Tag: 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic

Matthew Wolff gains experience in defeat at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Matthew Wolff squandered a three-stroke overnight lead, but rallied to finish second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Matthew Wolff didn’t win the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but it may be remembered as an early turning point in his development as a champion golfer.

Wolff, 21, held a three-stroke overnight lead in his bid to become the youngest two-time winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods. He would’ve been three months younger than Sergio Garcia and five months younger than Jordan Spieth when they won their second Tour titles. Heady stuff, and maybe it had something to do with his shaky start. Wolff drove into trouble on the first hole, made bogey and his lead was gone by the time eventual winner Bryson DeChambeau made birdie at the sixth hole.

Wolff struggled to five bogeys in his first 10 holes, missing greens, fluffing a chip at the sixth hole, barely advanced his ball from a fairway bunker at the 10th hole and was 3-over par through his first 10 holes.

A year ago this week, Wolff won in just his fourth Tour start as a professional at the 3M Open, making eagle at the last hole to vault past DeChambeau for the title. Expectations for Wolff to be one of the next stars of the game, which were already big, only grew bigger. But he hadn’t sniffed a leaderboard since and his lack of experience in the trophy hunt on Sunday showed.

“Absolutely,” Wolff conceded. “There was a little bit of rust at the start.”

DeChambeau smelled blood and took advantage, sprinting to a three-stroke lead before Wolff did his best to fight back, making birdie on four of his last seven holes to make DeChambeau earn the title down the stretch.

There are two ways to look at Wolff’s week: Either he blew it, tying the Tour’s largest lead lost entering the final round this season, or he’ll learn from the experience while recording his first top-10 finish in the past year. Wolff chose the latter.

“I feel like I’m going to be in that position a lot more in the future,” he said. “The only thing you can do is learn from this experience and feel more and more comfortable the more times you’re in that position, so next time I’ll feel more comfortable and the time after that I’ll feel even more comfortable.”

With a pair of 64s on Friday and Saturday, Wolff displayed his firepower and ability to rattle off birdies. With grit and resiliency, he rallied to shoot 1-under 71, and finished 20-under 268, alone in second three strokes behind DeChambeau.

Wolff found his rhythm in his funky swing on the second nine except his putter, which had been leading the field in Strokes Gained: Putting through 54 holes, happened to pick a bad time to go cold. He could’ve cut into DeChambeau’s lead at 14, but burned the left edge on his 8-foot birdie putt, and his 14-foot eagle putt at 17 hung on the lip.

“I feel like I hit a couple putts out there that I really didn’t feel like I pulled them or pushed them or anything, they just didn’t go in,” he said. “I misread them or they hit some bumps or stuff like that.”

Wolff emphasized a carefree attitude this week that paid quick dividends; rather than be deflated over his failure to validate his early success, Wolff preferred to focus on what he gained in the process.

“It’s something I’ll learn from and I’m not looking at any negatives this week,” he said. “Bryson played great; 7 under, you know. It’s not like I gave it to him, he definitely earned it. Kudos to him.”

[lawrence-related id=778052818,778052805,778052806,778052798]

Winner’s Bag: Bryson DeChambeau, 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic

Bryson DeChambeau won the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic using gear designed to optimize his powerful and unique swing.

A complete list of the equipment Bryson DeChambeau used to win the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic:

DRIVER: Cobra King Speedzone (5.5 degrees), with LAGP BAD prototype 60X shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Cobra King LTD (14.5 degrees), King Speedzone Tour (17.5 degrees), with LAGP BAD prototype 85X shafts

IRONS: Cobra King One Length Utility (4, 5), King Forged ONE Length (6-PW), with | LAGP Graphite Rebar prototype shafts

WEDGES:  Artisan prototype (47, 53, 58 degrees), with LAGP Rebar prototype shafts

PUTTER: SIK prototype

BALL: Bridgestone Tour B

GRIPS: Jumbo Max Tour

Cameron Champ turns a negative (COVID test) into a positive week

Cameron Champ shot a 32 on the back nine Sunday, finishing with a round of 66 and finishing the four-day event at 14-under par.

