Tag: Rocket Mortgage Sponsorship – RMC Golf

Cam Davis earns first PGA Tour win in five-hole playoff at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Davis won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for his first win on Tour.

Another week on the PGA Tour, another playoff.

Five players were tied for the lead at 17 under when Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann, the last group of the day, stood on the 17th tee during the final round of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann and Merritt each made birdie on 17th and par on the 18th while Cam Davis finished eagle-birdie to force a three-way playoff at 18 under.

Niemann made his first bogey of the week on the first playoff hole, No. 18, and was eliminated while Merritt and Davis made par to advance. Both then made par on the second (15th) and third (16th) playoff holes before a pair of birdies on the par-5 14th sent the tournament back to No. 15, the fifth playoff hole.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Leaderboard | Photos

In the end it was Davis who came out on top for the win with a par, his first on the PGA Tour. Davis has two other professional wins to his name. In 2017 he won the Emirates Australian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia and in 2018 he won the Nashville Golf Open on the Korn Ferry Tour (then Web.com).

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Phil Mickelson has love for Detroit Golf Club, ‘terrific’ support at Rocket Mortgage Classic

The awe of Phil Mickelson didn’t wear off, it only grew stronger.

DETROIT — The awe of Phil Mickelson didn’t wear off, it only grew stronger.

Four straight days, the largest crowds at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic hovered and maneuvered around the course to catch a glimpse of the reigning PGA Championship winner. Fans gawked at him in between his putts; he answered them with a smile and thumbs up. Red, white, blue, and Mickelson was the tagline for the Independence Day finale at the Detroit Golf Club.

“I enjoyed my time here. The people were terrific, and I love playing old-school Donald Ross courses,” Mickelson said Sunday, after a third straight round of even-par 72. “We don’t get a chance to do it often on Tour because we’re trying to make courses longer and harder. I just loved the golf course.”

Detroit spectators witnessed everything but the best of the 51-year-old Hall of Famer’s golf game. He double-bogeyed the first hole, landed in two bunkers, and tallied bogeys on Nos. 6, 10 and 12, straddling last place in the tournament field for most of the final round. Birdies on three of the remaining six holes erased the bogeys, pulling Mickelson into a tie for 74th, third-to-last among those who made the cut line.

ROCKET MORTGAGE: Sunday tee times, TV info | Leaderboard | Photos

Mickelson finished the tournament shooting 3-under 288.

Except for the first round, Mickelson wasn’t able to shoot under par in a tournament that has a history of low scores through three years.

In Detroit, it didn’t matter, even when Mickelson was losing; he was still winning. Mickelson’s unwavering support would draw the envy of top professional athletes, who often face serious criticism by fans and analysts when they’re not playing well.

“I didn’t play as well as I wanted to, but I actually had a good ball-striking week and had some good positives even though I didn’t score, I didn’t putt great,” he said.

His Twitter activity made more waves than his putting at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“I never understood how impactful social media can be, not the way guys like Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler and guys that have been doing it a long time,” Mickelson said about his tweets over the course of the tournament. “I’ve always used it as like entertainment, trying to put out funny little clips here or there. When some stuff happened this week, it was nice to have a voice.”

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Column: Bryson DeChambeau owes the Rocket Mortgage Classic — and Detroit — a lot more than silence

Walking off the course at the marquee sports event for your sponsor without saying a word as the defending champ? I don’t get it.

DETROIT — This, I don’t get.

I get a lot of things about Bryson DeChambeau.

I get that he’s trying to solve golf through the sports science of crazy swing speeds and an even crazier diet of 6,000 calories a day.

I get that he likes attention and likes to spin narratives as much as he likes the spin rate on his golf balls.

But walking off the course at the marquee sports event for your sponsor without saying a single word as the defending champion after two rounds?

This, I don’t get.

It’s understandable DeChambeau was upset when he finished the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 1-under-par 143 and assured himself of missing the cut.

And yes, I’m sure he didn’t want to face questions about his poor play as well as questions about his caddie quitting suddenly before the tournament.

