Michael Thorbjornsen of Cleveland, Ohio has won the 2026 Rocket Classic in Detroit, Michigan. This is the final Rocket Classic ever as Rocket Companies declined to exercise their option for the 2027 PGA Tour season. It is just ironic that it was a golfer from Ohio who was victorious when there has been a strong rivalry over the years between the states of Ohio and Michigan when it comes to college football.
Thorbjornsen won his first ever PGA Tour title with a score of -18. He defeated fellow American and two-time major champion Xander Schauffele of San Diego, California, by two strokes. Schauffele, who was one of the three golfers we liked the most this week, won the 2024 PGA Championship and 2024 British Open,
There was one more golfer in contention. Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, Mississippi was alone in third place at -15 and three strokes back of Thorbjornsen.
With the win, Thorbjornsen is at 40th in the world. He moved up 28 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings after entering the week at 68th in the world.
This was Thorbjornsen’s first PGA Tour title. He had an opening round score of one-under-par 69, a second round score of six-under-par 64, a third round score of four-under-par 66, and a fourth round score of seven-under-par 63.
Prior to becoming a professional golfer, Thorbjornsen had a distinguished amateur career. He won the 2018 United States Junior Amateur at the Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey. He defeated fellow PGA Tour member Akshay Bhatia of Northridge, California one up.