DETROIT — As late as Wednesday afternoon, Cameron Champ lounged on the couch in his Houston home, assuming that would be the spot in which he’d take in this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. Champ had tested positive for COVID, and due to the protocols put into place by the PGA Tour, the 25-year-old would be forced to the sidelines.

But by Sunday, Champ was climbing up the leaderboard at Detroit Golf Club, putting an exclamation point on one of the wackier weeks any Tour player has dealt with in recent years. Under a tweak of the PGA Tour’s Health and Safety Plan, he was given a last-minute reprieve after being told he’d be out for the week.

Champ shot a 32 on the back nine Sunday, finishing with a round of 66 and finishing the four-day event at 14-under par. When he finished, he was in a tie for third.

The former Texas A&M star admitted the week took its toll on him, but he still preferred the chaos to sitting around at home, and joked that he’d likely have taken this result if asked five days ago.

Leaderboard | Live blog | Photos | Tee times, TV info

“I probably would have taken it when you told me that,” he said. “It’s been a long week, mentally draining week, but again, I’m thankful to the PGA Tour, my agent, my team just to get me here to play and gave me the opportunity to play. Like I said, I’m just happy to be back out playing.”

Champ was miffed by the original test result, insisting he was asymptomatic, and saying he’d been prudent about social distancing because his fiancee’s father has a heart condition and he didn’t want to put him at risk.

He insisted earlier this week he had no idea the Tour would reverse its policy and allow players that tested positive to be reinstated with two negative tests more than 24 hours apart.

[vertical-gallery id=778052082]

The Tour had previously based its self-isolation period of 10 days on the Centers for Disease Control’s protocols, but late Wednesday the Tour announced it would be transitioning to the CDC’s test-based model for those who are not showing COVID symptoms.

Champ got a call around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, asking if he’d be interested in playing and jumped at the chance.

He played well out of the gate, shooting a 69 on Thursday and following with rounds of 68 and 71.

Hitting the long ball has always been Champs’ specialty, and he was second in strokes gained off the tee by the time he finished his round on Sunday.

During Saturday’s round at the par-5 No. 14, Champ was in the fringe in two, but flubbed a chip and two-putted for par. He pulled the ball out of the hole and flipped it into the adjacent pond in frustration. On Sunday, however, Champ learned from his mistakes and eagled the hole, a key piece of Sunday’s round.

“I was just putting things together, really. I still three-putted twice today, but besides that, I took advantage of all my opportunities when they came,” he said. “I made a great putt you usually don’t make on 14 for eagle, so that one I just kind of walked off and was obviously happy with it. It was just an all-around solid day. As I said, minimum mistakes, but then took advantage of the opportunities.”

He has a pair of wins on Tour, the 2019 Safeway Open and 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship. His 2019-20 campaign has been solid, with nine made cuts in 12 events, including a T-14 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in the PGA Tour’s return.

[lawrence-related id=778052344,778052147]

Bryson DeChambeau’s full response to incident with cameraman

DeChambeau had a blowup on Saturday with a cameraman just off the green on No. 7. Here was his full response.

DETROIT — For those who missed it, Bryson had a blowup with a cameraman just off the green on No. 7 during the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Our Eamon Lynch wrote a column about the whole sordid affair.

Here was Bryson’s full response, for those so inclined:

Q. Can you explain what happened on 7 green?

BRYSON: “So there was something that happened — I mean, nothing crazy, but I had a cameraman that was filming me after I hit a bad bunker shot and whiffed the sand a little bit, which I shouldn’t have done, that was dumb.

“But at the end of the day, he was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green and I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’ I mean, I understand that it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do. Not that I was going to do anything bad, it’s just one of those things that I hope he respects my privacy.

“As much as we’re out here performing, I think it’s necessary that we have our times of privacy as well when things aren’t going our way. I mean, we’re in the spotlight. if somebody else is in the spotlight they wouldn’t want that either. It’s just something about respect I think that’s necessary on that end. You know, so for me, I feel like it’s one of those things that we had a conversation, it was all good after that.”

