GRAND BLANC, MI — Brandt Jobe got to see his son pitch, and then threw a few heaters of his own.
Jobe, the father of Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe, had a hella-busy (but hella-fun) week in Michigan, with the festivities ending with a tie for 12th at the PGA Tour Champions' Ally Challenge.
It was the best finish of the season for Jobe, in nine tournaments on the 50-and-older circuit. It's been another season marred by injury, not unlike his son, who recently returned from Tommy John surgery. Brandt and wife Jennifer were at Comerica Park on Tuesday night, Aug. 25, when Jackson made his fourth start back for the Tigers. Jackson allowed a run on four hits, while striking out four and walking three in 4.1 innings.
The Tigers won the game, 4-1, over the Tampa
Bay Rays. The Jobes were all smiles, posing for photographs in front of the "Tigers Win!" on the giant scoreboard.
"It was a busy week, needless to say," Brandt Jobe said Sunday, Aug. 30, after the conclusion of The Ally Challenge at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club. "Got to see him three times, you know. Once, obviously, pitching, and a couple dinners. I hadn't seen him much here in the last six months, so it was kind of a pleasant surprise.
"Overall a nice week, a busy week."
There have been lots of fathers and sons who've shared the professional-athlete bond, but not nearly as many have been professional athletes at the same time — and fewer, still, who can relate so much to each other.
Jackson and Brandt Jobe leaned on each other during their injuries and rehabs, Jackson from Tommy John surgery that cost him most of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and Brandt from a series of surgeries, including to his hips and shoulder.
They weren't always together physically during rehab, but they were together emotionally.
"Yeah, we did a little bit together," said Brandt, 61. "And, you know, I'm proud of him for how hard he's worked. You know, he went and moved literally to Dallas to be able to work with the doctors, PTs. He spent all winter down there. We didn't see him, and you know, he said, 'Hey, I'm going to try and do everything I possibly can to do this right.' And I'm proud of him. He worked his tail off, and that's what it takes in rehab. Listen, I've done it many more times than he has, and I just finished up a few of them.
"I'm proud of how hard he's worked. I know he's got a tough road ahead of him. I mean, obviously, right now, (he's) getting the feel back, you know. And they say with Tommy John, it takes a while, and you can tell.
"But I like that he's fighting out there, and you know he's wanting to win."
Jackson, 24, was the Tigers' first-round draft pick in 2021, at No. 3 overall. He made his major-league debut down the stretch run in 2024, and pitched in that year's playoffs. He made the team's rotation out of spring training in 2025, before the elbow injury struck, costing him more than a calendar year.
Jackson returned to the Tigers rotation Aug. 8 in San Francisco, where he threw 100 mph in the first inning, and allowed no runs on one hit over five innings. He struck out four and walked one.
The next start was rockier, as he was beaten up at Comerica Park by the Chicago White Sox, who smoked some middle-middle fastballs as the right-hander struggled mightily to throw his off-speed pitches for strikes. But in the two starts since, Jackson has been back on track. Through four starts (three good, one bad), he has a 3.93 ERA and is looking mostly like the future centerpiece of a nice nucleus of young and talented Tigers.
"It's go Tigers!" Brandt Jobe said with a smile. "I'm ready."
As for Brandt, he was ready for this week in Grand Blanc, where the makeshift body more than held up through three pro-ams and practice rounds, and three more competitive rounds.
He shot a final-round 3-under 69 to finish at 8 under for the tournament, and tied for 12th. It could've been better — he opened with 67 before a second-round 72, and in the final round he made par on three of the par-5s — but it still was his best showing of the 2026 season. His previous-best was a tie for 15th in April.
It actually was his best finish in over a year, since a tie for seventh in a tournament in early August 2025. At The Ally Challenge, Jobe, a two-time winner on the 50-and-older PGA Tour Champions circuit, was playing in just his third tournament since mid-June, and his ninth event of the season.
"You know what, it's nice to see solid results," Brandt Jobe said. "I mean, at the end of the day, I've spent 2½ years here not being able to play (full-time), and then when I did play last year, it was terrible because I wasn't healed. And, so, I'm finally healed. Am I going to be 100%? That's never going to happen. But at least I was competitive, and I was out there having an opportunity.
"We'll kind of stick one feather in the cap and say, 'OK, let's improve on this.'"
With that, Brandt jetted for his waiting golf cart, eager to get back to the hotel — and anxious to watch Sunday's Tigers game replay (he requested a Detroit News reporter not spoil it for him).
So ended another busy and fun week in southeast Michigan, which is his son's new home.
And it's starting to feel more and more like Dad's home away from home.
"I'm getting very comfortable. I know where I'm going tonight, I know the hotel that I've got, obviously I know (my way) down to the stadium," said Brandt, who figures he's seen about half of Jackson's 18 major-league appearances in person, and is looking forward to seeing a whole lot more in the coming months and years. "I mean, yes, getting very comfortable here and really enjoying the support and the way these people love their baseball. It's awesome."
tpaul@detroitnews.com@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Brandt Jobe's big week: Posts best finish of season, watches son pitch for Tigers
