{"id":6170,"date":"2026-08-03T07:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T07:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6170"},"modified":"2026-08-03T07:05:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T07:05:55","slug":"stanfords-michael-thorbjornsen-wins-1st-pga-tour-title-by-2-shots-at-the-8th-and-final-rocket-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6170","title":{"rendered":"Stanford&#8217;s Michael Thorbjornsen wins 1st PGA Tour title by 2 shots at the 8th and final Rocket Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>By LARRY LAGE<\/p>\n<p>DETROIT (AP) \u2014 Michael Thorbjornsen pumped his right fist after making a 26-foot putt for birdie on his last hole to shoot 7-under 63 and reach 18 under to win his first PGA Tour title by two shots at the final Rocket Classic on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6168\">SF Giants fall to Padres in final game before Monday\u2019s trade deadline<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerfect pace, perfect read,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The 24-year-old Thorbjornsen sealed his spot in the FedEx Cup playoff after rolling into the Motor City No. 69 in the standings. The top 70 advance to the postseason after next week\u2019s Wyndham Championship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust to be in the playoff for the first time is very exciting, he said. \u201dIt\u2019s great to be playing against the best players in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thorbjornsen started the fourth round three shots behind leader Davis Riley, whose rough start opened opportunities for the field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe start got the best of me and kind of put me behind the eight-ball early unfortunately,\u201d Riley said.<\/p>\n<p>Thorbjornsen took advantage, surging into the lead at No. 14 with his third of four birdies in a six-hole stretch and closing with a clutch, curling putt that went in the right side of the cup.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He\u2019s the eighth first-time winner this season on the PGA Tour and the second straight, following Jackson Koivun\u2019s victory last week at the 3M Open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was such a battle, playing with some great players,\u201d Thorbjornsen said. \u201cEveryone was in the mix after nine holes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Xander Schauffele (65) briefly led during the final round and finished second, two shots behind Thorbjornsen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI played really well and he just beat me straight up, so hats off to him,\u201d Schauffele said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Riley (70) was another stroke behind in third, falling out of the lead with four bogeys.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6166\">Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase makes strong statement on trans athletes in sports: \u2018I\u2019m all about inclusivity\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Rasmus Hojgaard (68) was alone in fourth, four shots back.<\/p>\n<p>Hideki Matsuyama (64), Matt Wallace (67), Kristoffer Ventura (68) were another stroke back, tied for fifth.<\/p>\n<p>Thorbjornsen was born in Cleveland, grew up in Massachusetts and attended Stanford. He won the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur over Akshay Bhatia, who has three PGA Tour wins.<\/p>\n<p>He went straight to the PGA Tour in 2024 as the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University ranking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s one of the best programs in golf,\u201d Thorbjornsen said. \u201cIt\u2019s changed all of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thorbjornsen chipped in from 35 feet for birdie at No. 12 on a day when he accurately aimed for pins that left him with some short birdie putts before his long one on his 72nd hole.<\/p>\n<p>He had a bogey-free round, an accomplishment many other players on the leaderboard were unable to pull off on a day that started with rain and became windy when the clouds cleared.<\/p>\n<p>Riley started with a one-shot lead and quickly lost it \u2014 and couldn\u2019t find his ball in fescue at No. 4 after about a dozen people helped him try \u2014 with three bogeys through six holes.<\/p>\n<p>He rallied with three birdies in a seven-hole stretch before giving back a stroke with a bogey at No. 17, taking away his chance to possibly force the tournament into a playoff.<\/p>\n<p>The eighth and final Rocket Classic drew its strongest field and biggest crowds.<\/p>\n<p>The PGA Tour is moving to a new model for 2028, effectively creating two tours and Rocket Mortgage decided not to exercise its option to host another tournament next year. The Detroit-based company isn\u2019t interested in continuing to spend $15 million a year to be part of the second tier in the new era and didn\u2019t want to double the costs to be part of the elite tier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere have been some conversations about having a tournament here again,\u201d tournament director Mark Hollis said. \u201cMichigan deserves to have professional golf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6164\">SF Giants begin selling by trading Tyler Mahle to Atlanta Braves<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP golf: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/golf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former Stanford Cardinal star is the eighth first-time winner this season on the PGA Tour and the second straight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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