[vertical-gallery id=778048601]

Q. Can you explain what you mean by protecting the players?

“Well, you know, look, I feel like when you’re videoing someone and you catch Tiger at a bad time, you show him accidentally doing something, or someone else, they’re just frustrated because they really care about the game. It could really hurt them if they catch you at a potentially vulnerable time. We’re not necessarily — we don’t mean anything by it, we just care a lot about the game. for that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think.

“So that’s the thing, I hope we can get to the point where everybody understands that we just care a lot about the game, we want to do well, we’re passionate about what we do and we want everybody to enjoy the entertainment. We don’t want negative stuff coming down.”

PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic final-round live blog, TV info

Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.

It’s a gorgeous day here in Detroit for the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Play has already begun at Detroit Golf Club.

Matthew Wolff goes off this afternoon with a three-stroke lead while Bryson DeChambeau and Ryan Armour are tied for second, three strokes back.

Tee times, TV | Leaderboard | Betting odds | Fantasy picks | By the rankings

Live blog

9:11 a.m.: So we’ll talk about today’s play in a minute, but ICYMI, you really need to go back and read Eamon Lynch’s column about Bryson DeChambeau. It’s been all the talk today, especially after DeChambeau laid into a cameraman during Saturday’s round. DeChambeau said that unflattering images could hurt his brand to which Lynch responds: “Credit DeChambeau’s optimism in thinking that being shown acting like a jerk would hurt his image rather than merely solidify it.”

Live feed

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353

All times are listed in Eastern.

Viewing information

Sunday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Eamon Lynch: Bryson DeChambeau berating a cameraman reveals his true brand

Credit DeChambeau’s optimism in thinking that being shown acting like a jerk would hurt his image rather than merely solidify it.

It’s one of life’s more reliable axioms that if a man has to tell you he’s a good dude, there’s a fair chance he is actually an insufferable gobshite.

During Saturday’s third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Bryson DeChambeau — who prides himself on seeing things the rest of us simply cannot grasp — took issue with a camera operator for, well, operating a camera. On the 7th hole, the surly pseudoscientist hit a mediocre greenside bunker shot and angrily threw his club — manufactured by Cobra and available from all good stockists — into the sand. After marking his ball —brought to you by Bridgestone — he had a testy exchange with a camera operator who captured this, before storming to the 8th tee in a pair of stylish Puma shoes.

“He was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green. And I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’” DeChambeau wailed afterward to Golf Channel’s Will Gray. “I mean, I understand it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do.”

Credit DeChambeau’s optimism in thinking that being shown acting like a jerk would hurt his image rather than merely solidify it.

The world No. 10 — a ranking he has reached thanks in part to his Flight Scope — was sufficiently upset to keep talking after the round without bothering to note the hour on his Rolex timepiece. “For that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think,” he said.

Seldom has the qualifier “too” been so freighted.

It was all so stressful that I’m sure Bryson could have knocked back a couple of cocktails — Grey Goose only, mind you — but the Bentley was probably purring outside the locker room.

Having cameras follow him is something DeChambeau appreciates. Just a few weeks ago, he posted to Instagram an intimate, 15-minute movie in which a camera caressed him as he ambled from his bedroom to breakfast, lingered over his form during workouts, and gazed adoringly at him as he cruised the neighborhood in his convertible. It was a love letter to himself, part Narcissus, part Pee-wee Herman, set in a hall of mirrors.

DeChambeau paid for the cameras in his home, but not those at Detroit Golf Club. But he seems to believe any lens has the same function: to celebrate his brand of data-crunching and protein-shaking, to showcase his prodigious distance but never his astonishingly shallow depth. In short, to help him sling product. And you, dear viewer? Well, you’re just the mark. That’s what his comments Saturday told you.

In the first month since the PGA Tour resumed action, DeChambeau has sucked up more oxygen than a Trumper at Thanksgiving dinner. Is it earned? Who cares. He provides fodder for fans who were starved of sport for three months, giving them license to cheer or jeer. And he is single-handedly hastening the day when untrammeled equipment advances will finally be reined in. For that alone, he deserves gratitude.

But every week is more of the same — showboating and gimmickry, punctuated with the slammed trunk (of a Bentley) as he leaves venues empty-handed. Trophies will likely come soon thanks to his fine play — that too will be good for the game, and also give him something else to enjoy his reflection in. But a touch of class will be harder won.

