(WXYZ) — Metro Detroit native Joe Hooks will make his PGA TOUR debut this week in Detroit after winning The John Shippen Men's Invitational.
Hooks, 32, grew up in Southfield and Commerce Township and graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy.
Hear from Hooks after the win in the video below
Over the two-day John Shippen tournament, Hooks shot a 68-66, combining for 10-under par, beating the rest of the field by three strokes.
After going to college at Wayne State, Hooks turned professional in 2017 and has won four times on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour (APGA) and has played in the John Shippen four times.
He told Rocket Classic officials he grew up playing at Detroit Golf Club and estimates he's played more than a thousand rounds at the club.
“Unreal. You can’t write it any better,” Hooks said in a statement. “We used to talk about PGA TOUR events maybe coming here when I was younger, so it’s crazy that there is one here now and I get to play in it finally.
“You never know when it’s going to be your time,” Hooks added. “Being born in the city and growing up in the city ... everything about me is rooted in Detroit. To have this moment right now, finally, is surreal.”
Intersport, the sports marketing and media agency, created The John Shippen in 2021 to provide Black men and women golfers an opportunity to play on the LPGA and PGA Tour. It's named after John Shippen, Jr., who was the first Black golf professional in the U.S.
“Golf won’t have more diversity and Black representation unless you keep drawing more from underprivileged communities,” Hooks added said. “I’m talking about it at all levels. There is probably more high-level talent now than ever as far as Black golf goes, and there are still none of us on the PGA TOUR. So, you have to have more kids interested from the communities that are full of Black players. I think that’s going to be how golf will continue to change over the next couple decades. That’s why I take what I do as a professional golfer so seriously.”
In 2023, Chase Johnson won the John Shippen and later made the cut at the Rocket Classic, the first time a Shippen winner had made the cut.