ROCKET MORTGAGE: Sunday tee times, TV info | Leaderboard | Photos

DeChambeau finished the first round so late Thursday night that there were few reporters left to speak with him and he didn’t do any interviews afterward. On Friday, he refused requests for an interview. That means DeChambeau said absolutely nothing about the tournament during its first two rounds.

Nothing about the fans or Detroit or how the tournament dealt with the double difficulty of pivoting to welcoming fans back while dealing with horrible weather all week.

Nothing.

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That’s just unacceptable. And that’s coming from a sportswriter and a golf fan who likes DeChambeau. He’s an acquired taste and not for everyone — probably something like a cross between escargot and caviar. The intricacies of fine dining to some; gross slimy stuff to others.

When DeChambeau arrives at the British Open in two weeks, he likely will be asked about the sudden caddie breakup. But it’s a good bet no one at Royal St. George’s Golf Club will ask for his thoughts about Detroit Golf Club and the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Simply put, DeChambeau owes the tournament and its fans more than this — a lot more — as the defending champ and a sponsor spokesman.

Even Phil Mickelson, who knew he was going to hear some uncomfortable questions about a gambling story, faced the music and did an interview after the first round. Willie Mack III, a local favorite from Flint operating on three hours’ sleep and flirting with missing the cut, answered questions with a smile.

I don’t expect athletes to be happy about interviews and questions. But they have to understand reporters are the conduit that connects them to their fans.

Maybe DeChambeau has a reasonable explanation for why he refused to speak Friday. If he doesn’t, he has a year to think of one.

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Troy Merritt comes up aces, shares 54-hole lead

The highlight of Troy Merritt’s Saturday at Detroit Golf Club? His hole-out at the par-3 11th.

DETROIT – The fireworks on 4th of July weekend began a day early for Troy Merritt.

The 35-year-old Boise State product picked a good time to make his first hole-in-one in 10 years on the PGA Tour. From 218 yards on the par-3, 11th hole at Detroit Golf Club, Merritt was stuck between a soft 4-iron and a hard 5-iron. He and his caddie, Wayne Birch, figured they had 210 yards to cover the front with the wind helping out of the right. So Merritt drew a 5-iron that hopped once and disappeared into the bottom of the cup.

“I was geeked,” said Birch, who answers to the nickname Wayne-o, Drain-o.

The ace propelled Merritt to a 5-under 67 and a share of the 54-hole lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who remains bogey-free for the tournament.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Leaderboard | Tee times | Blog

By the time Merritt made his ace, he already had made birdie on four of his first seven holes, including a near ace at the fifth hole to break from the pack. Early in the third round, there was a pile-up near the top of the leaderboard with an eight-way tie for first and a dozen more players within one stroke of the lead. Merritt’s ace temporarily vaulted him three strokes in front, but after hitting 22 straight fairways – he ranks tied for second in driving accuracy this week – he missed three in a row, including to the right rough at No. 12, which led to his only bogey of the day.

Merritt, who finished T-8 here last year, will be seeking his third PGA Tour title on Sunday and first since the Barbasol Championship in 2018.

“There’s going to be quite a few birdies tomorrow and we’ve got to make them to keep pace and hopefully slightly ahead of everybody. The mindset will be find that fairway first, give ourselves as many looks as we can and keep all the squares off the card,” said Merritt, who leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. “Make a few birdies but don’t give any away, make them work to come and get us and hopefully it’s good enough in the end.”

Merritt will be paired in the final group with Niemann, ranked No. 30 in the world and at 22 one of the bright stars on the Tour. Niemann, the winner of the 2019 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, shot 68 to improve to 14-under 202 and is attempting to be the first winner to play 72 holes bogey-free since J.T. Poston at the 2019 Wyndham Championship. Niemann, who ranks a pedestrian 88th in scrambling for the season, is a perfect 13-of-13 this week.

“I always try to not make bogeys, but this week it’s working,” Niemann said.