DeChambeau has the luxury of life in his branded bubble. It’s the privilege of youth, of someone who hasn’t hit the speed-bumps and potholes that complicate careers farther down the road. But someday the answer to his most pressing problem won’t be found on a Trackman monitor, data won’t offer him direction, and he won’t find out who he is by watching his own commercials.

He begins Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage three strokes off the lead. Two shots further back is Chris Kirk, a man who knows what it’s like to go through life pretending to be something you’re not.

In May of 2019, Kirk announced he was taking leave of the Tour to address an alcohol addiction issue. He was gone six months. His results since returning have been mostly crummy, though two weeks back he won on the Korn Ferry circuit. Earlier this week, he spoke about his new perspective.

“I think that I just take all of this a little bit less seriously,” he said. “Obviously, I want to play well and I want to compete and I want to try to win tournaments, but I don’t think it feels as much of life and death as maybe it used to.”

Kirk stands as a reminder that even struggles on the golf course are sometimes still a respite from the real world. He hopes that his strong play will bring attention to his story and help others who are facing similar challenges with addiction. He uses any camera pointed at him for an altogether more commendable purpose. Whatever happens Sunday, Kirk will leave Detroit a winner.

Bryson? Not so much.

Matthew Wolff’s appetite for birdies and ice cream has him out front at Rocket Mortgage Classic

After another scorching round of 64 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Matthew Wolff suggested that frozen treats might have keyed his play.

DETROIT — When you watch Matthew Wolff strike a golf ball — a spinning, whirling blend of bravado and distance — it’s easy to forget he’s never been able to legally stop at a bar without social distancing.

Wolff’s 21st birthday came well after the coronavirus set in — April 14, to be exact — and yet he already has a PGA Tour win under his belt and has become such a golf phenom he was part of the TaylorMade Driving Relief event with Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

But then there are moments when you remember his age. The Oklahoma State product joked after Friday’s 64 that he didn’t watch much of his playing partner Vijay Singh while growing up because “he was a little before my time.”

And on Saturday after another scorching round of 64, Wolff suggested that frozen treats might have keyed his play.

“I heard an ice cream truck circling the property and seemed like every time I heard that, I had made birdie or made a putt, so I’ve got to give a lot of credit to that,” Wolff said. “Like I think on — what is it — 5, the par 3, I made
the longest putt of the day. It was like a 35 or something like that footer and I heard the ice cream truck and I’m like, I have a good feeling about this.

“I just had that little like ice cream truck song in my head and I think that helped me just not think about the speed or the line or anything, just keep my head free, which I’ve been giving a lot of credit to this week.”

Leaderboard | Live blog | Photos

Whatever the reason, Wolff took the Detroit Golf Club by storm again, even with three bogeys. He posted six birdies on the front, then added three more and an eagle on the back to establish a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round. Ryan Armour and Bryson DeChambeau are tied for second at 16-under while four players, including Chris Kirk, are tied for third at 14-under.

Wolff’s putter certainly has helped him get out to a sizable edge, he’s second in strokes gained putting, and when that’s working low scores will follow.

“I felt like the putter was really good today. I wasn’t really thinking about much over the putt, lining it up, feeling confident in the line and stroking it really nice,” he said.

There’s plenty at play for Wolff on Sunday, aside from being able to afford a lot more ice cream.

With a victory, Wolff would become the youngest two-time PGA Tour winner since someone named Tiger Woods, who did it at the age of 20 years, 9 months, 20 days. He’s looking for his first top-10 finish since his win last year at the 3M Open in Minnesota. He’d also maintain a perfect record with 54-hole leads, since he converted the only other one he’s ever had.

[vertical-gallery id=778052082]

And as for this whole lead thing, Wolff said it’s something he feels comfortable playing with.

“A lot of people would say you don’t want to give up that lead, but in my mind, as many strokes advantage as you have over the field is better. I don’t ever look at something about — I don’t look at the downside of things. That’s one thing I think I’d change, but I look at having a three-stroke lead, going out there I think I’ll be playing with Ryan Armour,” Wolff said. “I really enjoy playing with him, he’s a super good guy. It’s a golf course that
sets up really well, I’m hitting really well, putting good, doing everything well. Just going to go out there, have fun, and hopefully I hear the ice cream truck a little bit.”

