The First Look: Rocket Classic

We’re coming down to a serious stretch on the PGA TOUR with just one more week after the Rocket Classic before the FedExCup Playoffs.

The TOUR returns to Detroit, where there are plenty of notables both returning to action and making their debuts – including the latest winner on the PGA TOUR, 21-year-old Jackson Koivun.

Detroit Golf Club will showcase its $16 million renovation for the first time, as a hearty overhaul was completed just in time for this year’s TOUR event.

Here’s everything else you need to know about the penultimate PGA TOUR event of the 2026 regular season.

FIELD NOTES: Koivun is back in action after his spectacular Sunday at the 3M Open. The PGA TOUR University superstar won for the first time on TOUR after just 24 days and ripped up to No. 70 in the FedExCup standings – while holding off a hard-charging world No. 1 in Scottie Scheffler. … World No. 3 Cameron Young, twice a winner already this year, returns to the Rocket Classic for the fourth time. He finished tied for second in 2022 in Detroit. … Aldrich Potgieter returns to defend his title. He’s looking to become the first golfer in tournament history to successfully go back-to-back. Potgieter has two top-10s so far this season on TOUR. … Wyndham Clark is looking to continue his impressive summertime stretch. Clark, who won the U.S. Open in mid-June, had six events in a row where he did not finish outside the top 15, including two victories. Clark has moved up to No. 9 in the world. … Chris Gotterup, now a winner three times in 2026, returns to action. Gotterup has played the Rocket Classic three times, with his best result coming in 2025. … Other top-ranked notables in the field this week include Si Woo Kim, Akshay Bhatia, Jacob Bridgeman, Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele. Schauffele, who has five top-10 finishes so far this season, is making his debut at the Rocket Classic. … Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka are also making their Rocket Classic debuts.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Good Good content creator Brad Dalke will make his PGA TOUR debut. Dalke finished runner-up at the 2016 U.S. Amateur and was part of the 2017 NCAA national championship-winning team at Oklahoma. He made the cut at the BMW International Open on the DP World Tour earlier in July after shooting 69-66 in the first two rounds. Good Good has more than two million followers on its YouTube channel. … Detroit native Joe Hooks returns to action at the Rocket Classic after making his TOUR debut in 2025. Hooks graduated from Wayne State University and turned pro in 2017. His high school, University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, is just 2 miles from Detroit Golf Club. … William Jennings earned his way into the field after winning The Folds of Honor – which is hosted by Michigan State – last September. Jennings, an Alabama sophomore, is ranked No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He finished tied for 12th at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD Synnex on the Korn Ferry Tour this summer. … Ryan Ruffels is back in action on the PGA TOUR. Ruffels, now a popular YouTuber, won The Q at Myrtle Beach and went on to finish tied for 45th.

FEDEXCUP POINTS: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points

COURSE: Detroit Golf Club, par 70, 7,328 yards. A huge overhaul of the venerable club has resulted in plenty of changes as the PGA TOUR returns in 2026. Most notably, the routing has shifted to a par 70 – with No. 7 and 17 now playing as 505- and 537-yard par 4s, respectively. There are also now just two par 5s – No. 4 and 14. The 14th hole sees a notable design change, as it used to feature a pond in front of the green. That pond has been filled with native grass, thus eliminating the only water hazard on the course. There was a laser-like focus on the bunkers and the greens on this project – there are now 91 bunkers up from 84, and every green was restored to the Donald Ross original shape – which was overseen by architect Tyler Rae.

“We put our heart and soul into this, and I hope it shows,” Rae said at the Rocket Classic media day in June.

72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Tony Finau (2022)

18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Michael Thorbjornsen and Jake Knapp (2025, Round 2)

LAST TIME: Twenty-year-old Aldrich Potgieter won for the first time on the PGA TOUR, defeating Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk in a playoff. Kirk was eliminated on the second playoff hole after making bogey. Potgieter and Greyserman went back-and-forth before Potgieter rolled in a 17-foot birdie on the par-3 15th – the fifth extra frame. Potgieter, at 20 years, 9 months and 16 days old, was the sixth-youngest winner on TOUR over the last decade. Potgieter had a two-shot advantage heading into the final round and shot a 3-under 69. Greyserman and Kirk each shot 67.

Michael Thorbjornsen and Jake Knapp, who shot a course-record 61 in the second round, rounded out the top five. They both finished one shot back of the playoff.

How to follow (all times ET)

Television:

• Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. (GOLF Channel)
• Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF Channel); 3-6 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+:

• Thursday-Friday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams

• Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee group (Stream 2): New "marquee group" showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured holes (Stream 4): Combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free at PGATOUR.com/liveaudio:

• Thursday-Friday: noon-6 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday: 1-6 p.m.