Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, MI — July 4, 2021
The fireworks started early on the 4th of July as a playoff was needed to settle the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club.
Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann were tied for the 54-hole lead Saturday evening at 14 under par. Both shot a 4 under round of 68 on Sunday to finish at -18.
Cam Davis who was a single stroke back to start the final round had a remarkable finish to his round on Sunday. After a front-nine even-par score of 36, Davis birdied 12, 13, and 14 to put him in contention. A bogey on the par-4 16th seemed to put an end to his ride up the leaderboard. Then the fireworks began.
Davis’s hole out for eagle from the bunker on 17 moved him to within a stroke of the lead. A birdie on 18 placed him in a tie with Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann to force a playoff for the title.
Five Extra Holes
Replaying the par-4 18th in sudden death cost Niemann his shot at the win when he made his first bogey of the tournament as he overshot the green with his approach. One down, two left to settle things. Four more holes and Davis missed a birdie put on the par-3, 15th. It was looking like the ending would be a repeat of last week’s marathon playoff in the Traveler’s Championship.
However, Merrit’s tee shot had landed in the rough, just short of the green. He failed to get up and down to force another hole. Davis had turned an improbable late charge into a victory.

Willie Mack III, playing in his first-ever final round on the PGA Tour after he made the cut, turned his sponsor’s exemption entry to the tournament into a nice $15K payday. He finished in a tie for 71st. Here’s hoping the Flint native gets more opportunities to hone his game at the top level of professional golf.
Highlights
Complete Leaderboard
Position | Golfer | To Par | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
1 | Cameron Davis | -18 | 68* | 68 | 67 | 67 | 270 |
T2 | Troy Merritt | -18 | 67* | 68 | 67 | 68 | 270 |
T2 | Joaquin Niemann | -18 | 65* | 69 | 68 | 68 | 270 |
T4 | Alex Noren | -17 | 70* | 70 | 67 | 64 | 271 |
T4 | Hank Lebioda | -17 | 67* | 70 | 66 | 68 | 271 |
T6 | Bubba Watson | -16 | 68* | 73 | 67 | 64 | 272 |
T6 | Brandon Hagy | -16 | 65 | 71* | 68 | 68 | 272 |
T8 | Mark Anderson | -15 | 70 | 70* | 67 | 66 | 273 |
T8 | Sungjae Im | -15 | 69* | 68 | 69 | 67 | 273 |
T8 | Seamus Power | -15 | 66* | 71 | 69 | 67 | 273 |
T8 | Kevin Kisner | -15 | 67* | 69 | 69 | 68 | 273 |
T12 | Chris Kirk | -14 | 67 | 68* | 70 | 69 | 274 |
T12 | Jason Kokrak | -14 | 69 | 69* | 67 | 69 | 274 |
T14 | Jason Day | -13 | 67 | 73* | 69 | 66 | 275 |
T14 | Cameron Tringale | -13 | 71 | 70* | 68 | 66 | 275 |
T14 | Fabian Gomez | -13 | 67* | 71 | 70 | 67 | 275 |
T14 | Keegan Bradley | -13 | 71 | 68* | 68 | 68 | 275 |
T14 | Mackenzie Hughes | -13 | 71* | 69 | 67 | 68 | 275 |
T14 | Kevin Tway | -13 | 71 | 68* | 67 | 69 | 275 |
T14 | Pat Perez | -13 | 67* | 69 | 69 | 70 | 275 |
T21 | Maverick McNealy | -12 | 68* | 69 | 72 | 67 | 276 |
