Michigander Ryan Brehm Playing with Confidence Going into the Rocket
By Tom Lang
Ryan Brehm admitted that playing in front of the hometown crowd at the PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Classic applies more pressure to his game.
And that’s not a bad thing.
“For sure, no doubt (there’s more pressure), and I don’t think that’s a ‘con’, I think it’s a ‘pro.’ I think the longer I play and the more experience I get at this game, that kind of energy is a good thing, it’s not a negative,” Brehm told me recently. “I think it works out to be a positive. I would not have said that 10 years ago.
“There’s always a good energy in Detroit for sure. It doesn’t matter to me what form my game is in, I seem to always be trying a little harder when the hometown crowd is there.”
His game is in good form considering his recent finish at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. In the team event, Brehm paired up with good friend on the PGA Tour Mark Hubbard, and they missed being in the playoff with winners Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, by just one stroke. Brehm and Hubbard played in the final round foursome with McIlroy and Lowry, and Brehm said he enjoyed that experience too, despite all eyes being on the closing group.
“I’d never been in that environment (paired with McIlroy and Lowry final round) before, and you never know if you’ll get in it again,” Brehm said. “I tried to embrace it the best I could. And it was a blast; it’s exhilarating. I don’t think I slept for quite a while.
“And honestly it stung. I was pretty bummed we didn’t win, I thought we were going to win.”
Brehm is a native of Mt. Pleasant and current Traverse City resident. He starred at Michigan State and has won most amateur and pro events in Michigan at least once (with 3 Mich Open titles), plus two Korn Ferry Tour wins and the PGA Tour’s 2022 Puerto Rico Open, which gave him fully-exempt PGA Tour status through the end of this current season. He is 38 years old.
“When I first got my PGA Tour card (2016) the caliber of play… it’s just grown immensely,” he said. “I don’t think I’m getting worse, but the cutlines just keep getting lower and lower, and on not very easy golf courses. The cut this year at the Bob Hope was 13-under par. It really is insane, but there’s a crop of players that are just ready; and they’re young.
“I’m just trying to draw as many positives as I can (like New Orleans) and move on to the next week. We’re getting to the later part of the season and I’m still on the outside looking in, so I’ve got to play some good golf. And you just want to play as good as you can, as often as you can.”
Rocking at the Rocket Mortgage Classic:
Rickie Fowler has committed to return and defend his title from 2023. Fowler won in a playoff over Colin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin, with a birdie, after he also birdied the 18th hole to join the playoff. Fowler, Tom Kim and Will Zalatoris have made early commitments to return for the June 25-30 event.
Since 2019, proceeds from the Rocket Mortgage Classic have pumped more than $8.4 million into local charities – with about half that total going to the flagship ‘Changing the Course’ campaign designed to connect Detroit residents with high-speed Internet, digital devices and digital literacy training – all with the intent of helping students connect to school and adults to seek job opportunities, among other advantages.
Kids ages 15 and under get free grounds admission to the PGA Tour event when with a paid adult (up to four kids per adult). Daily grounds tickets start at $65, and passes to hospitality venues are on sale at www.RocketMortgageClassic.com.
