Nate Lashley, an American golfer, won the Rocket Classic’s 2019 debut by six strokes, the first PGA Tour event ever held within the city of Detroit, and pocketed $1.3 million for it. Seven editions later, the purse has nearly tripled to $10 million from $7.3 million, and this is the tournament’s last year on the schedule.
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The 2026 Rocket Classic offers a purse of $10 million this year, a $400,000 increase from last year. The winner will take home $1.8 million, a standard 18% cut of the total. The cut was made after 36 holes, eventually Michael Thorbjornsen outclassed the field to win by two storkes. Here’s a breakdown of the payouts for all players who made the cut, by position.
| FINISH | PLAYER | EARNINGS |
| 1 | Michael Thorbjornsen | $1,800,000 |
| 2 | Xander Schauffele | $1,090,000 |
| 3 | Davis Riley | $690,000 |
| 4 | Rasmus Hojgaard | $490,000 |
| T5 | Hideki Matsuyama | $370,000 |
| T5 | Matt Wallace | $370,000 |
| T5 | Kristoffer Ventura | $370,000 |
| T8 | Davis Thompson | $252,500 |
| T8 | Ryan Gerard | $252,500 |
| T8 | Patrick Cantlay | $252,500 |
| T8 | Michael Kim | $252,500 |
| T8 | Chris Kirk | $252,500 |
| T8 | Rickie Fowler | $252,500 |
| T8 | Cameron Young | $252,500 |
| T15 | Sungjae Im | $162,500 |
| T15 | Keegan Bradley | $162,500 |
| T15 | Doug Ghim | $162,500 |
| T15 | Rico Hoey | $162,500 |
| T15 | Michael Brennan | $162,500 |
| T20 | Chandler Blanchet | $109,500 |
| T20 | Corey Conners | $109,500 |
| T20 | Keita Nakajima | $109,500 |
| T20 | Ricky Castillo | $109,500 |
| T20 | Russell Henley | $109,500 |
| T20 | Luke Clanton | $109,500 |
| T26 | Ben Kohles | $74,500 |
| T26 | Jacob Bridgeman | $74,500 |
| T26 | Mac Meissner | $74,500 |
| T26 | Kevin Roy | $74,500 |
| T26 | Stephan Jaeger | $74,500 |
| T31 | Jordan Spieth | $57,214 |
| T31 | Jackson Koivun | $57,214 |
| T31 | Jordan Smith | $57,214 |
| T31 | Brandt Snedeker | $57,214 |
| T31 | Emiliano Grillo | $57,214 |
| T31 | Kevin Yu | $57,214 |
| T31 | David Lipsky | $57,214 |
| T38 | Thorbjørn Olesen | $44,500 |
| T38 | Austin Eckroat | $44,500 |
| T38 | Ben James | $44,500 |
| T38 | Justin Lower | $44,500 |
| T42 | Hank Lebioda | $37,500 |
| T42 | Joe Highsmith | $37,500 |
| T42 | Si Woo Kim | $37,500 |
| T45 | Beau Hossler | $29,780 |
| T45 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | $29,780 |
| T45 | Gordon Sargent | $29,780 |
| T45 | Marco Penge | $29,780 |
| T45 | Adrien Saddier | $29,780 |
| T50 | Ryo Hisatsune | $23,860 |
| T50 | Matt McCarty | $23,860 |
| T50 | Jackson Suber | $23,860 |
| T50 | Matt Kuchar | $23,860 |
| T50 | Zac Blair | $23,860 |
| T50 | Neal Shipley | $23,860 |
| T50 | Max Greyserman | $23,860 |
| T50 | Adam Schenk | $23,860 |
| T50 | J.J. Spaun | $23,860 |
| T50 | Patrick Fishburn | $23,860 |
| 60 | Johnny Keefer | $22,500 |
| T61 | Mark Hubbard | $22,000 |
| T61 | Brian Campbell | $22,000 |
| T61 | Nick Taylor | $22,000 |
| T61 | Nicolai Højgaard | $22,000 |
| T65 | Dylan Wu | $21,300 |
| T65 | Karl Vilips | $21,300 |
| T65 | Zecheng Dou | $21,300 |
| T68 | William Mouw | $20,800 |
| T68 | Peter Malnati | $20,800 |
| 70 | Adam Svensson | $20,500 |
| T71 | Harris English | $20,200 |
| T71 | Tony Finau | $20,200 |
| 73 | Marcelo Rozo | $19,900 |
Beyond the financial benefits, there’s plenty the championship has to offer. The winner will earn 500 FedExCup points and 54 Official World Golf Rankings points, plus a two-year PGA Tour exemption and invites to the 2027 PGA Championship and the Masters.
Interesting history to know about the Rocket Classic
As the tournament marks its final eighth edition, its home course carries a layered history. Detroit Golf Club was founded in 1899 by William R. Farrand and a group of friends who rented 45 acres of farmland and laid out a modest six-hole course. Henry Ford was among the club’s early members. By 1916, the club had expanded into a full 36-hole complex, with both its North and South courses designed by Donald Ross, one of the most prolific architects in golf’s history. The clubhouse came next: designed by Albert Kahn and completed in 1918, it’s the same building that still stands today, ahead of any of the recent renovations.
Before Rocket Classic, Michigan had gone without a PGA Tour stop for approximately a decade. It dated back to Tiger Woods winning the last Buick Open in 2009, before Detroit got an event of its own once again.
Ahead of this year’s tournament, Detroit Golf Club underwent a $16.1 million restoration led by architect Tyler Rae, aimed at recovering Ross’s original layout. Two former par fives, the 7th and 17th, were converted into demanding par fours. Bunkering was deepened, and the pond that once fronted the 14th hole was removed and replaced with native fescue for a more natural, strategic look.
Beyond the fan favorite, the tournament has also left a mark off the course. Since its inception, the Rocket Classic has funneled more than $10 million into Detroit nonprofits, including $6 million toward its Changing the Course initiative, which connects residents with high-speed internet and digital training.
Rocket Companies passed on its 2027 option, and the Tour already has a replacement lined up for next season. The record purse and the $16.1 million restoration, in other words, arrive just as the tournament leaves for good. Michigan went a decade without a PGA Tour stop after Tiger Woods won the last Buick Open in 2009, right up until the Rocket Classic showed up in 2019. Now that gap is about to open again. Tour officials have said they want to get back to metro Detroit, possibly by 2028 when the new Championship Series format begins, but that depends on finding a venue and a sponsor willing to spend at Rocket’s level. For now, Detroit Golf Club’s restored North Course and a $10 million purse are hosting a tournament that has nowhere to go next year.