So, since ice cream seems to be the theme, does Wolff have a favorite flavor?

“I’m just more like vanilla guy, but I don’t know, there’s a couple popsicles on those ice cream trucks that are pretty dang good,” he said. “I’m not really sure. I’ll be thinking about that tomorrow, though.”

[lawrence-related id=778052703,778052641,778052601]

No tricks here, Wesley Bryan is in the hunt at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

The South Carolina product finished with a 7-under par 65 at Detroit Golf Club, pushing him just a few shots off the lead.

DETROIT — There will always be a piece of Wesley Bryan that remains a showman, a trick-shot artist, a guy who can do something others simply can’t.

Prior to earning his Tour card and winning the 2017 RBC Heritage, Bryan was known as part of a sibling duo that compiled stunt videos — batting golf balls out of mid-air, chipping basketballs into hoops and banking shots off walls and into trash cans.

It’s not that Bryan can’t still do those things. Witness this chip from on the green earlier this week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic:

[protected-iframe id=”8fd0c143546b753ecacbb877a60e9b95-120918734-30999219″ info=”https://www.pgatour.com/bin/pgatour/video-player/iframe.html?ec=6168991849001″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]

But what Bryan needs now is consistency, not flash. He tore the labrum in his left shoulder back in 2018 and hadn’t played a Tour event for a year and a half until the June restart. He made his first cut at the site of his lone victory, finishing T-68 at Hilton Head Island. He followed with an even better showing at the Travelers, where he shot four consecutive rounds in the 60s en route to a T-24.

Leaderboard | Live blog | Photos | Tee times, TV info

And now this week, the University of South Carolina product is seeing his progress continue in a big way. On Saturday, he posted a 32 on the front and finished with a 7-under-par 65 at Detroit Golf Club, pushing him just a few shots off the lead heading into Sunday.

He’s happy with how well he’s playing, although not totally surprised.

“I mean, I played great for the couple months leading up to it while everyone was quarantined. Luckily, my home golf course back in Lexington didn’t shut down, so I was able to stay pretty sharp,” Bryan said. “I felt like I was in great form and, like I’ve said before, the last couple weeks felt a little bit disappointing given the form that I felt like I was in. I mean, I guess I’m performing to a level that I definitely thought was possible at this point.”

This week, aside from the chip shot, he’s stuck to a basic game plan, one that’s heavy on substance and light on style.

[vertical-gallery id=778052082]

“Overall, it was good. I made a couple dumb mistakes out there, but for the most part, I’m hitting it where I was looking. I drove it pretty good off the tee and was able to see some putts go in today, which was nice,” he said. “It got a little bit dicey out there for a second, the wind did a 180 switch out there and was swirling for about 45 minutes to an hour or so.

“I went from barely making the cut to throwing, I guess, myself back into contention going into tomorrow.”

Bryan opened the week with a little fun, taking advantage of an opportunity to play with Jason Day in a new nine-hole exhibition against Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III. The event raised over $1 million for charity and gave Bryan an extra chance to get those competitive juices flowing, something he couldn’t do for almost 18 months.

The Bryan-Day tandem lost in the exhibition, but Bryan still has an opportunity to cash in on the week’s biggest prize. And when asked what he needed to do to capture his second Tour win, Bryan said he’ll lean on a resource like his caddie, Willie Lanier.

“Willie is as calm and as cool as it gets on the bag, so just a lot of conversation with him,” Bryan said. “He has a good calming effect and just out there getting numbers and trying to hit shots. If the putter gets hot, I guess we’ll see what happens.”

[jwplayer 3aRbCEnH-vgFm21H3]

Why an extinct 1970s Ford inspired this PGA Tour pro’s namesake

PGA Tour golfer Maverick McNealy has three brothers — Dakota, Colt and Scout. McNealy has been revving up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Ford Maverick, Dodge Dakota, Dodge Colt and Jeep Scout.

Four American-made machines.

Kind of like PGA Tour golfer Maverick McNealy and his three brothers — Dakota, Colt and Scout. Maverick actually drives a Ford Explorer that used to belong to his mother, Susan, while the family has two more Explorers and two Ford F-150 trucks.

