Detroit — A former major champion and two more players ranked in the top 20 in the world are among the latest players to commit to playing in the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic next week.
Chris Gotterup, who’s won three times on the PGA Tour this season and is No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking, will tee it up at Detroit Golf Club, as will world No. 19 Ben Griffin and former PGA Championship winner Jason Day, tournament officials announced Tuesday.
This marks the fourth playing in the Rocket for Gotterup, whose best finish was a tie for 26th last year. This will be the fourth straight appearance in the Rocket for Griffin, who tied for 13th last year.
Day, a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour and a former No. 1-ranked player in the world, has played the Rocket in Detroit three times, most recently in 2022, when he tied for 17th. He tied for 14th in 2021.
On Tuesday, Rocket officials also announced their fourth and final sponsor’s exemption to Australia’s Ryan Ruffels, a content creator who teams with Day on “The Lads” on YouTube. Previous sponsor’s exemptions were given out to YouTube golf star Brad Dalke, Detroit native Joe Hooks and the University of Alabama’s William Jennings.
The eighth and final Rocket Classic is putting together a strong field, statistically, for its swan song, with four players ranked in the top 10, including No. 3 Cameron Young, No. 5 Russell Henley and No. 9 Wyndham Clark, who’s won a pair of U.S. Opens, including this year’s. The field has eight players ranked in the top 20, including No. 15 Xander Schauffele, another two-time major champion. Schauffele and Brooks Koepka are playing in Detroit for the first time.
“It’s incredible right now,” Rocket tournament director Mark Hollis said of the field’s strength, with 52 players ranked inside the top 100, “and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’s going to get a lot better.”
One big reason for Hollis’ hope: The looming PGA Tour playoffs.
The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings make the PGA Tour playoffs, the top 50 make the second playoff event, and the top 30 make the Tour Championship, where $40 million will be up for grabs. Players on the bubble or looking to improve their position entering the postseason could still make the Rocket a late addition to their schedules.
The Rocket Classic, set for July 30-Aug. 2 at Detroit Golf Club, is the second-to-last tournament before the PGA Tour playoffs, so players in the 50-80 range in the FedEx Cup standings might be included to book an 11th-hour trip to Detroit. Day, for example, added the Rocket to his schedule, as he enters this week 72nd in the standings.
One player to watch on that front could be Jordan Spieth, who is 55th in the playoff standings. He pulled out of this week’s 3M Open in Minnesota after missing the cut at the British Open. Spieth has never played in the Rocket Classic.
Another player to watch is Justin Thomas, Spieth’s good friend who’s in better shape in the standings (38th). Thomas is a brand ambassador for Novi-based Lineage. Thomas and Spieth also are good friends with Rickie Fowler, the Rocket Classic’s unofficial host. Thomas played in the Rocket Classic once, in 2023, and missed the cut.
Rocket Classic officials are expected to announce additional notable commitments in the next couple of days, ahead of the final deadline for players to officially enter the tournament. That entry deadline is Friday night. The final four spots in the 144-player field will be decided at Monday’s 18-hole qualifier, which will be at The Orchards Golf Club in Washington Township. The qualifier is open to the public and free to attend.
One notable player has recently decommitted from the Rocket Classic: Sam Burns, world No. 11 who had top-10s at the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open this year, will skip the Rocket following the recent birth of his second child.
Who’s playing in the 2026 Rocket Classic?
Rocket Classic commitments, as of July 21:
When is the 2026 Rocket Classic?
When: July 30-Aug. 2
Where: Detroit Golf Club
2025 champion: Aldrich Potgieter
Tickets: Starting at $68; children 15 and younger get in free with a ticketed adult. Details at RocketClassic.com.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Rocket Classic adds three more notable names, content creator to field
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
