Six PGA Tour stars will hit golf balls off a Downtown Detroit rooftop on July 28

On July 28, six of the best golfers in the world will stand on a downtown Detroit rooftop and aim at a patch of grass five stories below. Real golf balls will fly across Woodward Avenue and land on a custom green built in Nick Gilbert Way, the plaza between the two Hudson's Detroit buildings.

The Rocket Classic announced "Par 3 in the D" on June 15, a rooftop shootout set two days before the final Rocket Classic tees off at Detroit Golf Club on July 30. Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young will each get three attempts from the roof of Bedrock's five-story Traver | UBS building at 1217 Woodward Avenue.

The shot plays about 100 to 110 yards with an elevation drop of 50 to 60 feet, landing on a 40-by-40-foot green at the far end of the plaza. The event will support Detroit-focused causes, with players competing for charity. The tournament says details on that front will come in the weeks ahead.

"When we say we're putting six PGA TOUR players on a rooftop in downtown Detroit and asking them to hit shots over Woodward Avenue, the first reaction is usually, 'You're doing what?'" tournament director Mark Hollis said in the announcement.

Nick Gilbert Way, where the green sits, is named for Dan and Jennifer Gilbert's son Nick, who died in 2023 at age 26 after a lifelong battle with neurofibromatosis.

This is the final Rocket Classic. Rocket Companies confirmed it will not continue past 2026, ending a run that debuted at Detroit Golf Club in 2019. Since then, the tournament has raised more than $10 million for local charitable organizations, including $6 million for its "Changing the Course" digital-equity initiative.

The closing field is a strong one. Schauffele, Young and Henley all rank inside the world's top 10. Bradley captained the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup squad, and Fowler and Finau are past Rocket Classic champions. Good Good Golf content creator Brad Dalke is also in the field on a sponsor exemption, making his first PGA Tour start since the 2016 Valero Texas Open.

The main tournament runs July 30 through August 2 at Detroit Golf Club. First-round grounds tickets start at $31.30, a nod to the 313 area code. A Community Day on Wednesday, July 29 offers free admission and parking, with a First Tee youth clinic and the Delta Dental Pro-Am.

Par 3 in the D brings downtown into the action before a single competitive round is played at the club. It is the kind of send-off that fits this city, set against the physical landscape of a rebuilt downtown and worth coming out to see.