Phil Mickelson, PGA Championship winner, commits to play in Rocket Mortgage Classic

While the July 4th weekend is sure to add some pop to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the third-year PGA Tour event just added some true firepower.

Phil Mickelson, who wowed the sporting world last weekend by becoming the oldest major champion in golf history by winning the PGA Championship at the age of 50, has committed to play in this year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, set for July 1-4 at Detroit Golf Club.

“As evidenced by his record-breaking performance last weekend at the PGA Championship, Phil is one of the best to ever play the game, an electric performer and continues to be a huge draw for fans attending PGA TOUR events,” said Jason Langwell, executive director of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “Adding a player like Phil, along with the major champions and top-50 players who have also committed, is shaping the strongest field in Rocket Mortgage Classic history.”

Along with Mickelson, major championship winners Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson also announced their commitments to be part of the 156-player field along with Sungjae Im, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner, each of whom is ranked in the top 50 in the World Golf rankings.

The latest batch of commitments join a field that already includes defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, 2015 PGA Championship winner Jason Day, two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson and Rocket Mortgage ambassador Rickie Fowler.

This will be Mickelson’s first appearance at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but the fan favorite was a regular at the Buick Open that was played through 2009 at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc. A winner of 45 PGA Tour events in his career, Mickelson added his sixth major on Sunday when he held off Brooks Koepka at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course to win by two strokes.

Mickelson now has won the PGA Championship twice to go along with three Masters titles and one win at the Open Championship. He’ll be shooting for the career grand slam next month when he plays in the U.S. Open June 17-20 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Mickelson is one of 12 players in the history of golf to win three of the four majors and a win at Torrey Pines would make him the sixth golfer to capture the career grand slam.

Reed is the eighth-ranked player in the world and won The Masters in 2018. After a fifth-place finish in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019, Reed missed the cut a year ago. One of the more divisive players on Tour, Reed has had some of his biggest moments in team events like the Ryder Cup.

Simpson, who has seven career victories, is the 2012 U.S. Open champion who made his debut in Detroit last year, finishing in a tie for eighth place.

Also returning for 2021 will be Kisner, who finished third last year behind DeChambeau and Matthew Wolff. The three-time winner is ranked No. 47 in the world. Im, the 23rd-ranked player in the world who finished in 17th place last weekend at the PGA Championship, has also committed, along with Homa, currently 23rd in the FedExCup standings, and Cameron Champ, has won in each of the past two years and finished tied for 12th at the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Tickets for this year’s event will go on sale beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday at RocketMortgageClassic.com. General admission will be available for the pro-am on June 30 as well as all four days of competition, beginning Thursday, July 1, and running through Sunday, July 4.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau