Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama to play Rocket Mortgage Classic again

Detroit — This season's two major champions will be teeing it up at Detroit Golf Club early next month.

Hideki Matsuyama, who in winning the Masters in April became the first Japanese-born male to win one of golf's majors, has committed to play the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Matsuyama has appeared in both the previous two Rockets, tying for 13th in the inaugural event in 2019 and tying for 21st last year.

Matsuyama long has been one of the top golfers in the game, but his stock skyrocketed in April when he won at Augusta. He's the 14th-ranked golfer in the world. The Masters was his sixth PGA Tour victory, but his first since 2017.

At Detroit, Matsuyama will join Phil Mickelson, winner of this year's PGA Championship. Last year's U.S. Open winner, Bryson DeChambeau, also is committed, as the reigning Rocket Mortgage champion and a new Rocket Mortgage pitchman.

That means three of the four reigning major champions have pledged to play in Detroit, though there will be a new U.S. Open champion by the time the Rocket Mortgage Classic is played July 1-4. There was no British Open in 2020.

Others in the Rocket Mortgage Classic field include major champions Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Jason Day and Webb Simpson, as well as Rickie Fowler, Harold Varner III, Max Homa, Sungjae Im and Kevin Kisner. Most of the 156-player field will be finalized the Friday before tournament week, except one exemption and Monday qualifiers.

Tickets are on sale at RocketMortgageClassic.com, with the tournament expecting full crowds back after having to go fan-less in 2020 amid the pandemic. The first year featured massive crowds of about 10,000 a day for the four competition rounds.

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tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984