Blast off.
The PGA Tour is heading to Detroit for the Rocket Classic. A 156-player field will be in the Motor City, dueling for part of the $9.6 million purse with the winner collecting $1,728,000 at Detroit Golf Club.
From its field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s everything you need to know for the 2025 Rocket Classic.
The Field
Despite landing after the U.S. Open and Travelers Championship, the field in Detroit isn’t shabby.
Collin Morikawa, at No. 5, is the highest-ranked player in the field, followed by Keegan Bradley, fresh off his win at the Travelers.
They are joined by Hideki Matsuyama, Ben Griffin, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Akshay Bhatia, Min Woo Lee, Cam Young, Luke Clanton, Rickie Fowler and defending champion Cam Davis, who edged Aaron Rai, Davis Thompson, Lee and Bhatia by a stroke last year.
Exemptions include John Hook, a 32-year-old from Detroit making his Tour debut after earning a spot in the field by winning the John Shippen Men’s Invitational, and Dominic Clemons, who won the 2024 Folds of Honor Collegiate. There’s also Michael La Sasso, a senior at Ole Miss and the NCAA individual champion, making his debut and Ashton McCulloch, who played at Michigan State but missed his senior season after suffering a broken bone and a torn ligament in his hand.
Zach Johnson and Ryan Brehm were granted exemptions, along with James Piot, a former MSU Spartan and U.S. Amateur champion whose contract with LIV Golf expired a year ago.
A win that’s too good to be true ❤️
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 1, 2024
Inside the ropes of @CamDavisGolf's emotional win @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/qBq5KlLK1q
The Course
Donald Ross designed Detroit Golf Club over a century ago, but the best players in the world today are still challenged by it.
The 7,370-yard, par 72 North Course is the flattest course on Tour with 5,150 square feet of greens, 87 bunkers and one water hazard.
Just two weeks after the U.S. Open and a few weeks before the British Open, some players enjoy what the layout has to offer.
“I feel like it's a fairly simple, old-school golf course,” Fowler said last year, “and if you can just get to the green, it becomes a bit of kind of who can make more putts throughout the week. No, it’s fun, we don’t get to play very many old-school golf courses like this, so it’s a treat for a lot of guys who can appreciate kind of old-school golf course architecture.”
Last season, it was the 32nd hardest course on Tour (out of 50), yielding a scoring average of 70.539. Its hardest hole was the 461-yard par-4 6th, playing 0.240 strokes over par and ranking as the 57th toughest hole on Tour. Its easiest hole, meanwhile, was the 552-yard par-5 7th, with a scoring average of 4.544 (0.456 strokes under par).
After this year’s tournament is completed, the course will undergo a $16.1 million renovation, involving green renovations, new bunkering, new tees and tree removals.
History: Rickie’s Return
The Rocket Classic is only six years old, replacing the Quicken Loans National on the PGA Tour schedule in 2019, so it doesn’t have an abundance of history.
Its champions, though, are nothing to scoff at: Nate Lashley, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Fowler and Davis (twice, 2021 and ‘24).
So let’s go back to Fowler’s win.
He hadn’t won since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. But in good form, he nearly claimed the signature victory of his career, the 2023 U.S. Open. After holding the 54-hole lead, Fowler shot a final-round 75 and finished T5.
But he got some consolation two weeks later.
The 34-year-old bested Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin on the first playoff hole in Detroit. Fowler sliced his tee shot in the playoff and took a drop. Then, he hit his approach from 184 yards to 12 feet from the cup.
After burying the clinching birdie-putt, Fowler looked up to the sky and exhaled. He was a champion for the first time in 1,610 days.
“It’s just nice to have this one out of the way,” said Fowler, who earned his sixth Tour victory. “I’m obviously going to soak this one in and celebrate a bit.”
“It’s just been a long road.”
Fowler, though, hasn’t returned to the winner’s circle since. Will it be deja vu in Detroit this year?
A champion once again 🏆
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2023
The winning moment for @RickieFowler @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/LEQ8f05gHN
How to Watch (all times EST)
- Thursday: 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Friday: 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
- Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
ESPN+ will also have featured coverage during each round.
Round 1 and 2 Tee Times
R1 and R2 Tee Times and Groupings for the Rocket Classic pic.twitter.com/OBxJuf2Imn
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 24, 2025
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rocket Classic Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch.
