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DETROIT – The Rocket Classic wrapped up its eighth and final playing at Detroit Golf Club this week, marking the end of the first and only annual PGA Tour stop played within Detroit’s city limits.
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Fans who turned out for the tournament’s closing weekend said they will miss it.
Patrick Linehan of Kalamazoo, 24, whose parents are members of Detroit Golf Club, said he comes to the tournament to share the experience with Metro Detroit’s golf enthusiasts.
“It’s a whole festival,” Linehan said. “I would say 11 out of 10, absolutely devastated that they’re not doing it next year. Gutted, because it’s such a great time.”
His friend, Brooke Harvey of Kalamazoo, 26, said the tournament is an exception to her general disinterest in golf.
“I actually don’t really watch golf but I love going to the PGA,” Harvey said. “I actually do watch golf when I’m here.”
Rocket Companies, the Detroit-based mortgage lender founded by Dan Gilbert, decided last month to end its decade-plus run as title sponsor amid uncertainty over the changing landscape of the tour and its scheduling. This took months of negotiations in which Rocket declined to exercise its option for 2027.
Christian Kraft of Grand Rapids, who was attending for the third time, said the tournament feels like “tradition at this point” and called its conclusion “pretty sad.” He said the drive from the west side of the state was worth it for a rare chance to see pro golfers in action.
“Overall, even if it’s not going to be sticking around, I think this was good for the city to have something like this. Hopefully it’ll come back,” Kraft said.
His friend Nik Krupka, 24, of Ann Arbor, said the tournament’s draw for him has less to do with golf and more with the chance to visit friends downtown.
“It’s less about the course for me, than it is about having a chance to just come downtown, come to Detroit and see my friends,” Krupka said.
Detroit Golf Club members Erin and Evan Woolford of Berkeley said they will not miss the disruption the tournament brings to club operations as it is set up and broken down each year.
“It will be nice when the club isn’t closed for two weeks in the middle of peak summertime, but it’s been a really cool experience today, so I do think we’ll miss it going forward,” said Erin Woolford. “… We knew we wanted to come on the last day of it being here.”
Her two young children, 6-year-old Elice and 2-year-old Emerson, spent the day getting face paint and mini-putting on the course.
Her husband Evan Woolford, 38, called the tournament’s end bittersweet.
“I think it’s great for the city. I think it’s great to have golf in Michigan, but being a member here at the club, it’s hard to give away your membership for all the construction,” he said. “I will miss it for sure: the people, everyone coming down, all the kids getting into the game of golf.”
The tournament’s finale coincided with a $16.1 million renovation of Detroit Golf Club that began after last year’s event.
The PGA Tour said the Detroit market remains a priority and that officials are exploring potential new sponsors and venues. Rocket has not entirely ruled out a future return, though not in 2027.
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This story was originally published August 2, 2026 at 6:35 PM.