Detroit — The field for the sixth playing of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club is nearly complete, following the player deadline to register Friday night.
And, statistically, the field will be the weakest in the tournament’s history.
There were no major additional commitments Friday, which was to be expected, given the Rocket’s place on the schedule this year. Most of the game’s biggest names in golf have played at least three straight weeks — including big-money signature events in the Memorial and this week’s Travelers Championship, sandwiched around the U.S. Open. And most top players are taking some time off, ahead of next month’s British Open.
Cameron Young, at No. 23, is the highest-ranked player in the world golf rankings who will tee it up in Detroit’s tournament, set for June 27-30. Young finished tied for second in 2022, the year Tony Finau won.
Tom Kim, No. 26 in the world, also is in the field, and will be playing for a ninth consecutive week.
The field includes just 10 of the top 50 players in the world golf rankings, fewest in tournament history. This also will mark the first time in Rocket Mortgage Classic history that at least one top-10-ranked player isn’t in the field.
More: Rocket rewind: A look back at the first five Rocket Mortgage Classics
Other notable names in the 156-player field include defending champion Rickie Fowler, Will Zalatoris, 2019 winner Nate Lashley and 2021 winner Cam Davis, as well as Traverse City’s Ryan Brehm and Grosse Pointe Woods’ Kyle Martin, who got in as the winner of the 2023 Michigan PGA Professional Championship. It’s Martin’s second consecutive appearance in the Rocket; he missed the cut last year in his first and only PGA Tour start.
PGA Tour prospect Michael Thorbjornsen also will play in Detroit, making his second PGA Tour start, after playing the Travelers. He turned pro earlier this month.
The most intriguing player might just be Miles Russell, a 15-year-old phenom from Florida who is in the field on a sponsor’s exemption. Other sponsor’s exemption have gone to Neal Shipley, this year’s low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open who recently turned professional, and Jimmy Walker, the winner of the 2016 PGA Championship. Another exemption will go to the winner of the 36-hole John Shippen Invitational on Sunday, and the final four spots available will come from Monday’s 18-hole qualifier at The Orchards in Washington Township.
The field previously had 12 of the top 50 in the world rankings, but early commitments Thomas Detry and Austin Eckroat have backed out.
Tickets for the competition rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic start at $65, while kids 15 and younger get in free with a ticketed adult. Active and retired military personnel also get complimentary tickets. Admission for the final round of the John Shippen on Sunday, as well as Tuesday (AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble, youth clinic) and Wednesday (pro-am) is free for everyone, as is parking.
Rocket Mortgage Classic commitments
(World ranking in parentheses, if in top 50)
Anders Albertson
Tyson Alexander
Aaron Baddeley
Paul Barjon
Erik Barnes
Daniel Berger
Akshay Bhatia (31)
Zac Blair
Joseph Bramlett
Ryan Brehm
Jacob Bridgeman
Wesley Bryan
Hayden Buckley
Jorge Campillo
Rafael Campos
Bud Cauley
Cameron Champ
Stewart Cink
Luke Clanton
Eric Cole
Parker Coody
Pierceson Coody
Trace Crowe
Joel Dahmen
Cam Davis
Kevin Dougherty
Jason Dufner
Adrien Dumont de Chassart
Tyler Duncan
Nick Dunlap
Nico Echavarria
Harrison Endycott
Patrick Fishburn
Rickie Fowler (49)
Ryan Fox
Wilson Furr
Brice Garnett
Doug Ghim
Chris Gotterup
Max Greyserman
Ben Griffin
Lanton Griffin
Scott Gutschewski
Chesson Hadley
Blaine Hale Jr.
Harry Hall
Nick Hardy
Garrick Higgo
Joe Highsmith
Ryo Hisatsune
Lee Hodges
Rico Hoey
Charley Hoffman
Nicolai Hojgaard (44)
Beau Hossler
Mark Hubbard
Stephan Jaeger (42)
Ben James
Zach Johnson
Chan Kim
Michael Kim
S.H. Kim
Tom Kim (26)
Chris Kirk (30)
Kevin Kisner
Patton Kizzire
Joel Knapp
Philip Knowles
Ben Kohles
Jackson Koivun
Matt Kuchar
Martin Laird
Nate Lashley
K.H. Lee
Min Woo Lee (36)
Nicholas Lindheim
David Lipsky
Luke List
Justin Lower
Robert MacIntyre (45)
Peter Malnati
Kyle Martin
Ryan McCormick
Maverick McNealy
Mac Meissner
Troy Merritt
Keith Mitchell
Francesco Molinari
Taylor Montgomery
Ryan Moore
Taylor Moore
Matt NeSmith
Alex Noren
Henrik Norlander
Vincent Norrman
Andrew Novak
Thorbjorn Olesen
C.T. Pan
Taylor Pendrith
Raul Pereda
Chandler Phillips
Aaron Rai
Chad Ramey
Chez Reavie
Davis Riley
Patrick Rodgers
Miles Russell
Sam Ryder
Adam Schenk
Matti Schmid
Robby Shelton
Neal Shipley
Greyson Sigg
Ben Silverman
Webb Simpson
David Skinns
Roger Sloan
Alex Smalley
Brandt Snedeker
J.J. Spaun
Hayden Springer
Sam Stevens
Kevin Streelman
Justin Suh
Adam Svensson
Callum Tarren
Ben Taylor
Josh Teater
Davis Thompson
Michael Thorbjornsen
Brendon Todd
Alejandro Tosti
Martin Trainer
Kevin Tway
Sami Valimaki
Erik van Rooyen
Jhonattan Vegas
Camilo Villegas
Jimmy Walker
Matt Wallace
Vince Whaley
Tom Whitney
Tim Wilkinson
Gary Woodland
Brandon Wu
Dylan Wu
Cameron Young (23)
Carson Young
Kevin Yu
Carl Yuan
Will Zalatoris (41)
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