Twenty-four players will start the final round within five strokes of the lead. Hank Lebioda and Cam Davis – both seeking their maiden Tour victory – trail by one stroke and are the closest pursuers. Lebioda’s 6-under 66 tied for the low round of the day, but he said he leaned heavily on his short game and his best shot of the day led to a tap-in par.

“It was the flop shot over the bunkers going towards the water on 14,” said the 27-year-old southpaw, who has continued his hot play after finishing T-5 last week at the Travelers Championship. “I thought I was the older lefty, the one who’s won a few more times, when I hit that. Yeah, it was a great shot.”

Davis, 26, made three birdies in a four-hole span on the front nine to join the fray en route to shooting 5-under 67. The Australian finished T-3 at the American Express and January and has his eye on the top prize this week.

“It’s been what I’ve been working for my whole life, so it would be pretty special,” he said.

Jason Kokrak shot one of nine bogey-free rounds, a 5-under 67, to climb within three strokes of the lead as he seeks his third win of the season.

“I think it’s going to be a putting contest,” Kokrak said. “Troy’s a great putter and it’s going to take everything I’ve got in the bag to catch him tomorrow if he continues the pace he’s on.”

Expect fireworks.

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Rocket Mortgage Classic Sunday tee times and TV info

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s final round at Detroit Golf Club.

Another round down at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Joaquin Niemann still has the lead, but – like on Friday night – he only has a share of it. This time, Niemann is knotted atop the leaderboard at Detroit Golf Club with Troy Merritt (second-round co-leader Tom Lewis fell away on Saturday after a 1-under 71 that didn’t allow him to keep the pace).

Niemann had a 4-under 68 on Saturday that moved him to 14 under. Interestingly, Niemann still hasn’t made a bogey at Detroit Golf Club and a clean final-round card would likely go a long way in helping him secure his second career Tour victory.

As for Merritt, he aced the par-3 11th on his way to a third-round 67 that also left him at 14 under.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Leaderboard | Photos | Blog

Tee times

1st tee

Tee times Player
7:35 a.m. Scott Brown
7:40 a.m. Jimmy Walker, Sung Kang
7:50 a.m. Patton Kizzire, Lucas Glover
8:00 a.m. Willie Mack III, Anirban Lahiri
8:10 a.m. Will Zalatoris, Phil Mickelson
8:20 a.m. Camilo Villegas, Robert Streb
8:30 a.m. Cameron Percy, Patrick Rodgers
8:40 a.m. Bo Van Pelt, Brandt Snedeker
8:50 a.m. Ryan Brehm, Chesson Hadley
9:00 a.m. Nelson Ledesma, Jonas Blixt
9:15 a.m. Tyler Duncan, Patrick Reed
9:25 a.m. Kramer Hickok, Matthew Wolff
9:35 a.m. Michael Gellerman, Adam Schenk
9:45 a.m. Henrik Norlander, Matt Jones
9:55 a.m. Michael Gligic, Nick Taylor
10:05 a.m. Byeong Hun An, Josh Teater
10:15 a.m. Beau Hossler, Max Homa
10:25 a.m. Danny Willett, Maverick McNealy
10:35 a.m. Bo Hoag, Doug Ghim
10:45 a.m. Vincent Whaley, Garrick Higgo
11:00 a.m. Joel Dahmen, Jason Day
11:10 a.m. Cameron Tringale, Matthew NeSmith
11:20 a.m. Davis Thompson, Russell Knox
11:30 a.m. Aaron Baddeley, Fabian Gomez
11:40 a.m. Kyle Stanley, Si Woo Kim
11:50 a.m. Chris Baker, Roger Sloan
12:00 p.m. Bubba Watson, Curtis Thompson
12:10 p.m. Lanto Griffin, Sean O’Hair
12:20 p.m. Keegan Bradley, Sebastian Munoz
12:30 p.m. J.J. Spaun, Rickie Fowler
12:45 p.m. Mackenzie Hughes, Alex Noren
12:55 p.m. Scott Stallings, Mark Anderson
1:05 p.m. Sungjae Im, Seamus Power
1:15 p.m. Tom Lewis, Kevin Tway
1:25 p.m. Pat Perez, Chris Kirk
1:35 p.m. Kevin Kisner, Richy Werenski
1:45 p.m. Brandon Hagy, Jason Kokrak
1:55 p.m. Hank Lebioda, Cam Davis
2:05 p.m. Troy Merritt, Joaquin Niemann


TV, streaming, radio information

Sunday, July 4

TV

Golf Channel (Watch for free on fuboTV): 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-6 p.m.

