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Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the gear that Bryson DeChambeau used to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
Golfweek’s David Dusek discusses the gear that Bryson DeChambeau used to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
Bryson DeChambeau finished 23 under par to win the PGA Tour tournament Sunday at the Detroit Golf Club.
Bryson DeChambeau’s driver paid off in the long run at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
DeChambeau finished at 23-under par to win the PGA Tour event Sunday at the Detroit Golf Club. He overtook runner-up Matthew Wolff with a 7-under-par 65 in the final round.
Wolff, the third-round leader, missed a much-needed eagle putt from 14 feet on No. 17 that halted at the edge of the cup, making any chances of a comeback impossible.
DeChambeau’s victory in Detroit marks his sixth career win. More importantly, it’s his first of the season. He’s been the most discussed golfer since the Tour’s return four weeks ago because of his body transformation and power with his driver.
He shot 6-under-par 66 in the first round and 5-under 67 in the second and third rounds to enter Sunday tied for second place.
In the fourth round, DeChambeau, ranked No. 10 in the world, shot 7-under-par 65 to pass Wolff and fend off others that surged late. He made birdies on Nos. 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 16, 17 and 18.
During the last three rounds, his only bogeys came on No. 6 in the third round and No. 14 in the fourth. His bogey Sunday was his first on a par 5 in the tournament.
Before the Rocket Mortgage Classic, DeChambeau finished in the top 10 at three events: Charles Schwab Challenge (tied for third), RBC Heritage (tied for eighth) and Travelers Championship (tied for sixth).
The former SMU standout turned professional in 2016 and has Tour victories at the John Deere Classic (2017), Memorial Tournament (2018), The Northern Trust (2018), Dell Technologies Championship (2018), Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (2018) and now the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
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On Sunday, the noise level at Detroit Golf Club increased as 75 or so protesters from “Detroit Will Breathe” arrived outside the main gates.
Detroit Golf Club wasn’t quiet on Sunday.
The first three days of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, played without spectators, were so silent that third-round leader Matthew Wolff could hear an ice cream truck playing in the distance.
Just before 3 p.m. Sunday, the noise level at the tournament increased as 75 or so protesters from “Detroit Will Breathe” showed up outside the main gates of the clubhouse, which is near the ninth green and 10th tee box.
The demonstrators brought megaphones to protest against an “exclusive event” that shows how Mayor Mike Duggan and his administration “bends over backward for billionaires,” alluding to Dan Gilbert — the owner of Rock Ventures, Quicken Loans and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Leaderboard | Live blog | Photos
“Gilbert and his subsidiaries have heavily bankrolled private security and surveillance in downtown Detroit,” the protest organization posted on Instagram. “They also make large donations to DPD though the Detroit Public Safety Foundation.”
Detroit resident Jae Bass, 24, led the group of protesters. He was involved in an altercation with a police vehicle last week in southwest Detroit. The main “Detroit Will Breathe” organizers, Tristan Taylor and Nakia-Renne Wallace, were in attendance.
“They could hear the crowd on CBS,” Taylor said on Instagram, “so we did the thing we needed to do.”
The protesters met at 2 p.m. at the Palmer Park Community Building, walked to the golf course and cried out against Duggan, Gilbert and Detroit Police Chief James Craig. There were two armored police vehicles near the entrance to the golf club Sunday, similar to the ones during the first three nights of protests downtown.
An appearance from demonstrators doesn’t come as a surprise. It’s a march “Detroit Will Breathe” has been planning for weeks.
None of the protesters entered the Detroit Golf Club due to metal barricades blocking the entrance, but someone hung a sign for golfers inside to see from a distance.
Protesters were gone by 4 p.m.
At last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, about 45 protesters gathered outside the course to protest over labor disputes.
Free Press photographer Junfu Han contributed to this report.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
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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.”
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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.”
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
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.”
https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353
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
Everything you need to know for the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
It’s Matthew Wolff’s world and we’re all living in it.
The former Oklahoma State standout and rising star on the PGA Tour leads the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club entering Sunday’s final round after back-to-back rounds of 64 on Friday and Saturday. The 21-year-old sits atop the leaderboard at 19 under, three shots clear of Ryan Armour and Bryson DeChambeau, both T-2 at 16 under. Four players sit T-4 at 14 under: Troy Merritt, Seamus Power, Mark Hubbard and Chris Kirk.
