PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic to end its run in Detroit after 2026
Tony Paul-The Detroit News
- The Rocket Classic, Detroit’s annual PGA Tour tournament, will end after its 2026 event.
- Rocket Companies has declined to renew its sponsorship for 2027, concluding a 13-year partnership with the PGA Tour.
- Reasons for the departure include schedule changes, sagging attendance, and difficulty attracting top players.
- The PGA Tour has expressed interest in keeping a tournament in the Detroit market and will seek a new sponsor.
DETROIT — Detroit is losing its annual PGA Tour tournament.
The Rocket Classic will be held for the eighth and final time later this summer, The Detroit News has learned and Rocket Companies and the PGA Tour have confirmed. The 2026 tournament will take place July 30-Aug. 2 at Detroit Golf Club, but amid imminent changes to the PGA Tour schedule, sagging attendance and the struggle to draw marquee players in recent years, Rocket has declined to exercise its option for 2027.
The decision severs Rocket founder and Detroit billionaire booster Dan Gilbert’s decade-plus sponsorship of the PGA Tour. Rocket, and previously under the Quicken Loans banner, has been a title sponsor on the PGA Tour for 13 years, including five years outside Washington, D.C., before the Rocket Classic launched in Detroit in 2019.
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Gilbert’s Rocket Companies has spent more than $150 million as a sponsor of the PGA Tour, including more than $100 million as a title sponsor during the Rocket Classic’s run in Detroit.Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
“After nearly 13 years as a PGA Tour title sponsor, including eight years in Detroit, 2026 will mark the final Rocket Classic,” Mark Hollis, Rocket tournament director and a longtime Gilbert right-hand man, said in a statement to The News. “We are incredibly proud of what this tournament has meant to the city, from creating unforgettable moments for fans to raising more than $10 million for local organizations. When we launched the Rocket Classic, our mission was to shine a national spotlight on Detroit. That mission has been accomplished. Our city is celebrated as the model for resilience, innovation and community-driven progress.
“Rocket’s commitment to Detroit is as strong as ever. We look forward to celebrating the final Rocket Classic in 2026 and the lasting impact this tournament has had on the city.”
The PGA Tour, in a statement to The News, thanked Rocket Companies for its 13 years as a title sponsor, while also leaving open the possibility that the PGA Tour will be back in the city or Metro Detroit in the future. It’s unclear how soon that could happen, or if the PGA Tour can find a company and venue to make that happen.
The final 2027 PGA Tour schedule is due out soon, and Rocket Companies, after months of negotiations and internal discussions, officially informed the PGA Tour it was out as a title sponsor within the last few weeks.
Key tournament stakeholders, including the membership at Detroit Golf Club, tournament sponsors and board members of the Rocket Giving Fund, were informed of Rocket’s final decision Monday night.
