PGA Veteran Quietly Withdraws From Rocket Classic After Brutal First Round

A PGA Tour veteran’s week at the Rocket Classic came to an abrupt end after he quietly withdrew following a brutal opening round.

His first-round performance helps explain the timing of the withdrawal, though plenty of questions remain about exactly what prompted his early exit.

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Patrick Rodgers signed for a 7-over 77 on Thursday at Detroit Golf Club, leaving him in a tie for 144th on the 147-player leaderboard, according to the FOX Sports results. He went off at 12:21 p.m. ET alongside Beau Hossler and Michael Thorbjornsen.

PGA Tour Communications confirmed the withdrawal after the round. No official reason came with it.

The par-70 layout surrendered birdies all afternoon. Rodgers collected almost none of them.

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Patrick Rodgers Withdrawal Follows Back Injury Layoff

Rodgers pulled out of the John Deere Classic in early July, hours ahead of his tee time, with a back injury, according to Golf Monthly writer Jonny Leighfield. He sat out the ISCO Championship the following week for the same reason, then returned at the 3M Open, opened with a 77 and missed the cut. Thursday marked his second 77 in three competitive rounds.

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He entered the week ranked 50th in 2026 earnings with $2,295,890 across 19 starts.

The 34-year-old from Avon, Indiana, reached the PGA Tour with one of the loudest college resumes in the modern game. Rodgers won 11 times at Stanford, matching Tiger Woods’ school record, and swept the Haskins, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus awards in 2014.

Twelve seasons later, the professional trophy case remains empty. Rodgers made his 329th Tour start at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May with better than $20 million in career earnings and no victory, according to Golf Digest reporting. Only three players in Tour history have banked more money without a tour trophy.

“Struggle shapes you. Failure teaches you. And resilience becomes its own quiet superpower,” Rodgers wrote in a letter to himself, published by PGATour.com in May. “I’m still here. I’m still going.”

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Four runner-up finishes. Two playoff losses. One Korn Ferry Tour title, won in Colombia in 2015.

Detroit has never been productive for him either. Rodgers had made the cut in four of five prior Rocket Classic appearances without finishing inside the top 30.

Rocket Classic Leaderboard Without Patrick Rodgers

Peter Malnati owns the first-round lead at 9-under 61, a career low that tied the tournament record, according to the Associated Press. Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard sit two back at 63. Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn shot 64.

Michael Brennan started 2 over through four holes, then ran off eight consecutive birdies on his way to a 65. Xander Schauffele posted a 66. World No. 3 Cameron Young managed a 1-under 69.

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Detroit Golf Club reopened this season after a $16 million restoration that converted two par 5s into par 4s.

This is the eighth and final Rocket Classic. Rocket Companies declined its option for 2027 ahead of the Tour’s coming schedule overhaul, and six players had already withdrawn before the first tee shot, according to Newsweek writer Andrew McCarty. Jason Day and Brooks Koepka were among them.

Defending champion Aldrich Potgieter, who broke through here last year, is back.

Detroit and next week’s Wyndham Championship are the last two stops before the top 70 advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Three rounds remain in the life of the Rocket Classic.

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