The sixth annual Professional Golf Association's Rocket Mortgage Classic will return to Detroit Golf Club on June 27 in Detroit off 7 Mile and Woodward Avenue.
By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Metro | Published June 24, 2024
DETROIT — There’s two major things the Rocket Mortgage Classic consistently falls victim to — other high-profile tournaments surrounding it and a purse that isn’t necessarily a needle-mover for some of the biggest names in the game.
With these two factors in mind, it’s no secret as to why the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which is scheduled to tee off on June 27 at Detroit Golf Club, is set to have its most underwhelming commitment field, on paper, in its six years of existence.
Call it poor timing, but the three tournaments prior to the RMC were top-shelf events that drew the attention of the entirety of the PGA Tour with the Memorial, U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship all preceding the RMC.
That’s three tournaments with a $20 million or more purse, one of which is a major. For the next four tournaments, the PGA Tour enters its summer break for some of its top stars as the Rocket Mortgage Classic ($9.2 million), the John Deere Classic ($8 million), the Genesis Scottish Open ($9 million), and the ISCO Championship ($4 million) round out the next month.
The dollar figures don’t come particularly close to a Memorial or Travelers Championship, but the four tournaments also serve as preparation for The Open Championship, a major, on July 18.
Being in the top 10 of the world rankings and taking part in a Rocket Mortgage Classic or a John Deere Classic is always great for the game and helping it grow in certain areas of the nation where golf isn’t the pinnacle sport. Unfortunately, that type of mindset throws a wrench in the plans of some of golf’s best.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic had zero commitments from any top-10 players for the first time in the tournament's six years of play, but the field does still feature some fun names and storylines to look after.
Leading the commitment field is defending champion and Rocket Mortgage Ambassador Rickie Fowler, who won the RMC tournament in thrilling fashion last year in a playoff hole against Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin.
“I feel like we’ve seen this tournament continue to grow and grow and more fans come out every year,” Fowler said after the conclusion of last year’s tournament. “To feel the support this year, I feel like it helps that I’ve been playing well and have more people in my corner, so it seemed like it just kind of got bigger and bigger every day, especially today. I’m glad the weather cooperated for the most part, and to kind of see the crowds grow over the day, especially come the back nine, yeah, I could definitely feel it. They were pretty much pulling for me.”
Along with Fowler, currently No. 50 in the world golf rankings, are other top-50 ranked golfers such as Tom Kim (No. 16), Cameron Young (No. 23), Akshay Bhatia (No. 29), Chris Kirk (No. 33), Min Woo Lee (No. 36), Stephan Jaeger (No. 41), Will Zalatoris (No. 42), Robert MacIntyre (No. 44), and Nicolai Hojgaard (No. 45).
A slew of major winners will also compete, with Gary Woodland (2019 U.S. Open), Jason Dufner (2013 PGA Championship), Zach Johnson (2007 Masters & 2015 The Open), Stewart Cink (2009 The Open), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open), Francesco Molinari (2018 The Open) and Jimmy Walker (2016 PGA Championship) all committed to the 2024 field.
Other notables are fan-favorite Joel Dahmen; four-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Kisner; nine-time PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar; Taylor Pendrith, who’s currently ranked no. 52 in the world; nine-time PGA Tour winner Brandt Snedeker; and five-time PGA Tour winner Camilo Villegas.
Michigan will also have local golfers taking part with Traverse City’s Ryan Brehm and Grosse Pointe Woods’ Kyle Martin, who is competing in the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the second time after winning the 2023 Michigan PGA Professional Championship. Flint native Willie Mack III also earned an exemption to the Rocket Mortgage Classic field by winning The John Shippen Men’s Invitational, a pre-Rocket Mortgage Classic tournament at Detroit Golf Club that wrapped up play on June 23.
“I played in the U.S. Open a week ago and I’m probably more excited to play back in my hometown in Michigan,” Mack III said in a press release. “This is my first cut made on the PGA Tour in a couple of years so hopefully I can play well on Sunday, be in contention, and represent everybody in Michigan.”
