Detroit PGA Tour event ‘optimistic’ Tiger Woods will join field

Organizers of the Rocket Mortgage Classic remain optimistic that Tiger Woods will grace their event at the end of June, even though Woods hasn’t made a public announcement yet.

“There’s always a chance; we’re optimistic,” Jason Langwell, the executive director of the tournament, told The Detroit News. “We’d like to think we’re well-positioned.”

The Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit’s first-ever PGA Tour event, is June 27-30 at Detroit Golf Club. It’s the first of new back-to-back events on Tour, followed by the 3M Open in the Twin Cities.

Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, the latter a Quicken Loans sponsor, have committed to the event. Langwell left Tuesday for the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, where he plans to recruit more players. Woods, however, will be a hard get.

After winning the Masters he didn’t play until the PGA Championship, where he missed the cut. He’s playing this week’s Memorial and won’t tee it up again until the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach on June 13. The Rocket Mortgage Classic is two weeks later. The British Open, the final major of the season, is five weeks after the U.S. Open. It is possible Woods could play between the final two majors; he’ll have plenty of options. The Travelers in Cromwell, Conn., is the week after the U.S. Open and always attracts a strong field, although the 3M Open dates (July 4-7) would give Woods a start two weeks before the British. He played two weeks before the Masters and is doing the same this week at the Memorial, two weeks before Pebble.

One reason to go against Woods playing in Detroit, however, was recently pointed out by ESPN’s Bob Harig. It seems unlikely Woods would play an event sponsored by one that left his D.C.-area event, The Quicken Loans National.

Next to zero chance. He is not playing a tournament where the sponsor moved and in process bailed on his event leaving him without one.

— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) May 22, 2019

Woods’ first round of the Memorial begins at 8:26 a.m. ET on Thursday alongside Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau.