RMC recap: Highlights from the final round at Detroit Golf Club

The Detroit News

Danny Lee came close to acing the 15th hole on Sunday and recording the second hole-in-one at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Detroit — Here's a look at Sunday's highlights from the fourth and final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club:

Shot of the day

The short, par-3 15th never really turned into the rowdy hole that tournament officials had hoped with all those bordering grandstands (hint: they're corporate grandstands, and corporate folks can be stuffy).

But there were some roars throughout the weekend, one in particularly during Sunday's final round, when Danny Lee almost one-hopped his short iron right into the hole.

The ball actually hit the back of the hole, and bounced back, 6 feet and 1 inch below the cup. As a consolation, Lee did make the birdie en route to a 69 and a tie for 21st.

Nobody aced the 15th this week. The only hole-in-one came from Ollie Schniederjans on the par-3 fifth hole during Friday's second round.

Hole of the day

It's not too often on the PGA Tour that a par 3 is the toughest hole on the course, but the long, par-3 11th at Detroit Golf Club showed its teeth. It played the toughest hole for the week, and the toughest hole during the final round.

Only two players made birdie at the 233-yarder in the final round — Viktor Hovland and Adam Schenk — compared to 10 bogeys.

Only 44 of 71 players hit the green with their tee shot Sunday.

Quote of the day

"I'm just a 21-year-old from Norway and you've got Americans cheering on me. It's still a little crazy for me to think about, but I really appreciate it." — Hovland, who turned professional earlier this month following a stellar collegiate career at Oklahoma State and already has found himself quite the following behind the ropes.

Hovland earned a sponsor's exemption into this week's tournament, which was a no-brainer, given he was the top-ranked amateur golfer when he got the exemption, and he also is from unofficial tournament host Rickie Fowler's alma mater. Hovland earned his keep, firing an 8-under 64 on Sunday and tying for low round of the day.

He finished tied for 13th, at 15 under.

Area 313 update

Whomever Rocket Mortgage Classic officials commissioned to be the insurance company for the Area 313 charity payout is breathing a sigh of relief.

The $313,000 stays put. Nobody came close to posting a 3-1-3 (eagle-ace-birdie) on Nos. 14-16, a par 5, then a par 3, then a par 4. There were five eagles on 14 through the week, no aces on 15, and 16 played among the toughest par 4s on the course.

Had someone done the unthinkable, the payout would've been activated, and the PGA Tour would decide where half of it went, and the player the other half.

CBS analyst Nick Faldo suggested on the air Sunday that the tournament should put in a clause that should a player get two of three legs, he could have the option to "buy" the third and final piece to get the charity money. Can't imagine that plan is going anywhere.

Course statistics

Total eagles: 40

Total birdies: 1,895

Total pars: 5,152

Total bogeys: 980

Total doubles: 65

Total others: 4

Toughest holes, 1 (toughest)-18 (easiest): No. 11, No. 18, No. 6, No. 9, No. 2, No. 12, No. 16, No. 15, No. 8, No. 13, No. 10, No. 5, No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, No. 14, No. 7, No. 17

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984