DETROIT – Cam Davis defeated Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann in a five-hole playoff to secure his first PGA Tour victory as he became the seventh first-time winner of the season.
Davis won the ninth playoff of the season just one week following Harris English’s win over Kramer Hickok in an eight-hole playoff at the Travelers Championship. The two weeks combined marked the first time with back-to-back playoffs of five holes or more on the PGA Tour.
The last time the Tour had back-to-back playoffs was in 2020 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (won by Justin Thomas) and Sony Open in Hawaii (won by Cameron Smith).
Niemann becomes the first player without a bogey through 72 holes since Andrew Putnam at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Notable Finishes: Jason Day (T-14), Rickie Fowler (T-32), Willie Mack III (T-71), Phil Mickelson (T-74)
Playoff records: Davis (1-0), Merritt (0-1), Niemann (0-2).
Alex Noren (T-4) finished one stroke shy of the playoff and a chance to become the 10th player from Sweden to win on the PGA Tour.
Of Hank Lebioda’s four top-10 finishes on Tour, two have now come in back-to-back weeks (Travelers Championship/T-5, Rocket Mortgage Classic/T-4).
Bubba Watson (T-6) closed with an 8-under (64), his best final-round score since winning the 2018 Travelers Championship with a (63).
This Week: The John Deere Classic (TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois)
Final Leaderboard at the Rocket Mortgage Classic
*Cam Davis 68-68-67-67—270 (-18)
Troy Merritt 67-68-67-68—270 (-18)
Joaquin Niemann 65-69-68-68—270 (-18)
Alex Noren 70-70-67-64—271 (-17)
Hank Lebioda 67-70-66-68—271 (-17)
*defeated Troy Merritt with a par-3 on the fifth playoff hole (No. 15); Joaquin Niemann was eliminated after a bogey on the first playoff hole (No. 18).