STREAMING

PGA Tour Live: 8:15 a.m.-6 p.m.

RADIO

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

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Rickie Fowler on the British Open: ‘We’re jumping through some hurdles and dodging bullets and they’re having 32,000 fans a day at the tournament’

Rickie Fowler is safely into this month’s British Open, but he has other concerns where COVID safety precautions are concerned.

DETROIT – After missing out on the U.S. Open last month and the Masters earlier this year, Rickie Fowler doesn’t have to worry about qualifying for the British Open field – he’s exempt thanks to his top-10 finish at the 148th Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.

But he’s got other concerns about the season’s final major, especially after playing the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic with Hideki Matsuyama, who withdrew on Friday after testing positive for COVID -19.

“I’m vaccinated or whatever you want to call the shots,” he said. “Unfortunately, I know going over there, it doesn’t matter if you’re vaccinated or not.”

The R&A informed players last week that the championship will “operate under strict government oversight from the U.K. government.”

The guidelines prohibit players from going to bars, restaurants, and grocery stores during tournament week, and they must stay at either approved hotels or private residences, which can be shared with up to four members of their team and not other players. 

“Yeah, there’s definitely some concerns,” Fowler said. “Guys have been talking to me or have been talking to other guys, been making calls or sending texts back and forth with some of the people with the Open just with any questions or concerns that we have because there’s multiple things that come up as far as if there happens to be a couple people on the plane that test positive when you get there, you know, what happens with that?

“Obviously we’re all going into our own small bubbles, can’t be around other players. It seems like us as players, we’re jumping through some hurdles and dodging bullets and they’re having 32,000 fans a day at the tournament, so I don’t know. I can’t really answer questions clearly with all that going on.”

Fowler, who shot 4-under 68 on Saturday and held a share of the lead in the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the blink of an eye, finished T-5 at the 2011 British Open the last time it was held at Royal St. George’s in England. He was in contention until he shot a final-round 72 as Darren Clarke claimed the Claret Jug.

“I remember it decently well,” he said. “I remember that was my second Open. I actually made it through St. Andrews (in 2010) and then the first round and a half without hitting in a bunker. I laid up in a bunker with a 6-iron at Royal St. George’s, that was the first bunker I was in in an Open Championship, so we’ll see if we can stay out of those. That’s a big thing in links golf, as you know.

“But I think a lot of the stuff that I was kind of focusing on this week with setup and making sure my grip’s in a good spot so I’m able to get through it and release properly, a lot of that will kind of be some preparation moving forward thinking of shots that I’ll be hitting at the Open as well.”

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It’s got to be the shoes: Bubba Watson shoots 67 at Rocket Mortgage Classic in Michael Jordan’s hand-me-downs

Imagine getting MJ’s hand-me-downs. Such is the life of Bubba Watson.

DETROIT – Bubba Watson rocked a pair of Air Jordan golf shoes that caught at least one writer’s eye, who didn’t recognize that model. Turns out they were a pair not yet for sale. As a matter of fact, they were a pair of Air Jordans that Watson had acquired directly from Jordan himself.

“I know MJ pretty well and we wear the same size so I get a lot of his old shoes,” Watson explained.

Those would be size 13, for the record. Imagine getting MJ’s hand-me-downs. Such is the life of Bubba Watson. A day earlier, he was grinding to make his first cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, overcoming a stretch of three bogeys in a row (Nos. 12-14) with birdies on two of his final four holes to make the cut on the number at 3-under 139.

