Rocket Classic notes: Will Gordon won't hold the trophy, but he felt the love at DGC

DETROIT — Making the cut on the PGA Tour means more to some than others.

It meant the world to Will Gordon, who at the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club this week was on the last start before his medical exemption was set to run out. He needed a made cut to keep some status on the PGA Tour this season.

Gordon finished his first two rounds at 6 under, and then had a gut-wrenching, several-hour wait to see if that would be good enough to play the weekend. Late Friday, he learned it was just enough, when the cut line dropped from 7 under to 6 under, thanks, in large part, to a three-putt by Michael Kim on his last hole.

Kim's late bogey helped open the door for an additional 20-plus players to make the cut, Gordon included.

"I was pretty much a wreck for most of the evening yesterday," Gordon said Saturday. "Just a lot of buildup to deal with. Once I left yesterday, (I) didn't look at my phone.

"It was a pretty wild several hours, so I'm just super thankful it all worked out.

"To get a big reward for it was a huge bonus."

Gordon, 28, from North Carolina, shot a pair of 3-under 69s in the first two rounds. He made birdie on his last two holes in the second round, to get to 6 under.

He added a third 69 on Saturday to put himself in position for a great finish with a low round Sunday.

Gordon's story made the rounds in Detroit on Friday and Saturday, and he heard it from the fans.

"I was walking around today and the amount of people just encouraging me, and the volunteers, I had a whole bunch of volunteers and fans just telling me, 'Good job,' that they were pulling for me," Gordon said. "It means a lot to me that people care and that people are excited for my career to keep going.

"It meant a lot."

This week, the PGA Tour kept the top 65 and ties around for the weekend. With the cut line moving, 86 got to stick around to play the final two days.

That included Canton's James Piot, an LIV Golf and Michigan State alum who made his first cut on the PGA Tour in his seventh tournament and first since 2021, the year he won the U.S. Amateur. Team USA Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Patrick Cantlay were also among those who made the weekend at 6 under.

Gordon had missed eight of his last nine cuts coming into the week, sandwiched around a tie for fifth at the Byron Nelson in May. A ninth missed cut in 10 events would've been devastating.

"A bunch of guys, just caddies and everybody, it was just really special for me just to feel supported out here," Gordon said. "We're a community out here. Everybody's trying to, you know, make the most of their opportunities and focus on themselves, and to get that kind of support out here is pretty rare. So it was a pretty special morning. Even a bunch of fans out here today were just hollering at me. You don't get those moments too often, so it was really special."

Order up

PGA Tour pro Nico Echavarria played in Wednesday's pro-am alongside Mark Hollis, the former Michigan State athletic director who's currently an executive for Rocket Companies' entertainment wing.

Hollis, as he does with all pros, asked Echavarria what the Rocket Classic could do better to make the experience best for the players and their teams, and Echavarria didn't have an answer. The Rocket has built a reputation for treating players, significant others and caddies very well.

But Hollis pushed, so Echavarria suggested that maybe more coffee options for the wives and girlfriends would be nice.

So, rather than wait until 2026, Hollis made some calls and, by Thursday morning in the clubhouse at Detroit Golf Club, there was a full coffee bar set up, with a barista.

Hollis has taken to calling it: Nico's Cafe.

Golf giveaways

Piot was running out of gear on the practice green Saturday.

Piot has been a popular follow at this week's Rocket, as he made the cut for the first time on the PGA Tour, in front of lots of family and friends ― and a whole lot of new friends.

He was on the practice green late in the day Saturday, after shooting a par 72 that left him at 6 under heading into Sunday's final round. And he was out of gloves and balls to give away to the kids.

"Dude, they ask you for everything at these events, the kids," said Piot, who had to keep his caddie from giving his last two balls away, so he could keep working on his putting. "And I love it, man.

"If I was a kid, I'd do the same thing."

Sweet return

Piot's caddie this week is longtime PGA Tour looper Ray Enzenbacher, who took a several-year break from full-time caddying to open up an ice cream shop in Florida.

So, what's the most underrated flavor? Enzenbacher smiled.

"Sea salt caramel," he said.

Enzenbacher sweated the cut Friday, too. He showered and took a nap after Friday's round, certain that he and Piot were going home. He woke up to some good news.

Enzenbacher, who caddied for Bloomfield Hills' Grant Haefner in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, will be getting steady work with Piot. The two will work the Asian Tour together for three months, starting later this summer.

No aces

Deep into this year's Rocket, this tournament could make history — and not necessarily in a good way.

More than midway through the third round at DGC on Saturday, there has yet to be a hole-in-one in the 2025 Rocket. That would mark the first time there wasn't at least one hole-in-one in the Rocket Classic.

There have been nine aces in the previous Rockets, including two last year, when Joe Highsmith made on the fifth hole and Nate Lashley, the inaugural Rocket champion, made one on the 11th hole.