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When it became clear to the PGA Tour that there was going to be no way around the coronavirus pandemic but to pause its season and cancel some events, Jason Langwell was right in the middle of it all.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic tournament director was visiting the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in March as part of his normal preparation when the tour canceled its premier event after one round.

Langwell came back home and met with Quicken Loans chief executive officer Jay Farner and tournament board members to figure out a path forward as professional golf and the rest of the sports world faced an uncertain future.

“We knew the tour wanted to keep us on the calendar,” Langwell said. “We had a conversation with ourselves about — a very thoughtful conversation — about what’s the right thing to do?”

It came down to two things for Langwell and tournament organizers.

“One: Could we find a way to re-imagine our giving strategy to address issues that existed before COVID that were kind of exacerbated by it,” he said, “and if we could do that and come up with a new giving strategy and a way to impact the outcome in Detroit?

“No. 2 was could we then also make sure we ran an event that was safe for the community and for the players and for the caddies?”

Tournament organizers felt they could meet both challenges. On April 16, the tour announced a June 11 restart at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, and a reshuffled schedule that moved the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club from May 28-31 to July 2-5.

On April 15, Langwell’s team came up with a new giving strategy focused on bridging the digital divide in Detroit by providing access to the Internet, digital technology and digital-literacy training. They also began working with local and state government and other tournaments to come up with a health and safety plan to deal with COVID-19.

“So really those were the two trigger points,” he said. “It wasn’t about television coverage or anything like that. PGA Tour events are giving engines. They’re engines for generating proceeds for the community and if you don’t turn on that engine you can’t find a way to give.

“And so that was No. 1. But a close No. 2 was then how do we do this in a safe way? We figured both of those out and that’s why we’re having the event Fourth of July weekend.”

When the Rocket Mortgage Classic tees off Thursday, it will do so as the first major sports event in Michigan since the coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation or postponement of sports in the United States.

And it will have a unique look and feel to it without fans in attendance.

“It’ll be different,” Langwell said. “It’s been different thus far in talking to players. It’s not having the theater and the stands and the fans surrounding them. It’s taken some getting used to by the players.”

At last year’s inaugural tournament, Detroit Golf Club resembled a rollicking social extravaganza. The course was packed tight with fans enjoying their favorite refreshments, cheering on golfers and following celebrities like Barry Sanders, Kid Rock and Tom Izzo who took part in events such as the pro-am and a charity golf challenge.

None of that will happen this year, but the tournament will do its best to pivot and try to support Detroit in a more meaningful way.

“This year the energy and buzz is not that we’re a great social event, it’s that we’re a great event that’s going to do social good,” Langwell said. “And so the conversation has just changed. And frankly it needed to change, given what’s happened.

“So it’ll be different in terms of the on-site experience, but the energy around the event is focused on how we can change the course together. And TV will help to bring that to light. TV and our social channels will be a means of engagement. And the good news is people are able to access that.”

As a 501(c)(3) organization, the tournament directs its net proceeds to charitable community partners. Last year, proceeds led to more than $1.2 million in charitable disbursements, with more than $1.1 million going to nonprofits based in Detroit. This year, the Area 313 Challenge returns on Holes 14, 15 and 16. Rocket Mortgage will donate $5,000 for every 3 and $25,000 for every 1 made on the holes. Fans can contribute by texting “AREA313” to 243725.

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“And in some respects, while it’s awful what’s happened with COVID,” Langwell said, “we’re blessed to be able to focus on the social-good message instead of just a social-event message because a PGA Tour event is really both.”

No course changes

There won’t be any changes to course, which will play as it did last year as a par 72 at 7,340 yards. Langwell said players were happy with last year’s setup and so was the tournament.

Journeyman Nate Lashley shot 25-under-par and led wire-to-wire on his way to a six-shot victory, his first on the PGA Tour.

“The players loved the routing. We’ve got the same routing,” Langwell said. “The rough will be up, maybe up just a touch. I think when you look really where we ended up in terms of the course, it showed well last year.

“We had only one player get into the 20s (under par) and most PGA Tour events anymore — I mean look at what happened last week at RBC (four players in 20s) and look at what happened the week after last year at 3M (three players in 20s), a handful, a dozen people are getting into the 20s.”

Langwell said the rough won’t be higher in order to make the course harder but because of a weather change. Last year, Detroit had constant rain in May, which affected the height of the rough.

“So the way you prepare the golf course changes based off what happens in the months leading up to it,” he said. “And now that we have a little bit more of a traditional summer season, here we have the ability to bring the rough up just a touch. …

“And the (players’) feedback was have the golf course out there like you did last year, make it firm and fast. So no, it’s not to try and make it modified or make it more difficult.”

That doesn’t mean the course won’t change for next year’s tournament. Langwell wants a second year of ShotLink scoring data before changes, if any, are made.

“We’re not itching to. We may do nothing,” he said. “But you want to see where professionals hit their shots, you want to see where they go and you want to have enough of a data set.

“Last year, we had no wind and perfect conditions. If the wind blows a little bit, if it gets a little rain, we want to have enough of a data set to make sure that if we’re going to decide to put a bunker somewhere at 305 that we’re putting it at the right spot.”

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