“They kept cheering for me and pulling for me to make a birdie so I could make the cut,” Watson said of his enthusiastic gallery. “I’ve never made a cut here, so it was nice to make the cut.”

That earned Watson an early-morning tee time and he took advantage of benign conditions and soft greens to shoot a third-round 5-under 67. After battling an uncooperative putter for two days, he found his touch around the greens, making four birdies in a five-hole stretch beginning at No. 10.

“Today I made some putts, kept the round going,” said Watson, who used his putter 10 fewer times on Saturday than in his previous round.

Watson, 42, still is less than seven days removed from some serious scar tissue. He blew what would’ve been his 13th PGA Tour victory and fourth title at the Travelers Championship. Leading by one stroke through 13 holes, he played the final five holes in 6-over par and tumbled to T-19. Asked how long it took him to get over his Sunday collapse, he deadpanned, “What Sunday? Oh, I’m over it. I don’t know, when did I sign my scorecard? I was good.”

As only Watson can, he added: “I’ve screwed up there before and I’ll probably screw up there again. Yeah, I was over it quick.”

Watson ranks 13th on the all-time Tour money list with earnings of more than $47 million, so, he’s not hurting to pay his mortgage, but his back-nine blunder cost him more than $1 million, which even his accountant would agree isn’t a rounding error. Asked at what point in his career he stopped worrying about how much money he earned, he said, “I never worried about money when I was broke and I’m not worried about money now.”

Watson had a classic reaction in the aftermath of blowing the Travelers: “I’m glad that I was there, had the opportunity. You know, I would love to do it again next week, throw up on myself again,” he said last Sunday. “It would be great. I want to have the opportunity and the chance to win.”

At 8 under, Watson likely will have too much ground to make up on Sunday to be in the trophy hunt, but he’s feeling good about the state of his game and looking forward to the British Open in two weeks at Royal St. George’s, where he finished T-30 in 2011.

So, Bubba, what’s the scouting report on the course?

“I don’t remember anything. I tried to find photos of the golf course. Every time you see the photos on the internet, it’s always different than the tournament, right?” he said. “I think when I get there I’ll remember what happened and different things, but yeah, I finished 30th only because I Googled it to see what I finished.”

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Why Phil Mickelson might return to the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2022

A birdie on the 17th hole ensured that Phil Mickelson would stay in Detroit for the weekend, and he might even be back next year.

DETROIT – A birdie on the 17th hole ensured that Phil Mickelson would stay in Detroit for the weekend.

Mickelson, who received strong fan support throughout Friday’s second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, backtracked a bit from Thursday’s statement that he didn’t plan to return to the tournament next year.

Mickelson praised the fans and cited a tweet by Mike Sullivan, the founder of Metro Detroit Golfers, a community group of Michigan golfers, from Thursday.

The tweet:

Mickelson responded on Friday.

“The people here were so nice that I’ll make a deal with them. There’s a guy named Mike Sullivan that’s trying to raise 50,000 signatures,” Mickelson said during his post-round news conference. “If he gets 50,000, and all of those 50,000 agree to do one random act of kindness for another member of the community, I’m in.”

Mickelson reaffirmed his commitment to Rocket Mortgage and its impact on the Detroit community.

“So I was very impressed and appreciative of the way everybody was today,” he said Friday. “I hope that this tournament continues to bring that type of community involvement and bring them together, and if that happens, I’d love to be a part of it because I thought it was really cool.”

Before talking to the media, Mickelson had a rough second round on the course. After Thursday’s hot and humid weather, including a rain delay, Friday was relatively mild, albeit with occasionally strong wings. Mickelson bogeyed the first hole, but came back with birdies on the second and seventh holes. On the back nine, he bogeyed Nos. 12 and 14 before a birdie on the 17th left him even for the day and 3 under through two rounds, right at the cut line.

“The wind made it challenging to get the ball close. I struggled with that but the course is in great shape,” Mickelson said. “The greens were soft, if you hit a good shot you could have a good chance to make birdie, but I struggled kind of gauging the wind.”

