RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesThe Rocket Classic takes center stage on the PGA Tour but this week marks the swan song for the tournament. First played in 2019, this will be the eighth and final playing of the tournament.
It takes place at the historic Detroit Golf Club in downtown, which opened in 1899.
The field is strong for this second-to-last event until the FedEx Cup Playoffs. For all the first-round updates, leaderboard changes, scores, highlights and more on Thursday, keep it right here.
Rocket Classic 2026 live leaderboard
Keep tabs on the 2026 Rocket Classic leaderboard through Thursday's first round.
Rocket Classic 2026 Thursday first-round tee times
See all the tee times and pairings for the first round. Some of the best groups to watch on Thursday include:
12:54 p.m. ET – Cameron Young, J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin (1)
1:05 p.m. ET – Jake Knapp, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth (1)
7:33 a.m. ET – Jackson Koivun, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley (10)
7:44 a.m. ET – Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler (10)
7:55 a.m. ET – Akshay Bhatia, Aldrich Potgieter, Si Woo Kim (10)
Who's playing in the Rocket Classic 2026?
It's somewhat of a who's who for this one , highlighted by four players inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, eight in the top 20, 21 in the top 50 and more than half of the top 100. The defending champion, Aldrich Potgieter, is back. Fan favorites Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, another past champion, are there. Xander Schauffele, like Spieth, is playing the Rocket for the first time. Others include No. 3 Cameron Young, No. 5 Russell Henley, No. 7 Chris Gotterup and No. 9 Wyndham Clark as well as Michael Kim, who shot golf's magic number, 59, at the 3M Open last Friday. A couple of interesting names have backed out since the initial field was announced, including Brooks Koepka , Jason Day and Blades Brown, who is opting to play on the Korn Ferry Tour this week instead.
Blades Brown has made what I think is the smart decision. On Friday when the field was released for the Rocket Blades was third alternate. He would have gotten into the field yesterday. However, he WD and is playing the KFT event in Utah. Despite a 5th place last week on…
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) July 27, 2026 Rocket Classic 2026 TV information, streaming
Golf Channel : 3-6 p.m. ET
ESPN+ : 7 a.m.-6 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 12-6 p.m. ET
Watch Golf Channel for free on Fubo TV
Watch PGA Tour Live on ESPN+
Rocket Classic 2026 betting odds
Cameron Young is the favorite at +1100, with Chris Gotterup not far behind at +1800. The Tour's most recent winner, 21-year-old star Jackson Koivun, has the third-best odds to win at +2000, tied with Xander Schauffele. Defending champion Potgeiter comes in with pre-tournament odds of +8000.
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook. Access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 4:53 p.m. ET.
What's the weather forecast for Detroit for the Rocket Classic 2026?
According to the accuweather forecast , Thursday's first round will be warm with a high of 86 with a 25 percent chance of rain. As the week goes on, the chance of thunderstorms increases with Saturday looking at close to 90 percent of rain with a high temp of only 78.
Hole locations for first round
Here are the pin placements for the opening round of the Rocket Classic:
Hole locations for the first round of the Rocket Classic pic.twitter.com/la3A4JnjGA
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) July 30, 2026 Rocket Classic past champions
The tournament was first played in 2019 and now has seven past champions (* indicates playoff)
2025 Aldrich Potgieter*
2024 Cam Davis
2023 Rickie Fowler*
2022 Tony Finau
2021 Cam Davis*
2020 Bryson DeChambeau
2019 Nate Lashley
Of note: The Rocket is the lone PGA Tour win for Nate Lashley. Both of Cam Davis's PGA Tour wins are at the Rocket. The Rocket is the latest PGA Tour victory for Potgieter, Davis, Fowler and Lashley.
Inside the numbers at the Rocket Classic
330. That is the average driving distance on the PGA Tour this season for defending Rocket Classic champion Aldrich Potgieter, which is on pace to set a new record. Rory McIlroy holds the current mark of 326.3 yards in 2023. Potgieter, 21, led the Tour in 2025 at 325 yards. His average currently is more than 15 yards longer than leader J.B. Holmes just 10 years ago.
Stay with Golfweek all week for live updates from the 2026 Rocket Classic.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2026 Rocket Classic leaderboard, Thursday tee times, live updates from Detroit Golf Club
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