'Needle-mover' Fowler among Rocket Mortgage Classic early commits

Detroit — Rickie Fowler no longer is contractually obligated to play in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

But Fowler, no surprise, is coming back anyway, announcing Monday his commitment to the PGA Tour's 2024 stop at Detroit Golf Club, where he won last year in a playoff to break a four-plus-year victory drought.

Tickets for the sixth playing of the Rocket Mortgage Classic went on sale Monday, at RocketMortgageClassic.com. The tournament will be played June 27-30.

Fowler has played in all five of the previous Rockets, as a longtime brand ambassador for the Detroit mortgage giant. Fowler and Rocket Mortgage have paused their business relationship, with the option of renewing it at some point. Last year, Fowler made birdie on the final hole of regulation Sunday, then made birdie again on the par-4 18th to beat Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a playoff. The win was Fowler's sixth on the PGA Tour, but first since the 2019 Phoenix Open. His resurgence, including the Detroit win, was featured in Netflix's "Full Swing."

"We're obviously excited to have Rickie back. He's jacked to be back," Jason Langwell, executive director of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, told The News on Monday. "He's got a lot going on now. He's got (child) No. 2 due in early August. He's excited about that ... and I told him it would be great to see him hoist his second Rocket Mortgage Classic trophy before he hoists his second baby girl over his shoulders. He said, 'Yeah, I kind of like that.'

"He's pumped to be back, and obviously, he's a needle-mover, regardless of his (title) defense, and regardless of his association with us. He brings the orange out in anybody, and he's gonna be doing that again this year."

Fowler, 35, is 38th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He's one of three top-40 players who announced their commitments Monday to playing in the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, along with No. 23 Tom Kim and No. 30 Will Zalatoris.

Kim, 21, is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, and had top-10 finishes in the 2023 U.S. Open and British Open. He played his first Rocket in 2022, and finished seventh.

Zalatoris, 27, has three top-10 finishes this season, including a tie for ninth at the Masters, after missing much of last season because of a back injury. He withdrew from this past week's CJ Cup (formerly the Byron Nelson) with a back injury. Zalatoris has one PGA Tour win, and finished tied for 20th at the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rocket Mortgage Classic officials will be rolling out the rest of the 156-man field over the next seven weeks.

"I feel good about the conversations we're having," Langwell said.

There are still two majors between now and the playing of the Rocket Mortgage Classic — the PGA Championship and U.S. Open — which always leaves many players noncommittal until closer to tournament time, based on how they fare in the majors, and where they stand in the FedEx Cup standings.

Since launching in 2019, the Rocket Mortgage Classic has raised more than $8 million for local charities, including more than $4.3 million for the "Changing the Course" initiative, which aims to end Detroit's digital divide by 2025.

Daily grounds tickets for each of the four competition days (Thursday through Sunday) start at $65, and kids 15 and under get in free with a ticketed adult (up to four kids per ticketed adult). Military members also will receive complimentary admission. Admission is free Sunday before tournament week, for the final round of The John Shippen tournament, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week, including free parking.

Langwell said Fowler's win in 2023 appears poised to provide momentum heading into 2024 (and a Fowler giveaway is planned). Early ticket-sale numbers put the tournament well ahead of the 2023 pace, at this point, he said, and tournament officials are planning to expand some of the public-viewing decks.

"We're back on track with where we were in 2019," Langwell said of the inaugural tournament, which drew large crowds, only to be stunted by the no-fan playing in 2020, amid COVID.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984