Several other players struggled with the wind and missed the cut, including the first two Rocket Mortgage Classic champions, Nate Lashley (who shot a 2-under 142 over two days) and Bryson DeChambeau (1-under 143).

Still, Mickelson is focused on the weekend’s action.

“I am tired of trying to fight to make cuts. I want to get in contention because that’s what’s so much fun, just being in contention and having a chance,” Mickelson said.  “So I’ve got to play a little bit better, but it is important to me that I get two more competitive rounds.

“You never know what could happen. This is a golf course that you could light up if you play well, you get a few putts going, it’s out there. Hopefully, I can make a hot run tomorrow because I would love nothing more than to have a chance on Sunday.”

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Rocket Mortgage Classic Saturday tee times and TV info

Everything you need to know for Saturday’s third round at Detroit Golf Club.

It took flawless golf – literally – to reach the top of the Rocket Mortgage Classic leaderboard at the halfway point of the championship. So far at Detroit Golf Club, neither Joaquin Niemann nor Tom Lewis has made a bogey. They share the 36-hole lead at 10 under.

As Fourth of July weekend gets underway, Lewis and Niemann will try to hold off pursuers like Troy Merritt, Chris Kirk and Max Homa, who all sit just a shot back.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Leaderboard | Photos | Blog

Tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
7:35 a.m. Phil Mickelson
7:40 a.m. Bubba Watson, Sung Kang
7:50 a.m. Bo Van Pelt, Brandt Snedeker
8:00 a.m. Willie Mack III, Beyong Hun An
8:10 a.m. Scott Brown, Cameron Tringale
8:20 a.m. Patrick Reed, Curtis Thompson
8:30 a.m. Josh Teater, Jimmy Walker
8:40 a.m. Scott Stallings, Cameron Percy
8:50 a.m. Chris Baker, Mark Anderson
9:00 a.m. Anirban Lahiri, Michael Gligic
9:15 a.m. Mackenzie Hughes, Matthew NeSmith
9:25 a.m. Joel Dahmen, Patton Kizzire
9:35 a.m. Nick Taylor, Jason Day
9:45 a.m. Alex Noren, Henrik Norlander
9:55 a.m. Nelson Ledesma, Patrick Rodgers
10:05 a.m. Camilo Villegas, Roger Sloan
10:15 a.m. Vincent Whaley, Lucas Glover
10:25 a.m. Kyle Stanley, J.J. Spaun
10:35 a.m. Rickie Fowler, Si Woo Kim
10:45 a.m. Garrick Higgo, Matt Jones
11:00 a.m. Kevin Tway, Keegan Bradley
11:10 a.m. Jonas Blixt, Aaron Baddeley
11:20 a.m. Ryan Brehm, Chesson Hadley
11:30 a.m. Fabian Gomez, Bo Hoag
11:40 a.m. Sebastian Munoz, Lanto Griffin
11:50 a.m. Michael Gellerman, Adam Schenk
12:00 p.m. Kramer Hickok, Doug Ghim
12:10 p.m.m Robert Streb, Jason Kokrak
12:20 p.m. Will Zalatoris, Danny Willett
12:30 p.m. Maverick McNealy, Hank Lebioda
12:45 p.m. Matthew Wolff, Sungjae Im
12:55 p.m. Beau Hossler, Seamus Power
1:05 p.m. Davis Thompson, Tyler Duncan
1:15 p.m. Kevin Kisner, Richy Werenski
1:25 p.m. Cam Davis, Sean O’Hair
1:35 p.m. Russell Knox, Brandon Hagy
1:45 p.m. Max Homa, Pat Perez
1:55 p.m. Troy Merritt, Chris Kirk
2:05 p.m. Joaquin Niemann, Tom Lewis

TV, streaming, radio information

Saturday, July 3

TV

Golf Channel (Watch for free on fuboTV): 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-6 p.m.

STREAMING

PGA Tour Live: 8:15 a.m.-6 p.m.

RADIO

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

Sunday, July 4

TV

Golf Channel (Watch for free on fuboTV): 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-6 p.m.

STREAMING

PGA Tour Live: 8:15 a.m.-6 p.m.

RADIO

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

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Rocket Mortgage Classic: Tom Lewis and Joaquin Niemann are bogey-free and share 36-hole lead

No bogeys through 36 holes have Tom Lewis and Joaquin Niemann at the top of the leaderboard and feeling pretty good about it.

DETROIT – At a muddy, water-logged Detroit Golf Club, Joaquin Niemann and Tom Lewis have been Mr. Clean this week.

As in their cards, through two rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, are spotless. No bogeys through 36 holes have the 22-year-old Chilean and the 30-year-old Englishman at the top of the leaderboard and feeling pretty good about it.

“Right now everything is pretty good,” Niemann said.

And why wouldn’t it be? Niemann, who fired a 65 on Thursday, was in one of the last groups to complete the first round before play was suspended due to darkness. He returned on Friday morning and kept away those pesky bogeys. He opened with seven pars before wedging inside 3 feet for his first birdie of the day at No. 8. He tacked on another at the par-5 14th, after hitting the green in 2 and two putting and took advantage of the par-5 17th for his final circle on the card.

Niemann’s second-round 3-under 69 boosted his 36-hole total to 10-under 134, same as Lewis, and one-stroke better than Troy Merritt, Max Homa and Chris Kirk at the midway point of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Niemann, who entered the week ranked No. 30 in the world, blamed a balky putter for his first missed cut of the season at the Memorial and for middling finishes at the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship. But it’s come alive this week.

“I think that’s the best part of my game right now,” he said.

Indeed, it has. Niemann, who finished T-5 here in 2019, has gained more than five strokes on the green and he’s a perfect 9-for-9 in scrambling.

Lewis, 30, birdied two of his first four holes and canned a 9-foot par putt at the last hole to save par and keep the card spotless for the first 36 holes.

“I was saying to my caddie, John, it would be nice to go up and down and go bogey-free for two rounds. It’s always nice doing that,” Lewis said. “I’m just happy, even if I did miss that putt, to be in the position I am going into the weekend. I’m really pleased with the way I’ve been playing.”

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As he should given that he’s missed the cut in half of his 22 previous starts this season as well as four of his last six tournaments, and his only top-10 finish was at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a two-man team event. Lewis opened with a pair of 67s last week at the Travelers Championship to make the cut but stumbled to 74 on Saturday and tumbled to a T-47 finish.

“I think the toughest round for me is going to be tomorrow. If I can go out and shoot under par, whatever happens, I’ll be really happy with that,” he said.

Lewis and Niemann have plenty of company behind them. Merritt’s 4-under 68 was set up by hitting all 14 fairways on Friday.

“When it’s this soft out here, there’s pretty much one club you hit off of every tee box, don’t even have to think about it,” he said.

But the key has been the return of his putting form, he said.

“When it’s consistently the best part of your game and you struggle with it for more than half of the year, it makes it pretty tough,” Merritt said.

Max Homa can relate, although he only struggled to see putts fall for about 30 holes. But once he broke the seal with a 35-footer at the par-3 15th, he finished with a flurry of four birdies in a row to shoot 7-under 65.

“Joe said it best,” Homa said of caddie Joe Greiner. “When we made the putt on 16, he said, ‘It’s a messed up game we play because we’ve been feeling like the hole’s a thimble and you make one long one and it starts to feel like a bucket.’ ”

Homa’s round tied for the low round of the day with Russell Knox, who hit all 18 greens in regulation and didn’t mind the gusty conditions. Neither did Chris Kirk, who shot 68 and is chasing his first PGA Tour victory since 2015 at a tree-lined course that fits his eye.

“Yeah, it certainly favors the guys that are hitting it out of the middle of the face, that’s for sure,” he said.

Does he count himself among them?

“So far, so far, yeah. It’s been all right,” he said.

Among those who weren’t dialed in this week are Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland and Webb Simpson, who missed the cut. Hideki Matsuyama is another big name who checked out early after testing positive for COVID-19.

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