfers playing in Detroit: Brian Stuard, Ryan Brehm and Ben Cook.
Stuard grew up in Jackson and won a state title at Napoleon High. He went on to become Horizon League player of the year at Oakland University, and in 2016 he won the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic for a birth in the 2017 Masters.
Brehm is a former Mr. Golf in Michigan from Mt. Pleasant High, where he won 3 state titles. He went on to become one of the greatest players in Michigan State history, and this year won the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.
Cook is a Michigan PGA Section pro from Yankee Springs. As the reigning PGA Section champion, he is eligible for play at the Detroit Golf Club.
“Ben’s a really good player,” Langwell said. “I wouldn’t sleep on him, at not only making the cut but making some noise.
“They bring a massive gallery with them,” Langwell also said of Brehm and Stuard when speaking to Jack Ebling and myself on The Long Drive golf broadcast out of Lansing. “Brian pulls in a lot, with his sponsor over in Jackson, Alro Steel.
“Ryan brings a large crowd with him. They’re both wonderful people outside of being great players. They come into Detroit and it’s a big week for them, right? They have a lot more obligations, a lot more requests to go get dinner or go to an event. It makes for a much more taxing week, yet they’ve actually performed fairly well here despite that. You always want to have the local stories and they provide that.”
Stuard placed T5 at Detroit in 2019 and both made the cut last year.
Additional Michigan representatives will be playing in The John Shippen, a special event that began last year designed to get more black players their shot in professional golf. The John Shippen is a 36-hole stroke play competition for black male professional and amateur golfers and will be held July 23-24 at DGC. Fans can watch for free and the winner will be exempt into the Rocket Mortgage Classic field.
Michigan reps named so far are:
MARCUS BYRD (24) – Professional (Middle Tennessee State) - Ann Arbor, Michigan
JOE HOOKS (27) – Professional (Wayne State University) – Detroit, Michigan
WILLIE MACK III (32) – Professional (Bethune-Cookman University) - Flint, Michigan
MARCUS SMITH (20) – Amateur (Eastern Michigan) - Temple Hills, Maryland
TROY TAYLOR II (22) – Amateur (Michigan State) - Westerville, Ohio
More for FANS:
Tickets and more information can be found at: www.rocketmortgageclassic.com.
This year the tournament will feature fun new areas open to all ticket holders, each with its own unique benefits for fans to enjoy the event in refreshed and renewed ways:
The Turn – featuring stadium-style seating with views of the 1st tee, plus an adjoining lounge overlooking the par 3 ninth hole.
Treehouse – Located behind the green at the par-3 fifth hole, this brand-new elevated fan deck provides 360-degree views of five holes (No. 1 green and Nos. 5-8).
AREA 313 Grove / AREA 313 Village – An ongoing tradition with new features is AREA 313, showcasing two newly created areas for fans to gather. AREA 313 Grove is a tree-lined, shaded location between holes 10, 11 and 14 where friends and family can spread out and relax while enjoying a special menu of food and drinks for purchase that are exclusive to the AREA 313 Grove.
AREA 313 Village between the 16th and 17th holes will feature a giant LED videoboard so fans can follow all the action of the competition while enjoying food and refreshments for purchase from the tournament’s largest concession stand.
High Noon Sun Deck – Fans can watch players approach the 17th green and take great photos from this elevated location. Adults can relax with a High Noon while they watch players come down the closing stretch at Detroit Golf Club.
Additionally, fans attending with children should make a point to visit the CDW Youth Golf Zone located along the second hole. The space designed for kids of all ages to take a break from watching the action on the golf course and try their hand at some fun and interactive golf-related activities and games.
Daily grounds tickets – starting at $60 for the first round (Thursday, July 28), $70 for the second round (Friday, July 29) and $80 per day for the final two rounds on the weekend. Shared hospitality ticket options include the LendingTree Lounge, starting at $100 per day, and the Michelob Ultra Athletic Club, beginning at $250 per day.
Detroit Community Days presented by DTE Energy will provide local fans free admission and parking on Tuesday, July 26 for the AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble and the Youth Golf Clinic presented by The Children’s Foundation, as well as on Wednesday, July 27 for the Delta Dental Pro-Am.
Kids 15 and under receive a complimentary grounds ticket when accompanied by a ticketed adult (up to four kids per adult) Thursday-Sunday.
“From the beginning there’s been so much excitement from the membership to show off our course, and our city, on a global stage,” said Jason Drumheller, President Detroit Golf Club. “Each year we see the (hospitality) structures going up (about 60 days out) and it does create a little racket and moving around, but there’s a lot of excitement. Being able to see the best players in the world play our best asset, the golf course, brings us a lot of pride. It’s definitely worth any sacrifices. I’m excited to see the PGA Tour players play this course that we get to enjoy each day.”
