MI Sports Chat is All Michigan, All the Time — coverage of everything Michigan sports has to offer, plus some deep thoughts on topics around town. We hope you'll make us your outlet. PGA Golf in Michigan Golf fanatics in Michigan have cherished the midsummer visit from the PGA Tour for years — a chance to see all their favorites up close. Whether it was the Buick Open at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, where Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh dominated the course year after year and fans flocked to Hole 17, transforming it into one of the premier scenes in golf. The prestigious Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills has hosted U.S. Opens over the years. There was a time when TPC Michigan in Dearborn hosted the Senior Tour, with great fan support for the famous names who made the PGA what it is today. And for the past eight years, the Detroit Golf Club — renowned for its history — has hosted the Rocket Classic. The sad news this summer: this will be the last event held there. The next two days are the final chance to see our stars locally — to walk the ropes and experience all the great shots. As an avid fan and weekly hacker, I think it's a shame this opportunity will no longer be an option for the Michigan golfer. A state with this much golf history and this many outstanding courses deserves a summer visit from the PGA Tour and the exciting product we've grown to love and support here. Companies, charities, and the PGA: let's keep "a tradition like no other" going in Michigan! MLB Trade Deadline Our Detroit Tigers are the hot topic of the MLB trade deadline. When you have the most coveted pitcher in the league in Tarik Skubal — the back-to-back Cy Young winner — teams come calling. Detroit sits on the edge of the postseason picture, and Skubal's contract expires at the end of the season. So what to do? Keep him or trade him? Why make the strong stronger and let the Dodgers have him? The Milwaukee Brewers are interested too. So many times our teams here reach the cusp of success, and then it comes time to be a big-time spender — a big-time player in the run for a championship. As owners of two of Detroit's four teams (the Tigers and Red Wings) — and of Little Caesars — the Ilitch family has the opportunity to keep making its mark on this city by signing their most prized player since Miguel Cabrera. Whatever it takes to re-sign Skubal should be done. The fans of Detroit deserve it — and ownership should feel the same!
