DETROIT – The PGA Tour is returning to Detroit this week as many of the best golfers in the world descend on the Detroit Golf Club.
Nate Lashley won the inaugural tournament last year by finishing 25 strokes under par. He ran away from the rest of the field, winning by six strokes.
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Lashley returns this year as part of a loaded field that includes the likes of Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau and many others.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday’s tee times and how to watch the tournament.
How to watch
Thursday: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Friday: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Saturday: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on CBS
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on CBS
Early online stream: Rocket Mortgage Classic featured groups coverage begins on NBC Sports Gold at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, 6:45 a.m. Friday, 8:15 a.m. Saturday and 8:15 a.m. Sunday.
All times Eastern.
Tee times
6:45 a.m.
Tee No. 1: James Hahn, David Hearn, Cameron Davis
Tee No. 10: Chris Kirk, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Maverick McNealy
6:55 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Ben Martin, Zac Blair, Doc Redman
Tee No. 10: Bill Haas, Josh Teater, Adam Schenk
7:05 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Jamie Lovemark, Robby Shelton, Scott Harrington
Tee No. 10: Branden Grace, Brian Gay, Sam Burns
7:15 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Armour, Jimmy Walker
Tee No. 10: Tyler Duncan, Pat Perez, Greg Chalmers
7:25 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Andrew Putnam, Troy Merritt, Jason Dufner
Tee No. 10: Kevin Tway, Michael Kim, Austin Cook
7:35 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Kevin Na, Grayson Murray, Tony Finau
Tee No. 10: Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im, Brandt Snedeker
7:45 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox
Tee No. 10: Webb Simpson, Nate Lashley, Rickie Fowler
7:55 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Scott Stallings, Lucas Glover, Rory Sabbatini
Tee No. 10: Charl Schwartzel, Peter Malnati, Cameron Tringale
8:05 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Tom Hoge, Richy Werenski, Xinjun Zhang
Tee No. 10: Bo Van Pelt, Lucas Bjerregaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
8:15 AM
Tee No. 1: Brian Harman, Bronson Burgoon, Scottie Scheffler
Tee No. 10: Aaron Baddeley, Beau Hossler, Roger Sloan
8:25 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Adam Hadwin, Emiliano Grillo, Bo Hoag
Tee No. 10: Kyle Stanley, Robert Streb, Joseph Bramlett
8:35 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Wes Roach, Michael Gligic, James Nicholas
Tee No. 10: Hank Lebioda, Nelson Ledesma, Will Gordon
8:45 a.m.
Tee No. 1: Dominic Bozzelli, Ben Taylor, Kurt Kitayama
Tee No. 10: Chase Seiffert, Kristoffer Ventura, Chandler Phillips
12 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Chesson Hadley, Ryan Blaum, Henrik Norlander
Tee No. 10: Brian Stuard, Scott Brown, J.J. Spaun
12:10 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Seung-Yul Noh, Ricky Barnes, Tim Wilkinson
Tee No. 10: John Senden, Sam Ryder, Matt Wallace
12:20 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Jonathan Byrd, Wyndham Clark, Harry Higgs
Tee No. 10: Cameron Percy, Seamus Power, Erik van Rooyen
12:30 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Viktor Hovland, Wesley Bryan, Harold Varner III
Tee No. 10: J.T. Poston, Martin Trainer, Si Woo Kim
12:40 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Matthew Wolff, C.T. Pan, Vijay Singh
Tee No. 10: Kevin Chappell, Danny Willett, Steve Stricker
12:50 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Brendon Todd, Bubba Watson, Jason Day
Tee No. 10: Sebastrian Munoz, Kevin Kisner, Aaron Wise
1 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama
Tee No. 10: Ted Potter Jr., Hudon Swafford, Luke Donald
1:10 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Luke List, Patrick Rodgers, Shawn Stefani
Tee No. 10: Matt Every, Roberto Castro, Alex Noren
1:20 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Matt Jones, Michael Thompson, Arjun Atwal
Tee No. 10: Chris Stroud, Fabian Gomez, Mark Hubbard
1:30 p.m.
Tee No. 1: George McNeill, Talor Gooch, Sepp Straka
Tee No. 10: Johnson Wagner, D.J. Trahan, Rafa Cabrera Bello
1:40 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Rob Oppenheim, Kramer Hickok, Doug Ghim
Tee No. 10: Ryan Brehm, Tyler McCumber, Chris Baker
1:50 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Mark Anderson, Vincent Whaley, Peter Kuest
Tee No. 10: Tom Lewis, Michael Gellerman, Sahith Theegala
2 p.m.
Tee No. 1: Peter Uihlein, Brandon Hagy, Zack Sucher
Tee No. 10: Sebastian Cappelen, Rhein Gibson, Donnie Trosper
Course information
Course: While the Detroit Golf Club features two 18-hole courses, the North Course is used for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Par: 72 -- 10 holes are par 4, four holes are par 5 and four holes are par 3.
Distance: The North Course is 7,334 yards in length. The longest hole is No. 4, at 635 yards. The shortest hole is No. 15, at 160 yards. The longest par 4 is No. 6, at 461 yards.
Fans: Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, no fans will be allowed to attend the event this year, and golfers are following a strict itinerary during their stay.
