Matthew Wolff, fresh off self-imposed break, is 11th-hour addition to RMC field

Detroit — Someone alert the ice cream trucks. Matthew Wolff is coming back for another scoop.

Wolff, 22, a PGA Tour winner in 2019 who finished runner-up at last year's Rocket Mortgage Classic, was a last-second commitment into this year's tournament at Detroit Golf Club.

The field was mostly finalized, outside of the remaining qualifier spots, Friday night, and Wolff's name was the most notable change to the earlier player-commitment list.

Wolff recently took nearly two months off from competitive golf to address mental-health struggles amid the pressures of the job, of which he spoke openly about at this month's U.S. Open.

"I love the fans, I love being out here and I want to play golf for everyone," Wolff said during U.S. Open week at Torrey Pines in San Diego. "I think I just put too much pressure on myself. And it was a hard decision (to walk away) because I'm so new on the Tour. … I didn't want to walk away.

"When I finally started to get to a bad enough spot, honestly I was like, you know what, I need some time. And I just think the biggest thing right now that I'm trying to do is enjoy myself again and just take care of myself really.

"I'm just really trying to be happy."

Wolff contended at the U.S. Open, finishing tied for 15th, before missing the cut this week at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

In the six tournaments before he stepped away from the game, Wolff had to withdraw twice and was disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard at the Masters (he would've missed the cut anyway).

He started the season hot, with two second-place finishes, in September and October.

2021 ROCKET MORTGAGE CLASSIC FIELD

Last year at the Rocket, he shot a third-round 64 to take a three-shot lead into the final round. During the Saturday round, the chimes of a nearby ice cream truck caught his attention, as caught by TV cameras.

"I heard the ice cream truck and I'm like, 'I have a good feeling about this,'" Wolff said after last year's third round. "Just had that little like ice cream truck song in my head.

"I think that helped me just not think about the speed or the line or anything, just keep my head free."

Wolff shot a final-round 71 to eventual champion Bryson DeChambeau's 65.

That was one of Wolff's five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 43 career starts — highlighted by his victory at the 2019 3M Open, just out of college at Oklahoma State. He received a sponsor's exemption into the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019, and missed the cut.

Other notable changes to next week's field: Sam Burns, a friend of former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson who earned his first PGA Tour victory at the Valspar Championship in May, no longer is playing, while four-time PGA Tour winner Camilo Villegas, Harry Higgs and Tom Hoge have been added to the field.

We're running a new-subscriber special. Support local journalism, and subscribe here.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984