Publication select ▼
Featured Gallery (Click to view)
DETROIT — As another year concluded at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, both the city and Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo were winners once more.
A part of Matt Kuchar’s team last year that won the AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble, Izzo returned this year on June 27 at Detroit Golf Club looking to earn back-to-back titles, and he didn’t disappoint.
Representing Team Lineage alongside two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, John Shippen Invitational winner Paige Crawford, and corporate partner John Patchoski, Izzo’s team claimed the championship with a 3-under-par showing in the three-hole competition played on holes 14-16.
In a classic Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, former Wolverines basketball legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Webber — with teammates Tony Finau, Chase Johnson and Michael Murphy — were neck and neck with Izzo’s squad throughout the scramble as the groups were paired together.
As Webber’s group trailed Izzo by only a stroke on the final hole, Webber sank a crucial birdie putt to keep the possibility of a tie alive, but a Michigan-Michigan State bout never settles for a tie.
Izzo would drain the ensuing putt and give a Tiger Woods-like fist pump to earn his back-to-back celebrity scramble title.
Maurice Allen, a World Long Drive competitor, has had an ongoing rivalry with Izzo in the event for the past few years and exchanged some friendly banter with Izzo as the two waited for the awards ceremony.
“His game isn’t efficient at all,” Allen said. “He just gets a great team. He can putt. You get him to the green, he’s lights out. Before that, not so much.”
Allen, who is passionately involved in his community in his home state of Florida, has played a vital role at the RMC’s Community Days both with the scramble and the youth clinic, which focuses on growing the game and teaching young golfers.
Allen said the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the city of Detroit have done a significant amount of work to bolster the game and the community as well.
“I think it’s great for the city,” Allen said. “I love the way, how it embraces all the cultures that come with Detroit. No one is excluded here. When you go to a lot of the other events, you see some stuff going on where it’s not really diverse and you don’t see a lot of Black Americans, you don’t see a lot of Hispanics, and you don’t see a lot of kids. It’s cool to see everybody out here. I think Detroit really brings the melting pot together, and it works out beautifully.”
Other notable golfers in the event were Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders and Detroit Red Wings star Dylan Larkin, but one particular celebrity golfer had an energetic showing in his Rocket Mortgage Classic debut this year.
World Wrestling Entertainment superstar The Miz, who’s no stranger to the city of Detroit through his time in the WWE, showed off his personality and impressive golf play throughout the competition. Along with his appearance, The Miz and WWE were able to provide four replica WWE championship belts for the winning team.
The WWE is slated to host its pay-per-view SummerSlam on Aug. 5 at Ford Field, and like the wrestling crowd, The Miz, also known as Michael Mizanin, said the RMC drew a great showing for the celebrity scramble.
“The energy is fantastic,” The Miz said. “The energy is absolutely electric.”
The Miz, an Ohio native, is a Cleveland Browns superfan but wasn’t shy to give praise to the ascending Detroit Lions.
With SummerSlam just a month away, maybe a Detroit Lions player will be in the mix for a celebrity appearance at the action-packed event, especially with all the excitement The Miz said the Lions have surrounding them.
“You’ve been lighting it up, and it’s one of the fun teams to actually watch in football, because you look at what you were seven or eight years ago with no wins, you built the team up with Jared Goff, a person the Los Angeles Rams were willing to get rid of,” The Miz said. “The Lions saw talent, and he displayed his talent last year. Now, I think he’ll be set up and ready to go. I think this team actually has a great coach who motivates, and you can see the players are behind him.”
