Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, MI — June 30, 2019
Every once in a while the underdog has his day. That’s one of the great things about sports, on any given day, anything can happen. In this case, it was any given weekend.
Nate Lashley, who got into the Rocket Mortgage Classic as an alternate, put together three rounds of remarkable golf. Then with everything on the line, he played like a seasoned veteran to close out his first victory on the PGA Tour. Winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club.
Playing Smart
Lashley led the tournament after an Opening Round of 63, maintained the lead with a score of 65 in the 2nd Round. Then broke away from the field with another round of 63 on Saturday. Entering the final round Lashley led by six strokes.
With everyone on the course in front of him failing to make a big move, all he needed to do was play smart golf. Not put himself in bad situations and keep his emotions in check. A round of even par was likely to win the tournament.
Quick Start, Strong Finish
With birdies on the 1st and 3rd holes, Lashley set a positive tone for the day. Bogeys on the 7th and 9th holes returned him to even par on the day, but he kept his cool. After nine holes no one was threatening his lead. Bridies on the 13th and 17th padded the margin of victory back to the six-stroke lead he began the day with.
Doc Redman shot rounds of 68, 67, 67, and 67 to finish 2nd. Rory Sabbatini and Wes Roach tied for 3rd at -18. A group of six golfers that finished tied for 5th at 17 under par included Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Reed.
The Winner’s Share
In addition to cashing a check for a cool $1.314 million, Lashley gets a 2-year exemption on the PGA Tour. He will play in next year’s Masters. Best of all, he won’t need to hang around golf clubs hoping to get into tournaments at the last minute. The victory moved Lashley from 132nd in the FedExCup standings to a ranking of 40th.
Cool Stuff, the underdog comes up big. Fans in Detroit could not be happier with the results.
Position Player Score Winnings R1 R2 R3 R4 Total 1 Nate Lashley -25 $1,314,000 63 67 63 70 263 2 Doc Redman -19 $788,400 68 67 67 67 269 T3 Wes Roach -18 $423,400 67 68 67 68 270 T3 Rory Sabbatini -18 $423,400 65 69 68 68 270 T5 Joaquin Niemann -17 $239,075 68 66 69 68 271 T5 Ted Potter Jr -17 $239,075 68 67 68 68 271 T5 Patrick Reed -17 $239,075 68 68 65 70 271 T5 Brandt Snedeker -17 $239,075 70 69 65 67 271 T5 Brian Stuard -17 $239,075 66 72 65 68 271 T5 C. Tringale -17 $239,075 68 67 65 71 271 T11 J.T. Poston -16 $175,200 70 63 66 73 272 T11 Sepp Straka -16 $175,200 68 67 70 67 272 T13 Byeong Hun An -15 $136,875 68 66 69 70 273 T13 Viktor Hovland -15 $136,875 70 69 70 64 273 T13 H. Matsuyama -15 $136,875 68 67 68 70 273 T13 J.J. Spaun -15 $136,875 66 73 68 66 273 T17 Wyndham Clark -14 $105,850 68 70 68 68 274 T17 Brice Garnett -14 $105,850 69 67 71 67 274 T17 Talor Gooch -14 $105,850 65 72 67 70 274 T17 Billy Horschel -14 $105,850 69 70 71 64 274 T21 J.B. Holmes -13 $68,529 67 68 70 70 275 T21 M. Hughes -13 $68,529 66 70 72 67 275 T21 Sungjae Im -13 $68,529 69 68 66 72 275 T21 Danny Lee -13 $68,529 66 71 69 69 275 T21 Denny McCarthy -13 $68,529 69 68 69 69 275 T21 Roger Sloan -13 $68,529 70 68 69 68 275 T21 Kyle Stanley -13 $68,529 69 69 70 67 275 T21 Jimmy Walker -13 $68,529 68 71 70 66 275 T29 Jonas Blixt -12 $46,416 67 68 72 69 276 T29 Joey Garber -12 $46,416 67 72 68 69 276 T29 Jason Kokrak -12 $46,416 66 71 68 71 276 T29 Peter Malnati -12 $46,416 68 66 68 74 276 T29 Martin Piller -12 $46,416 66 69 71 70 276 T29 Cameron Smith -12 $46,416 70 68 71 67 276 T35 Bronson Burgoon -11 $34,466 66 70 72 69 277 T35 C. Howell III -11 $34,466 65 67 71 74 277 T35 Shawn Stefani -11 $34,466 69 70 68 70 277 T35 Kevin Streelman -11 $34,466 66 70 68 73 277 T35 Nick Taylor -11 $34,466 68 70 69 70 277 T35 Josh Teater -11 $34,466 68 69 73 67 277 T35 Aaron Wise -11 $34,466 69 69 67 72 277 T42 Sam Burns -10 $26,280 70 67 71 70 278 T42 Max Homa -10 $26,280 68 69 71 70 278 T42 Anirban Lahiri -10 $26,280 69 68 72 69 278 T42 Adam Schenk -10 $26,280 65 71 71 71 278 T46 Ryan Armour -9 $18,980 64 69 74 72 279 T46 Cameron Champ -9 $18,980 66 65 75 73 279 T46 Luke Donald -9 $18,980 67 69 72 71 279 T46 Rickie Fowler -9 $18,980 68 68 72 71 279 T46 Dylan Frittelli -9 $18,980 66 70 72 71 279 T46 Kevin Kisner -9 $18,980 66 70 72 71 279 T46 Vaughn Taylor -9 $18,980 70 69 69 71 279 T46 Nick Watney -9 $18,980 64 72 69 74 279 T46 Chase Wright -9 $18,980 65 70 73 71 279 T55 Harris English -8 $16,571 66 68 71 75 280 T55 Carlos Ortiz -8 $16,571 67 70 74 69 280 T55 Seth Reeves -8 $16,571 68 71 71 70 280 T55 Brendan Steele -8 $16,571 68 70 71 71 280 T59 D. Bozzelli -7 $15,914 69 69 75 68 281 T59 Roberto Castro -7 $15,914 70 69 72 70 281 T59 Bud Cauley -7 $15,914 69 69 72 71 281 T59 Colt Knost -7 $15,914 70 68 72 71 281 T59 Andrew Landry -7 $15,914 71 67 70 73 281 T64 A. Albertson -6 $15,184 69 67 76 70 282 T64 Chad Collins -6 $15,184 67 72 70 73 282 T64 Tom Hoge -6 $15,184 67 70 73 72 282 T64 Wes Homan -6 $15,184 71 68 71 72 282 T64 Scott Stallings -6 $15,184 66 72 70 74 282 69 Kyle Jones -5 $14,746 70 69 74 70 283 70 Stewart Cink -4 $14,600 65 73 72 74 284 71 Smylie Kaufman E $14,454 69 70 80 69 288
