Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joining us today here on Detroit's wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
We've got Bill Emerson, president of Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage Classic,
back in town the PGA Tour.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And welcome to Detroit's wheels.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
First off, Bill here, thank you. And by the way,
it is now the Rocket Classic. We've dropped the Mortgage
so we did a whole rebrand and we're everything's Rocket
now and so it's the Rocket Classic.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
All right? What year is this for?
Speaker 4 (00:25):
The is seven? This is se wow.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, and that takes place starting starts tomorrow, Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Starts start.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
So it's the June twenty sixth of the twenty ninth.
Pro Am Day is the twenty fifth. We got a
community Day of the twenty fifth, so there's a clinic
for kids, and then we get into the tournament and
get ready to roll.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
This thing really does have a lot of roots for
the community, doesn't it. It really brings some things to
the table. Can you tell us some of the stuff.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Yeah, so listen.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
First of all, it's in Detroit for Detroit. This is
the Community's Classic. We you know, we have both today's
free we have tomorrow we have a bow tie Day
where we're celebrating Nick Gilbert Dan's son and raising awareness
around neurofiber mitosis. Friday's Folds of Honor Day, so we're
(01:18):
recognizing military and first responders. But at the end of
the day, this tournament is about raising money and giving
back to the community. And so this year we'll cross
over ten million dollars raised from the tournament. Six of
that has gone back to changing the course and bridging
the digital divide, which became a thing that we learned
about in twenty twenty. So because of COVID, it became
(01:40):
clear that Detroiters had thirty percent of Detroiters actually had
access to the Internet or a device to be able
to do daily things that I think a lot of
people take for granted. We knew we had to get
involved and help fix that, and so that a lot
of that money has gone towards that, and now we're
you know, north to seventy five percent of Detroit is connected,
and if you're not connected at your home, there's twenty
(02:02):
seven hubs community hubs around town now where you're about
a ten minute walk, so you can actually go do
basic things with the Internet that most folks just take
for granted.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
So all that comes from the money that's raised during
the event.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Absolutely, that's great.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Absolutely, So it happens at the Detroit Golf Club. It
wasn't always there though, right, always, it's always been there.
We got involved in the PGA Tour in DC back
in twenty fourteen. It was a Tiger Woods event because
there wasn't there was no event in Detroit. And so
as a result of that, Dan said to himself, we
need to get something in Detroit, and we if it's
(02:38):
going to be in Detroit, it has to be in
the city. Right, There's only one other event in the
PGA Tour that's in an urban core, and so this
one had to be in Detroit. And the place to
do it in Detroit is the Detroit Golf Club. You're
a phenomenal club. It's a great track, right, It's an
unbelievable facility. So it has always been in Detroit, and
(02:59):
people can, you know, especially you know, fans of the
game but maybe don't play like myself, can get out
there and see this beautiful facility and see the golfers
and just get up close with an event like this
that you mostly watch on television.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah, no, think about it.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
I mean, sixty five dollars gets you on the grounds,
and there's unbelievable places to watch golf. That's you'd pay
twice three times that to sit on the front row
of a basketball game.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Yeah, but you're literally on.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
The front row right being able to check out the
greatest golfers in the world. We've got twelve of the
top fifty, We've got ten major winners, we got sixty
seven people that have won tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
This is a heck of a field.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
And you know, if you're out there listening and you
haven't bought a ticket Rocketclassic dot Com, go and buy,
I want to come on down and have some fun.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
So we touched on television.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It looks like this year has really got more TV
coverage than maybe ever before.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Could that be?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Well, I mean we're you know, we're I think we're
the same TV because you got the golf channels on
Thursday Friday and then you got CBS on Saturday Sunday.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
So I don't know if it's more, but it's huge.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And the interesting thing about the TV piece Sunday has
become one of the most watched things on the PGA
Tour at the Rocket Classic, because our tournament usually comes
down to the wire on Sunday and people tune in
to watch, so it really showcases Detroit and that was
part of the reason that Dan wanted it in Detroit.
So every year we had the opportunity to showcase this
(04:36):
great city.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So what about this weather situation we're looking at now
for the next few days. You're probably up to your
eyeballs in logistics right as to how to scramble all this.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
But you know, it's not our first day.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Three years ago we had some serious weather issues and
some major trees go down. I mean, you know, listen,
it wouldn't be the Rocket Classic if there wasn't a
little bit of rain.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
But I actually think it'll be okay, we'll be we're moving.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
This to August.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
It's not real.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
That's that's more up to the Vega Tour and where
we fall on that spectrum. We're definitely not on fourth
of July week this year, which is better for us.
But I think we'll find out next year because I
think we'll be moving back a little bit in the
in the schedule and so we'll get a different view
of how the weather works.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
But it is where it is. We can't control it.
All we can do is respond and have some fun.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah, that's how you live in Michigan, right, absolutely, And
I think everybody knows how to handle the weather here.
So for the most part, I've always thought of this
as kind of like.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
A future stars.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
You know, the younger golfers come in, they make a
name for themselves, they win a tournament that they normally
don't get a chance to win. But now it's kind
of growing, right, who's going to be on out there?
And who are some of the names.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Well, so we got we got our past champions coming back, right.
We've got Cam Davis's a two time champ. We got
Ricky Fowler, who who olds twenty three. H Nate Lashley
was the story of the year in twenty nineteen when
he won the event. Colin Morikawa is here. We've got
Hadeki Matsuyama. We've got Patrick Cantley, and we've got Kegan Bradley,
(06:15):
who's the he's a captain of the Ryder Cup team.
So ten guys have won majors, sixty seven like I
said that have won a tournament. We got twelve of
the top fifty and these are real names in golf.
And yeah, and we still have some youth. We have
some guys coming in. We like to give the young
guys an opportunity to get there. I think he's bread
their wings. And you know, Cam Davis has won two
(06:35):
times on the tour because he's come to this event.
And so anytime you can put a victory in the
put one in the win column as a player, you
want to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
So tell me about your rocket team and who's all
behind you in putting this thing together each and every year.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Who are some of the standout names?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
You know, it takes a village, I mean, so we
got to thank our CEO, ver In Krishna. He's gonna
be doing a bunch of me this week. It's it's
volunteers from all over the place. Jonathan Milden Halls are
our new CMO. We did a rebrand this year. We
did the Super Bowl commercial Own the Dream, which actually
just won an award in con UH got the Gold
Medal for Creativity and con So we got some phenomenal people.
(07:17):
But it really it's it's not even so much those folks.
It's everyday volunteers just from from the company and from
the community who come out and they lend their their
time to make this thing happen, and we greatly, greatly
appreciate that. And the other shout out I'd like to
give is to the Detroit Golf Club because you know,
it's their golf course and so every year we have
this event, and every year they're incredibly hospitable because they're
(07:39):
giving up a little bit of you know, time a
result of having it out there.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
But they to think that this is their biggest event.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
It's it's definitely it's a win win, I think, yeah,
for sure. But but you know, it would be remissing
me not to acknowledge the club.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
It is great that it's in Detroit. You know, it
has to be.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
It has to be the only the only way we
can do it well. And and that's Dan.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You know, he's really made He's made that part of
his mantra.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Yeah, it's that's actually it's it's it's even beyond that.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
It's it's down to the it's the fiber of who
he is.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I thought I read that there were going to be
celebrities out there too, so who are Jake Bates is
one of my favorites from the Lions, and I thought
I read that he might be out there, you.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Know, I mean there's you never know who might show on.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Oh is that right?
Speaker 4 (08:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
So are they part of the uh did they get
to play golf or are they just coming out to
hang out?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Some just come out to hang out some of them
some of them have come out years past to play
in the pro am. I mean the first year we
had the event, I played in the pro am with
Ricky Fowler and Kid Rock.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
I mean, so you just never know who's going to
show up.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
The kid, he likes to get his outfit on and
get out there and sling a few.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
He likes to play man. He's he's a golfer. He
plays a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
So how do people get tickets? Where do they go?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Rocketclassic dot Com. It's very simple, just go there. The
tickets are available, Like I said, sixty five dollars to
get you on the grounds. We've got access to some
other house bpittality if you're interested in a little bit
more than just being on the grounds.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
But that's where you.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Go and geograph sessions.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
You know, there's always that that opportunity, there's always that opportunity.
But here's the thing, this is an event for where
six Like I said, sixty five bucks gets you close.
But you know what, big majority of the money that
we raise are from ticket sales, and so you not
only do you get to see a world class event,
but you actually get to help the community. And I
don't know, I don't know how you find a better
event than that.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, No, it really is fantastic. It's great that it's
here every year, and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
I think personally, I'm not a golfer, but I could
see it from Afar and I watch it on TV
because I'm interested in what's going on in Detroit obviously,
and an event like this kind of like the Grand
Prix or something else. But you guys have done just
(09:50):
a first class event here year after year, and it's
growing now to be just a real diamond, a real jewel.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Of the city at Detroit.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
So well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I appreciate congratulations on that bill, Thanks for being here.
Mite Emerson from Rocket and Rocket No more Mortgage, just.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Rock A classic, Rock, a classic, All.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Right, I got that right this time, guys, and get
on out there, get some tickets and enjoy the incredible
golf that's going to be happening here in Detroit. You know,
when you think of the motor City, you don't think
about golf right off the top of your your head.
But this is a great event for the city, so
once again, congratulations, Thanks a lot appreciable thanks for joining
(10:33):
us here on Detroit's wheels.
Joining us today here on Detroit's wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
We've got Bill Emerson, president of Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage Classic,
back in town the PGA Tour.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
And welcome to Detroit's wheels.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
First off, Bill here, thank you. And by the way,
it is now the Rocket Classic. We've dropped the Mortgage
so we did a whole rebrand and we're everything's Rocket
now and so it's the Rocket Classic.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
All right? What year is this for?
Speaker 4 (00:25):
The is seven? This is se wow.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, and that takes place starting starts tomorrow, Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Starts start.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
So it's the June twenty sixth of the twenty ninth.
Pro Am Day is the twenty fifth. We got a
community Day of the twenty fifth, so there's a clinic
for kids, and then we get into the tournament and
get ready to roll.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
This thing really does have a lot of roots for
the community, doesn't it. It really brings some things to
the table. Can you tell us some of the stuff.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Yeah, so listen.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
First of all, it's in Detroit for Detroit. This is
the Community's Classic. We you know, we have both today's
free we have tomorrow we have a bow tie Day
where we're celebrating Nick Gilbert Dan's son and raising awareness
around neurofiber mitosis. Friday's Folds of Honor Day, so we're
(01:18):
recognizing military and first responders. But at the end of
the day, this tournament is about raising money and giving
back to the community. And so this year we'll cross
over ten million dollars raised from the tournament. Six of
that has gone back to changing the course and bridging
the digital divide, which became a thing that we learned
about in twenty twenty. So because of COVID, it became
(01:40):
clear that Detroiters had thirty percent of Detroiters actually had
access to the Internet or a device to be able
to do daily things that I think a lot of
people take for granted. We knew we had to get
involved and help fix that, and so that a lot
of that money has gone towards that, and now we're
you know, north to seventy five percent of Detroit is connected,
and if you're not connected at your home, there's twenty
(02:02):
seven hubs community hubs around town now where you're about
a ten minute walk, so you can actually go do
basic things with the Internet that most folks just take
for granted.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
So all that comes from the money that's raised during
the event.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Absolutely, that's great.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Absolutely, So it happens at the Detroit Golf Club. It
wasn't always there though, right, always, it's always been there.
We got involved in the PGA Tour in DC back
in twenty fourteen. It was a Tiger Woods event because
there wasn't there was no event in Detroit. And so
as a result of that, Dan said to himself, we
need to get something in Detroit, and we if it's
(02:38):
going to be in Detroit, it has to be in
the city. Right, There's only one other event in the
PGA Tour that's in an urban core, and so this
one had to be in Detroit. And the place to
do it in Detroit is the Detroit Golf Club. You're
a phenomenal club. It's a great track, right, It's an
unbelievable facility. So it has always been in Detroit, and
(02:59):
people can, you know, especially you know, fans of the
game but maybe don't play like myself, can get out
there and see this beautiful facility and see the golfers
and just get up close with an event like this
that you mostly watch on television.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah, no, think about it.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
I mean, sixty five dollars gets you on the grounds,
and there's unbelievable places to watch golf. That's you'd pay
twice three times that to sit on the front row
of a basketball game.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Yeah, but you're literally on.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
The front row right being able to check out the
greatest golfers in the world. We've got twelve of the
top fifty, We've got ten major winners, we got sixty
seven people that have won tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
This is a heck of a field.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
And you know, if you're out there listening and you
haven't bought a ticket Rocketclassic dot Com, go and buy,
I want to come on down and have some fun.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
So we touched on television.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It looks like this year has really got more TV
coverage than maybe ever before.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Could that be?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Well, I mean we're you know, we're I think we're
the same TV because you got the golf channels on
Thursday Friday and then you got CBS on Saturday Sunday.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
So I don't know if it's more, but it's huge.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And the interesting thing about the TV piece Sunday has
become one of the most watched things on the PGA
Tour at the Rocket Classic, because our tournament usually comes
down to the wire on Sunday and people tune in
to watch, so it really showcases Detroit and that was
part of the reason that Dan wanted it in Detroit.
So every year we had the opportunity to showcase this
(04:36):
great city.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So what about this weather situation we're looking at now
for the next few days. You're probably up to your
eyeballs in logistics right as to how to scramble all this.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
But you know, it's not our first day.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Three years ago we had some serious weather issues and
some major trees go down. I mean, you know, listen,
it wouldn't be the Rocket Classic if there wasn't a
little bit of rain.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
But I actually think it'll be okay, we'll be we're moving.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
This to August.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
It's not real.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
That's that's more up to the Vega Tour and where
we fall on that spectrum. We're definitely not on fourth
of July week this year, which is better for us.
But I think we'll find out next year because I
think we'll be moving back a little bit in the
in the schedule and so we'll get a different view
of how the weather works.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
But it is where it is. We can't control it.
All we can do is respond and have some fun.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah, that's how you live in Michigan, right, absolutely, And
I think everybody knows how to handle the weather here.
So for the most part, I've always thought of this
as kind of like.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
A future stars.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
You know, the younger golfers come in, they make a
name for themselves, they win a tournament that they normally
don't get a chance to win. But now it's kind
of growing, right, who's going to be on out there?
And who are some of the names.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Well, so we got we got our past champions coming back, right.
We've got Cam Davis's a two time champ. We got
Ricky Fowler, who who olds twenty three. H Nate Lashley
was the story of the year in twenty nineteen when
he won the event. Colin Morikawa is here. We've got
Hadeki Matsuyama. We've got Patrick Cantley, and we've got Kegan Bradley,
(06:15):
who's the he's a captain of the Ryder Cup team.
So ten guys have won majors, sixty seven like I
said that have won a tournament. We got twelve of
the top fifty and these are real names in golf.
And yeah, and we still have some youth. We have
some guys coming in. We like to give the young
guys an opportunity to get there. I think he's bread
their wings. And you know, Cam Davis has won two
(06:35):
times on the tour because he's come to this event.
And so anytime you can put a victory in the
put one in the win column as a player, you
want to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
So tell me about your rocket team and who's all
behind you in putting this thing together each and every year.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Who are some of the standout names?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
You know, it takes a village, I mean, so we
got to thank our CEO, ver In Krishna. He's gonna
be doing a bunch of me this week. It's it's
volunteers from all over the place. Jonathan Milden Halls are
our new CMO. We did a rebrand this year. We
did the Super Bowl commercial Own the Dream, which actually
just won an award in con UH got the Gold
Medal for Creativity and con So we got some phenomenal people.
(07:17):
But it really it's it's not even so much those folks.
It's everyday volunteers just from from the company and from
the community who come out and they lend their their
time to make this thing happen, and we greatly, greatly
appreciate that. And the other shout out I'd like to
give is to the Detroit Golf Club because you know,
it's their golf course and so every year we have
this event, and every year they're incredibly hospitable because they're
(07:39):
giving up a little bit of you know, time a
result of having it out there.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
But they to think that this is their biggest event.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
It's it's definitely it's a win win, I think, yeah,
for sure. But but you know, it would be remissing
me not to acknowledge the club.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
It is great that it's in Detroit. You know, it
has to be.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
It has to be the only the only way we
can do it well. And and that's Dan.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You know, he's really made He's made that part of
his mantra.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Yeah, it's that's actually it's it's it's even beyond that.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
It's it's down to the it's the fiber of who
he is.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I thought I read that there were going to be
celebrities out there too, so who are Jake Bates is
one of my favorites from the Lions, and I thought
I read that he might be out there, you.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Know, I mean there's you never know who might show on.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Oh is that right?
Speaker 4 (08:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
So are they part of the uh did they get
to play golf or are they just coming out to
hang out?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Some just come out to hang out some of them
some of them have come out years past to play
in the pro am. I mean the first year we
had the event, I played in the pro am with
Ricky Fowler and Kid Rock.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
I mean, so you just never know who's going to
show up.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
The kid, he likes to get his outfit on and
get out there and sling a few.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
He likes to play man. He's he's a golfer. He
plays a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
So how do people get tickets? Where do they go?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Rocketclassic dot Com. It's very simple, just go there. The
tickets are available, Like I said, sixty five dollars to
get you on the grounds. We've got access to some
other house bpittality if you're interested in a little bit
more than just being on the grounds.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
But that's where you.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Go and geograph sessions.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
You know, there's always that that opportunity, there's always that opportunity.
But here's the thing, this is an event for where
six Like I said, sixty five bucks gets you close.
But you know what, big majority of the money that
we raise are from ticket sales, and so you not
only do you get to see a world class event,
but you actually get to help the community. And I
don't know, I don't know how you find a better
event than that.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, No, it really is fantastic. It's great that it's
here every year, and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
I think personally, I'm not a golfer, but I could
see it from Afar and I watch it on TV
because I'm interested in what's going on in Detroit obviously,
and an event like this kind of like the Grand
Prix or something else. But you guys have done just
(09:50):
a first class event here year after year, and it's
growing now to be just a real diamond, a real jewel.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Of the city at Detroit.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
So well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I appreciate congratulations on that bill, Thanks for being here.
Mite Emerson from Rocket and Rocket No more Mortgage, just.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Rock A classic, Rock, a classic, All.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Right, I got that right this time, guys, and get
on out there, get some tickets and enjoy the incredible
golf that's going to be happening here in Detroit. You know,
when you think of the motor City, you don't think
about golf right off the top of your your head.
But this is a great event for the city, so
once again, congratulations, Thanks a lot appreciable thanks for joining
(10:33):
us here on Detroit's wheels.
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