“My three brothers and I are all named after American cars,” Maverick, the eldest, said, “because of the Detroit connection.”

The 24-year-old Stanford graduate is 8 under par at the conclusion of the second round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and seeking his first Tour victory. Playing at Detroit Golf Club feels like a homecoming, even though McNealy has never lived in Michigan.

“This is my dad’s stomping grounds when he grew up,” Maverick said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Leaderboard | Live blog | Photos | Tee times, TV info

Scott McNealy grew up in Bloomfield Hills and graduated from Cranbrook High in 1972. He went to Harvard and co-founded Sun Microsystems — the company that developed the computer programming language Java — in 1982. In 2010, Oracle Corporation bought it for $7.4 billion.

Scott, 65, returned home four years ago for the 116th U.S. Amateur championship in Bloomfield Hills to caddie for his son.

But the family’s connection to Detroit didn’t start with the current head of the household. Nothing would have been the same had it not been for the late Raymond William McNealy Jr., Maverick’s grandfather, who moved the family to Michigan to work at the American Motors Corporation, where he became vice chairman of the automotive manufacturing company.

[jwplayer 3aRbCEnH-vgFm21H3]

“My second brother (Dakota) is now working for Autonomic, which is Ford’s cloud computing capability,” Maverick said. “(He’s) just finishing up his computer science degree at Stanford. A lot of Motor City connections with our family.”

The grandfather has another claim to family fame that resonates with Maverick: eight holes-in-one in his lifetime. He played for 20 years at Turtle Creek Country Club in Florida and once was a member of Orchard Lake Country Club in Birmingham.

Scott learned about golf from Raymond and passed the knowledge down to Maverick, who has become quite the budding star.

“He was the junior champion at Orchard Lake Country Club back in the day, and I think a sailing champion as well,” Maverick said about his dad. “I’ve been rattling off the street names to him as I’m driving back to the hotel, and he knows all of them.”

The family connections to Detroit are intriguing, but all eyes are fixated on Maverick for one reason: to win.

He was playing his best golf in the weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the Tour season: the Farmers Insurance Open (15th), AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (tied for fifth); Puerto Rico Open (tied for 27th); and The Honda Classic (tied for 11th).

Since golf’s reboot, he tied for 32nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge and tied for 58th at the RBC Heritage.

At the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Maverick is knotted with nine others for 20th after shooting 4 under par in Friday’s second round. Entering the third round, he’s fixated on setting himself up to notch the first Tour victory in family history.

[vertical-gallery id=778052082]

“My round today was pretty sloppy tee to green,” Maverick said, “and then I fought really hard when I got close to the putting surface. Very comfortable on poa annua and bluegrass, bentgrass, all this mix we see around here, it’s stuff I grew up on on the West Coast.

“And I’m excited that if I can start to hit a few more greens, then I can shoot low scores.”

Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA Today Network. Contact him at epetzold@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.

PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic Round 3 live blog, TV info

Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.

Should be an interesting weekend here at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan. The third round has already begun at Detroit Golf Club.

Three players — Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Chad Campbell — tested positive for COVID-19 in pre-tournament testing and have withdrawn from the event.

Tee times, TV | Leaderboard | Betting odds | Fantasy picks | By the rankings

Live blog

9:32 a.m.: ICYMI, this fun read about Bryson DeChambeau and Webb Simpson includes Bryson’s plan for the weekend, which seems like a good one for a guy who’s averaging 346 yards off the tee through two rounds. “If I can make birdie on all the par 5s on the weekend, that’s 8 under right there,” he said. “Make a couple birdies on some short par 4s, I feel like that would be a good number, something like that.” He tees off at 1:45 in a pairing with Mark Hubbard.

9:20 a.m.: Looks like another perfect day for scoring here in Detroit. With the leaders at 12-under par after two days, there’s no reason to think we won’t see something close to Nate Lashley’s 25-under again this year. There’s almost no breeze here at Detroit Golf Club and that’s not likely to change much.

Live feed

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353

All times are listed in Eastern.

Viewing information

Saturday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Sunday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS