Michael Thorbjornsen, 24, earned his first career victory in Detroit.
RAJ MEHTA, GETTY IMAGES
Another week, another maiden victory for the presumptive next wave of PGA Tour superstars.
Michael Thorbjornsen needed a couple of years longer than Jackson Koivun to deliver on his long-held promise, but that didn’t diminish the result of his coming-out victory in the going-away party of the Rocket Classic.
Who Else Won
KORN FERRY TOUR
Derek Hitchner
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Rory Franssen
CHAMPIONS/LEGENDS TOURS
Zach Johnson
Thorbjornsen fired a career-low, bogey-free 7-under 63 in Sunday’s final round at Detroit Golf Club, charging from four shots behind at the start of the day to win by two strokes over Xander Schauffele.
“I don’t know how to feel right now,” Thorbjornsen said. “It was such a battle out there, playing with some great players. Everyone I feel like was in the mix, kind of, after nine holes. Just really happy. I kind of stuck to the process, committed to hitting certain shots, and I’m just very, very happy with how I played.”
Thorbjornsen was lurking among a host of contenders behind the leaders when he made the turn on Sunday, and then he turned up the heat. He stuffed it close for birdie on the par-4 10th and then chipped in from 34 feet on 13 for another birdie after missing his only green in regulation on the day. Suitably revved up after another tap-in birdie on the par-5 14th, he stuck it tight again on the par-3 15th to get to 17-under and alone in the lead.
But with Schauffele playing with him just a shot behind and 54-hole leader Davis Riley and Rasmus Højgaard in the final pairing close enough to catch him, Thorbjornsen buried his longest putt of the week from 26 feet for a rare birdie on 18 and what proved to be more than enough cushion to breathe easily in the clubhouse.
“I didn’t know that was my longest putt, but yeah, thinking back to it, I didn’t really make a lot of putts yesterday,” he said. “We knew we were due, and just perfect pace, perfect read, and just happy to kind of drip that one in.”
The 24-year-old Thorbjornsen has seemingly been on the cusp of stardom since his junior days. He was introduced to the big stage as the Boys’ 14-15 winner at the 2016 Drive, Chip & Putt national championship at Augusta National. Two years later, he won the U.S. Junior Amateur and subsequently made the cut in the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach when he was 17. He threatened to win the 2022 Travelers Championship as an amateur, finishing fourth, four shots behind Schauffele.
His stellar collegiate record at Stanford left him atop the PGA Tour University standings in 2024, earning him direct access to the PGA Tour.
“This is exactly the type of performance that we’ve been waiting for and expecting from him,” said past Masters champion Trevor Immelman on the CBS broadcast. “So much talent. Such a great junior career, college career.”
“You come out here and you need to like, you learn the certain shots that you need to hit, the certain numbers that you need. It doesn’t matter how far you hit it, it matters if you can hit certain numbers and certain shots.”
Michael Thorbjornsen
In his third pro start, he was runner-up at the 2024 John Deere Classic. But winning on the PGA Tour is not as easy as Koivun made it seem in his third pro start at last week’s 3M Open. Thorbjornsen has had to endure his share of near-misses and build himself up steadily over two full seasons on tour, more like the way world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler ascended before notching his breakout victory in 2022.
“I feel like I’ve been out here for a few years now. You just kind of have to block it all out,” he said of the expectations. “Junior golf to amateur golf, amateur golf to professional golf – they’re completely different stages, and it’s going to take some time to kind of get used to playing where you’re playing at.
“You come out here and you need to like, you learn the certain shots that you need to hit, the certain numbers that you need. It doesn’t matter how far you hit it, it matters if you can hit certain numbers and certain shots. And I just started working with [Sean] Foley a month ago, and I feel like we’ve gotten to a really good point in my swing right now, where I feel like I have a lot of control. And that’s kind of something I didn’t really have these first six months, and even kind of my whole life. But it's just great to kind of see all the hard work pay off and all the patience.”
Riley struggled after a quick opening birdie, making bogeys at Nos. 2, 4 and 6 to open the door for the crowd behind him. He fought back until a bogey at 17 ended his chances and he settled for solo third just ahead of Højgaard. Michael Brennan, Højgaard, Schauffele and Chris Kirk all had pieces of the lead at some point Sunday before Thorbjornsen took control.
Scott Michaux
