Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has spent the past two months chasing a version of his game that keeps slipping away. Every time he looks close to building on it, something pulls him back, and this week in Detroit was supposed to be his chance to change that story. Instead, at the $10 million Rocket Mortgage Classic, Koepka is once again on the outside looking in, and he doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to find his first win back on the PGA Tour.

“Field update for the Rocket Classic: Brooks Koepka WD / Ben Silverman IN,” the PGA Tour announced on X.

The withdrawal continues a stretch that has been anything but smooth. A hand injury forced him out of the RBC Canadian Open in June. A missed cut followed the next week at Shinnecock Hills, and another came at the Genesis Scottish Open, before a T28 at The Open offered a flicker of form. The Palm Beach, Florida, native, now 84th in FedExCup points, has struggled to find consistency over the past two months, and it comes after the nine-time PGA Tour winner ditched LIV Golf to come back to the PGA Tour.

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Koepka joined the Saudi-backed league in 2022, only to return to the American circuit in 2026. Thanks to Brian Rolapp’s Returning Member Program, he was able to re-enter the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, since he jumped ship, the rebel league has found itself in the middle of a storm, as a lack of funding may keep it from surviving into 2027.

Although the 36-year-old was saved from playing in a league facing such an outcome, he hasn’t been able to find success on the PGA Tour. Still, this comes after Ben Kohles entered the tournament thanks to his top-10 finish at the 3M Open, and Justin Lower was added to the field, expanding it to 147 players for grouping.

Still, Koepka wasn’t the only player to withdraw from the Rocket Classic. Keith Mitchell also exited the field, and Matt Kuchar was brought in to replace him. Maverick McNealy, Dan Brown, and Jason Day also withdrew from the tournament, with Lanto Griffin, Zac Blair, and Hayden Springer stepping in as their respective replacements. 

The tournament will tee off on Thursday, July 30.

PGA Tour replaces Rocket Classic with new tournament amid Koepka’s ongoing struggles

While some names mentioned above won’t join the field on Thursday, Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, and Jordan Spieth definitely will. But the tournament’s future has already become a major talking point ahead of the opening round. 

The PGA Tour is retiring the tournament after this week’s edition. Rocket Classic, which debuted in 2019, will be succeeded by a new event backed by Japanese insurance giant Sompo.

According to Sports Business Journal, Sompo has agreed to a multi-year partnership with the PGA Tour. The insurer will sponsor a full-field tournament in 2027 before the event becomes part of the Tour’s elite Championship Series in 2028.

The new tournament will debut at Silverado Resort in Napa Valley next year, although its official name is yet to be announced. For Koepka, the more pressing question isn’t which tournament comes next on the calendar, it’s whether his hand holds up long enough to get through one. With the FedExCup Playoffs cutoff just over a week away and his ranking still outside the top 70, this week’s withdrawal leaves him with almost no room left to qualify on form alone.