DETROIT (AP) — The next Rocket Classic will be the last.
“After nearly 13 years as a PGA Tour title sponsor, including eight years in Detroit, 2026 will mark the final Rocket Classic,” tournament director Mark Hollis announced Tuesday. “We are incredibly proud of what this tournament has meant to the city, from creating unforgettable moments for fans to raising more than $10 million for local organizations.”
Aldrich Potgieter will be the defending champion
on July 30 when the final tournament begins at Detroit Golf Club. Cam Davis is a two-time Rocket Classic champion and Bryson DeChambeau is among the previous winners at the tournament.
Rocket Mortgage drew the world's top golf circuit back to Michigan in 2019, replacing the Quicken Loans National that had been run by the Tiger Woods Foundation in the Washington, D.C., area.
It gave the state a PGA Tour stop for the first time since Woods won the 2009 Buick Open at Warwick Hills, but the Detroit-based mortgage company doesn't seem to be interested in being part of the next era of golf.
The PGA Tour is moving to a new model for 2028 at the earliest with two tracks of tournaments, including one with elevated events that will have larger purses for the better players. The Rocket Classic has never been able to attract a star-filled field to the Motor City as it has moved around on the calendar, often squeezed between majors or after the majors and before the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“What you are going to see is an elevation of tournaments," Brian Rolapp, the new CEO at the PGA Tour, said last week. "I think what we have found as we’ve talked to sponsors both for Track 1 and Track 2, there’s a lot of demand for both. And the price points will be different.
"The bigger events, not everyone can afford and may not be sort of consistent with their business goals. That’s great. There’s other price points too for it, and I think there’s plenty of demand for both Track 1 and Track 2 in that regard because there’s definitely people who want to invest different amounts in these events.”
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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed.
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