Difficulty: Last year, the tournament was criticized by some due to the minus-5 cut line and the minus-25 winning score. There’s talk the Detroit Golf Club has grown the rough taller this year to try to make it more challenging, but the winning score should still be well under par.
Here’s what the official PGA Tour website says about each hole:
Hole No. 1: Par 4, 397 yards -- Detroit Golf Club’s original starting hole, as designed by Donald Ross in 1916, provides players an opportunity to get off to a fast start. Players that manage to avoid the two bunkers that guard the left-side of the fairway on their tee shots will be left with a wedge into the green. The oak located to the right side of the tee box was bent by Native Americans to mark the trail they used when traveling from Detroit-to-Saginaw. At the base of the oak sits a bronze tablet memorializing this part of Detroit Golf Club’s celebrated history.
Hole No. 2: Par 4, 453 yards -- Accuracy off the tee is critical on the second hole, with out-of-bounds, bunkers and trees lining the fairway. Players will be left with a mid-to-short iron into the green depending on club selection off the tee, with many players opting to not hit driver.
Hole No. 3: Par 4, 393 yards -- The third hole is the only one on the South Course that will be used for tournament play. Players will need to avoid having too much spin on their approach shots into the green, which slopes dramatically from back to front. Any player finding themselves putting from above the hole will need to be careful should they wish to avoid the dreaded three-putt.
Hole No. 4: Par 5, 635 yards -- The longest hole on the course, the par 5 fourth will test big hitters should they attempt to reach this green in two. Players that opt to lay up will need to have an accurate approach shot to this contoured green should they wish to walk away with a birdie.
Hole No. 5: Par 3, 167 yards -- The tee shot on the uphill par 3 fifth plays slightly longer than the yardage to a blind green. Any back pin location has the potential to produce difficult putting conditions with a spine running across the back area of the green.
Hole No. 6: Par 4, 461 yards -- Accuracy off the tee on the sixth is at a premium. To have a clear approach to a two-tiered green, players will need to hit their tee shots down the left-side of the fairway while avoiding the fairway bunker. Any player that makes a birdie here will likely be picking up a stroke on the field.
Hole No. 7: Par 5, 552 yards -- Another tight driving hole. Accuracy off the tee on the seventh is at a premium for players trying to reach this par 5 in two. Players that don’t find the fairway will have to negotiate a challenging layup.
Hole No. 8: Par 4, 372 -- On the shortest par 4 on the course, club selection off the tee will be important as players look to avoid fairway bunkers and out-of-bounds. A two-tiered green also features a significant drop-off on its left-side, posing an interesting challenge.
Hole No. 9: Par 3, 207 yards -- The ninth is a long, beautiful and slightly downhill par 3 that plays about half a club shorter than the yardage. With multiple tee complexes stretching the hole between 175 to 207 yards, players will be faced with a challenging tee shot into a difficult and undulating green closely guarded by out-of-bounds. A birdie here will be a bonus.
Hole No. 10: Par 4, 425 yards -- An opportunity to get off to a quick start on the back nine. A solid tee shot on the dogleg left 10th leaves players with a short iron approach to the green. Birdies should be plentiful.
Hole No. 11: Par 3, 233 yards -- The 11th is the longest par 3 at Detroit Golf Club and features a large tee complex that allows the hole to be played anywhere from 180 to 233 yards long. Players will need to manage a green that looks deceptively simple from the tee, but which has a front bowl as well as several potential challenging hole locations.
Hole No. 12: Par 4, 459 yards -- Par is a great score on the long and difficult par 4 12th. Players managing to find the fairway will be left with a mid-iron into an elevated green which features a false front, causing any approach shot that comes-up short to roll off the green and down a steep slope.
Hole No. 13: Par 4, 393 yards -- The dogleg par 4 13th requires a precise tee shot. Many players will opt for a fairway wood or long iron off the tee to set up a short iron into the elevated green. Spectators should see lots of birdies on this hole.
Hole No. 14: Par 5, 555 yards -- A classic risk-reward par 5. The 14th will see a majority of players approaching it as a two-shot hole with long hitters only having a mid-to-long iron approach shot into this two-tiered green guarded by water in front. Those who elect to lay up on their second will need to control the spin on their shots due to a false front on the left side of the green.
Hole No. 15: Par 3, 160 yards -- A classic Donald Ross designed par 3 that plays longer than the posted yardage. The 15th features large bunkers protecting the front, left and right sides of the green.
Hole No. 16: Par 4, 446 yards -- Players will need to place their tee shots on the 16th short of the fairway bunkers that guard the landing area, leaving them with a mid-iron approach to the green. Many will face challenging birdie putts on what is one of the more underrated putting surfaces at Detroit Golf Club.
Hole No. 17: Par 5, 577 -- Fans can expect to see excitement on the reachable par 5 17th. Players will favor the right side of the fairway off the tee to set themselves up for a clean look at the green. A generous opening into the green will allow many to chase their second shots onto the putting surface. Coming down the stretch on Sunday, an eagle here could decide the tournament.
Hole No. 18: Par 4, 455 yards -- A great par 4 finishing hole. The 18th features a shallow ditch running the entire length that will dictate strategy from tee to green. With a fairway bunker and a large Sycamore tree on the left and bunkers on the right, a tee shot in the fairway will be critical, leaving just a short iron into the green. Once on the green, players will be faced with possibly the most difficult putting surface on the course. A par here very well may be all that is needed to win on Sunday.