From tee times to television and streaming information, here’s everything you need to know about the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Leaderboard | Photos | Round 3 hits, misses
| Tee Time (ET) | Players |
| 8:25 a.m. | Zack Sucher, Harry Higgs |
| 8:35 a.m. | Keegan Bradley, Bo Van Pelt |
| 8:45 a.m. | Austin Cook, Josh Teater |
| 8:55 a.m. | Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Michael Thompson |
| 9:05 a.m. | George McNeill, Mark Anderson |
| 9:15 a.m. | Sungjae Im, Seung-Yul Noh |
| 9:25 a.m. | Brandon Hagy, Brian Stuard |
| 9:35 a.m. | Cameron Champ, Steve Stricker |
| 9:45 a.m. | Si Woo Kim, Lucas Glover |
| 9:55 a.m. | Tyler Duncan, Johnson Wagner |
| 10:05 a.m. | Patrick Rodgers, Luke Donald |
| 10:15 a.m. | Cameron Tringale, Hudson Swafford |
| 10:25 a.m. | Emiliano Grillo, Maverick McNealy |
| 10:35 a.m. | Brendon Todd, Harold Varner III |
| 10:45 a.m. | Rickie Fowler, Zac Blair |
| 10:55 a.m. | Sepp Straka, Rhein Gibson |
| 11:05 a.m. | Pat Perez, Lanto Griffin |
| 11:15 a.m. | Henrik Norlander, Scott Stallings |
| 11:25 a.m. | Sam Burns, Chris Stroud |
| 11:35 a.m. | Jonathan Byrd, Michael Gellerman |
| 11:45 a.m. | Richy Werenski, Danny Willett |
| 11:55 a.m. | Doc Redman, J.J. Spaun |
| 12:05 p.m. | Adam Hadwin, Ted Potter, Jr. |
| 12:15 p.m. | Kristoffer Ventura, Chris Baker |
| 12:25 p.m. | Tom Lewis, Arjun Atwal |
| 12:35 p.m. | Tony Finau, Adam Schenk |
| 12:45 p.m. | Tyrrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner |
| 12:55 p.m. | Kevin Chappell, Scott Harrington |
| 1:05 p.m. | Hideki Matsuyama, Fabián Gómez |
| 1:15 p.m. | Matt Wallace, Webb Simpson |
| 1:25 p.m. | Luke List, Viktor Hovland |
| 1:35 p.m. | Chris Kirk, Wesley Bryan |
| 1:45 p.m. |
Mark Hubbard, Seamus Power
|
| 1:55 p.m. | Bryson DeChambeau, Troy Merritt |
| 2:05 p.m. | Matthew Wolff, Ryan Armour |
All times Eastern.
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
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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:
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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.
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“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.”
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On Saturday, Tony Finau surged up the leaderboard to 11 under and has given himself an outside chance at contention in Sunday’s final round.
Tony Finau nearly missed the cut.
The world’s 17th-best golfer needed a 19-foot birdie on his final hole to get to 5 under par at the conclusion of Friday’s second round, just above the threshold to advance to the third round of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club.
On Saturday, he surged up the leaderboard to 11 under and has given himself an outside chance at contention in Sunday’s final round.
Leaderboard | Live blog | Photos | Tee times, TV info
“Tricky little pins in certain areas and things, but still very scoreable,” Finau said after shooting 6-under 66. “If you hit it in the fairway, I think you’re going to see some, like you have in the first couple days, some really good scoring.”
Yesterday @TonyFinauGolf drained a 19-foot birdie putt on his final hole to make the cut on the number.
Today he shot a 6-under 66 to get within one of the lead at the @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/QL9GG4hqeo
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 4, 2020
As of 1:25 p.m., Finau is tied for sixth with 12 other golfers, including the jacked Bryson DeChambeau. Chris Kirk, Webb Simpson and Hideki Matsuyama are among the leaders at 12 under, but there’s still plenty of golfers left with opportunities to move up. Kirk and Simpson didn’t start their rounds until much later.
On Friday, Kirk shot 7-under-par 65 to take a share of the second-round lead, while Simpson shot 64.
The 30-year-old Finau was 1 under through the first six holes before shooting an eagle on No. 7 and birdie on No. 8 to finish the front half 4 under. He continued his success with birdies on Nos. 12 and 14.
And most importantly: no bogeys.
“Being first out is great,” Finau said. “You’ve got fresh greens and I learned that early. I hit a bunch of putts that went five, six feet by on my first few holes. I was quite surprised with how good they were early. I came off playing pretty late yesterday, and the greens got a little bumpy and slow.
“I had to make that adjustment right away. I think in that respect, maybe the greens played in my favor because how early I went out, but overall, I do think the scoring’s going to be pretty good.”
In the second round, he double-bogeyed No. 10 and bogeyed Nos. 16 and 18 but turned it around with four birdies on the last seven holes to make the cut.
Finau is seeking his first Tour victory since 2016. Earlier this season, he finished second at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, tied for sixth at the Farmers Insurance Open and tied for ninth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
“I haven’t had like a really breakout round,” he said. “But I think I’m really close to putting together some great golf again, and that’s exciting for me.”
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
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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
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.
https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353
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
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
Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.
The PGA Tour resumed its revised season Thursday with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. The second round has already begun at Detroit Golf Club.
The field does not include Tiger Woods, but still has plenty of talent. World No. 5 and RBC Heritage winner Webb Simpson is in the field alongside Patrick Reed (No. 7), Bryson DeChambeau (No. 10), Tony Finau (No. 17), Rickie Fowler and Jason Day.
Three players — Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Chad Campbell — tested positive for COVID-19 in pre-tournament testing and have withdrawn from the event.
For Thursday and Fridays rounds, featured groups on Golf Channel and PGA Tour Live are the following: DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama and Reed; Day, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson; Fowler, Nate Lashley and Webb Simpson; and Sungjae Im, Tyrrell Hatton and Brandt Snedeker.
Tee times, TV | Leaderboard | Betting odds | Fantasy picks | By the rankings
9:40 a.m.: It’s already sticky here at Detroit Golf Club, and there’s very little wind. Seamus Power, Matthew Wolff and Kevin Kisner are taking advantage of the conditions and they’re tied atop the leaderboard at 9-under. Don’t be surprised if this trend continues. There’s very little, in terms of wind or weather, that should hold these guys back.
https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353
6:30 a.m.-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live
6:45 – 8:15 a.m.: Twitter
Noon-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: Golf Channel
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
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
