Cameron Davis has clinched the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic after a tense final round at the Detroit Golf Club in Michigan with a one-shot victory at 18-under par.
It was a brutal twist on the 72nd hole, however, that gifted the Sydneysider his second PGA Tour title – and his second Rocket Mortgage Classic.
With a playoff looking all but certain, Akshay Bhatia, who was tied for the lead with Davis and who had not recorded a single three-putt tall week, left his first putt four feet short and then lipped out the second. The shock stumble assured Davis a second win in the Motor City.
A visibly emotional Davis was overwhelmed with the victory, attributing his recent transformation to working with a hypnotherapist to help overcome a series of poor results that had plagued him since his T12 finish at the Masters.
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“This is crazy. From where I was a couple of weeks ago to today, I’m a completely different person.” Davis, in tears said.
Since the Masters, Davis’s best finish had been a T38 at the Wells Fargo Championship, with missed cuts at both the PGA Championship and the US Open.
“I started working with a hypnotherapist a few weeks ago to take another angle and try and get myself sorted out, and Grace has done an awesome job.
“I have so many people who have been helping me. I had a lot of support to get me out of the doldrums,” Davis added.
The win is Davis’s first since claiming his maiden PGA Tour title at this same event three years ago, making the moment even more special. For his part, Davis almost let his chance slip on the last. However, a clutch up and down from the left-hand rough ensured he finished at 18 under.
“I don’t wish that ending on anyone, but I did a lot of grind to get out of a hole, and to all of a sudden win… it feels pretty good,” Davis added.
Alongside the $2.5 million top prize, the win also ensures Davis a spot in the season-ending Fedex Cup race and two more years of exemption on the PGA Tour.
West Australian Min Woo Lee was also in contention to challenge for his first win on US soil but fell just short after a bogey on the final hole.
Despite an even-par front nine, Lee rallied with birdies on holes 10, 14, 15, and 17. Unfortunately, a misjudged approach on the 18th overshot the green, and an awkward downhill chip which ran off the green, forced him to settle for a bogey and a four-way tie for second place with Bhatia, Davis Thompson, and Aaron Rai at 17-under.