The future of golf will also be on display in Detroit as 15-year-old amateur Miles Russell is set to make his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. A high school freshman from Jacksonville, Florida, Russell was the youngest player to make the cut in the Korn Ferry Tour’s 35-year history when he finished 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Neal Shipley, the low amateur at both the Masters and the U.S. Open this year, and Luke Clanton, ranked No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, will both make their PGA Tour debuts while Jackson Koivun (No. 2 in world amateur rankings) and Benjamin James (No. 4 in world amateur rankings) will also compete at the RMC.
Tickets for the Rocket Mortgage Classic currently start at $65 for the June 27-June 30 tournament. Children 15 and younger are free with an adult, and active or retired military also receive complimentary tickets. Tuesday’s AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble, starting at 5 p.m., and youth clinic both have free admission along with parking. Wednesday's admission and parking for the pro-am is also free.
Below is a list of the 2024 RMC field (alphabetically):
Albertson, Anders
Alexander, Tyson
Baddeley, Aaron
Barjon, Paul
Barnes, Erik
Berger, Daniel
Bhatia, Akshay
Blair, Zac
Bramlett, Joseph
Brehm, Ryan
Bridgeman, Jacob
Bryan, Wesley
Buckley, Hayden
Campillo, Jorge
Campos, Rafael
Cauley, Bud
Champ, Cameron
Cink, Stewart
Clanton, Luke
Cole, Eric
Coody, Parker
Coody, Pierceson
Crowe, Trace
Dahmen, Joel
Davis, Cam
Dougherty, Kevin
Dufner, Jason
Dumont de Chassart, Adrien
Duncan, Tyler
Dunlap, Nick
Echavarria, Nico
Endycott, Harrison
Fishburn, Patrick
Fowler, Rickie
Fox, Ryan
Furr, Wilson
Garnett, Brice
Ghim, Doug
Gotterup, Chris
Greyserman, Max
Griffin, Ben
Griffin, Lanto
Gutschewski, Scott
Hadley, Chesson
Hale, Jr., Blaine
Hall, Harry
Hardy, Nick
Higgo, Garrick
Highsmith, Joe
Hisatsune, Ryo
Hodges, Lee
Hoey, Rico
Hoffman, Charley
Højgaard, Nicolai
Hossler, Beau
Hubbard, Mark
Jaeger, Stephan
James, Ben
Johnson, Zach
Kim, Chan
Kim, Michael
Kim, S.H.
Kim, Tom
Kirk, Chris
Kisner, Kevin
Kizzire, Patton
Knapp, Jake
Knowles, Philip
Kohles, Ben
Koivun, Jackson
Kuchar, Matt
Laird, Martin
Lashley, Nate
Lee, K.H.
Lee, Min Woo
Lindheim, Nicholas
Lipsky, David
List, Luke
Lower, Justin
MacIntyre, Robert
Malnati, Peter
Martin, Kyle
McCormick, Ryan
McNealy, Maverick
Meissner, Mac
Merritt, Troy
Mitchell, Keith
Molinari, Francesco
Montgomery, Taylor
Moore, Ryan
Moore, Taylor
NeSmith, Matt
Noren, Alex
Norlander, Henrik
Norrman, Vincent
Novak, Andrew
Olesen, Thorbjørn
Pan, C.T.
Pendrith, Taylor
Pereda, Raul
Phillips, Chandler
Rai, Aaron
Ramey, Chad
Reavie, Chez
Riley, Davis
Rodgers, Patrick
Russell, Miles
Ryder, Sam
Schenk, Adam
Schmid, Matti
Shelton, Robby
Shipley, Neal
Sigg, Greyson
Silverman, Ben
Simpson, Webb
Skinns, David
Sloan, Roger
Smalley, Alex
Snedeker, Brandt
Spaun, J.J.
Springer, Hayden
Stevens, Sam
Streelman, Kevin
Suh, Justin
Svensson, Adam
Tarren, Callum
Taylor, Ben
Teater, Josh
Thompson, Davis
Thorbjornsen, Michael
Todd, Brendon
Tosti, Alejandro
Trainer, Martin
Tway, Kevin
Valimaki, Sami
van Rooyen, Erik
Vegas, Jhonattan
Villegas, Camilo
Walker, Jimmy
Wallace, Matt
Whaley, Vince
Whitney, Tom
Wilkinson, Tim
Woodland, Gary
Wu, Brandon
Wu, Dylan
Young, Cameron
Young, Carson
Yu, Kevin
Yuan, Carl
Zalatoris, Will