T21 | Joel Dahmen | -12 | 70 | 70* | 69 | 67 | 276 |
T21 | Roger Sloan | -12 | 65* | 75 | 68 | 68 | 276 |
T21 | Curtis Thompson | -12 | 69* | 72 | 67 | 68 | 276 |
T25 | Patton Kizzire | -11 | 68* | 72 | 73 | 64 | 277 |
T25 | Beau Hossler | -11 | 68* | 69 | 72 | 68 | 277 |
T25 | Max Homa | -11 | 70* | 65 | 74 | 68 | 277 |
T25 | Lanto Griffin | -11 | 68 | 70* | 69 | 70 | 277 |
T25 | Scott Stallings | -11 | 68* | 73 | 66 | 70 | 277 |
T25 | Tom Lewis | -11 | 65 | 69* | 71 | 72 | 277 |
T25 | Richy Werenski | -11 | 68 | 68* | 69 | 72 | 277 |
T32 | Patrick Reed | -10 | 69 | 72* | 70 | 67 | 278 |
T32 | Bo Hoag | -10 | 70 | 68* | 71 | 69 | 278 |
T32 | Doug Ghim | -10 | 70 | 68* | 71 | 69 | 278 |
T32 | Sean O’Hair | -10 | 70* | 66 | 71 | 71 | 278 |
T32 | J.J. Spaun | -10 | 66 | 73* | 68 | 71 | 278 |
T32 | Rickie Fowler | -10 | 70* | 69 | 68 | 71 | 278 |
T38 | Robert Streb | -9 | 67* | 71 | 74 | 67 | 279 |
T38 | Brandt Snedeker | -9 | 70* | 71 | 71 | 67 | 279 |
T38 | Henrik Norlander | -9 | 68 | 72* | 70 | 69 | 279 |
T41 | Lucas Glover | -8 | 68* | 72 | 73 | 67 | 280 |
T41 | Cameron Percy | -8 | 71 | 70* | 71 | 68 | 280 |
T41 | Patrick Rodgers | -8 | 70* | 70 | 72 | 68 | 280 |
T41 | Nelson Ledesma | -8 | 72* | 68 | 71 | 69 | 280 |
T41 | Michael Gellerman | -8 | 70* | 68 | 72 | 70 | 280 |
T41 | Adam Schenk | -8 | 72 | 66* | 72 | 70 | 280 |
T41 | Michael Gligic | -8 | 67 | 73* | 70 | 70 | 280 |
T41 | Garrick Higgo | -8 | 68* | 71 | 70 | 71 | 280 |
T41 | Russell Knox | -8 | 71* | 65 | 72 | 72 | 280 |
T41 | Aaron Baddeley | -8 | 69 | 70* | 69 | 72 | 280 |
T41 | Kyle Stanley | -8 | 70 | 69* | 69 | 72 | 280 |
T52 | Scott Brown | -7 | 70 | 71* | 74 | 66 | 281 |
T52 | Anirban Lahiri | -7 | 71 | 69* | 73 | 68 | 281 |
T52 | Chesson Hadley | -7 | 69* | 70 | 72 | 70 | 281 |
T52 | Tyler Duncan | -7 | 70 | 67* | 73 | 71 | 281 |
T52 | Matt Jones | -7 | 70 | 69* | 71 | 71 | 281 |
T52 | Nick Taylor | -7 | 72 | 68* | 70 | 71 | 281 |
T58 | Jonas Blixt | -6 | 68 | 71* | 72 | 71 | 282 |
T58 | Kramer Hickok | -6 | 69 | 69* | 72 | 72 | 282 |
T58 | Matthew Wolff | -6 | 67* | 70 | 73 | 72 | 282 |
T58 | Josh Teater | -6 | 70* | 71 | 69 | 72 | 282 |
T58 | Vincent Whaley | -6 | 71 | 68* | 70 | 73 | 282 |
T58 | Matthew NeSmith | -6 | 71* | 69 | 69 | 73 | 282 |
T58 | Davis Thompson | -6 | 63* | 73 | 72 | 74 | 282 |
T58 | Si Woo Kim | -6 | 67 | 72* | 69 | 74 | 282 |
T58 | Chris Baker | -6 | 70* | 70 | 68 | 74 | 282 |
T67 | Camilo Villegas | -5 | 70 | 70* | 72 | 71 | 283 |
T67 | Ryan Brehm | -5 | 71* | 67 | 73 | 72 | 283 |
T67 | Danny Willett | -5 | 68* | 70 | 71 | 74 | 283 |
T67 | Sebastian Munoz | -5 | 69* | 69 | 69 | 76 | 283 |
T71 | Jimmy Walker | -4 | 69 | 72* | 73 | 70 | 284 |
T71 | Willie Mack III | -4 | 68* | 73 | 72 | 71 | 284 |
T71 | Bo Van Pelt | -4 | 68* | 73 | 71 | 72 | 284 |
T74 | Sung Kang | -3 | 69 | 72* | 74 | 70 | 285 |
T74 | Phil Mickelson | -3 | 69* | 72 | 72 | 72 | 285 |
76 | Byeong Hun An | -2 | 71 | 70* | 69 | 76 | 286 |
77 | Will Zalatoris | E | 70 | 68* | 74 | 76 | 288 |
*Indicates started round on the back 9