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. This is his third withdrawal of the season. Earlier this year, the five-time major winner pulled out of the Charles Schwab Challenge before the tournament began. Then came the RBC Canadian Open. Koepka was struggling with a wrist injury and exited the tournament in the final round. That appeared to have started a chain reaction of MCs and poor performances.

Since the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Koepka hasn’t been able to get inside the top 20 in the four tournaments he played. A missed cut at Shinnecock Hills followed his Canadian Open exit, and another came at the Genesis Scottish Open, before a T28 at The Open offered a flicker of form. The Rocket Classic withdrawal also throws his FedEx Cup Playoff chances into jeopardy.

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The Palm Beach, Florida native is now 84th in FedExCup Standings. Only the top 70 advance to the first tournament of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. With Rocket Mortgage now off Koepka’s list, only the Wyndham Championship remains for him to jump inside the top 70. He’ll need about 100 points from the next tournament. But can he?

Well, it’s tough but not impossible. Koepka needs to win and bag 500 points or earn a minimum sixth-place finish to grab 100 points. Jackson Koivun is the bubble boy, ranked at 70 with 535 points. Koepka had earlier committed to playing in the Wyndham Championship, and if he fails to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Sedgefield will be the last regular season event for him.

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 begin 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.