Michigan Golfer Wins Top Spot in 2026 Rocket Classic Qualifier!

Detroit ― One of the last men in the field for the 2025 Rocket Classic is one of the first in the field for 2026. Joe Hooks, a Detroiter who earned his way into his hometown PGA Tour tournament last year by winning the John Shippen Invitational, was given an exemption into the 2026 tournament by Rocket Classic officials last week. The official presentation was made last Friday, or 313 Day.

The 2025 Rocket was Hooks' debut on the PGA Tour; the 2026 Rocket is likely to be his second PGA Tour appearance. He got word recently while working out in Florida that he was getting an exemption. "My heart fell to the floor a little bit, you know, like in a good way," Hooks said Friday at Detroit Golf Club, after officially being presented the exemption by Rocket tournament director Mark Hollis and others.

"I just didn't expect that. It wasn't in my mind at all that it was possible yet. "I'm proud to just represent.

" The Shippen was founded in 2021 as a tournament-outside-of-the-tournament, and an avenue to create more opportunities for the top Black professional and amateur golfers. It was no accident the Shippen launched in Detroit, the nation's largest predominantly Black city, at DGC, which has one of the largest Black memberships of any private golf club in the country. The Shippen was a property of Intersport, a Chicago-based marketing and sports event firm that had run the Rocket from its debut in 2019.