Why Rory McIlroy and other top golfers aren't playing at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Rory McIlroy is not in action this weekend

Rory McIlroy, along with several other PGA Tour stars, has missed this week's Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour.

Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, clinched his sixth win of the season at the Travelers Championship last Sunday, marking the end of eight signature events for the PGA Tour season. Following his monumental victory, Scheffler, along with other stars, is gearing up for a summer break before the final major of 2024.

The past three weeks have been a celebration of top-tier golf. The Memorial Tournament and Travelers Championship were two signature events that took place either side of the US Open at Pinehurst.

These three events boasted over $60million (£47.5m)n in prize money and represented some of the most prestigious titles on the calendar. However, the upcoming Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic, with their combined purses, won't match the $20m (£15.8m) of a single signature event.

Consequently, the only players in the top 30 of the Official World Golf Ranking who are competing at Detroit Golf Club are Cameron Young, Tom Kim and Chris Kirk. Rickie Fowler, ranked 49th in the world, has also returned to defend his title in an exciting field filled with players aiming to make a significant breakthrough in points and money ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

McIlroy, feeling the sting of a gut-wrenching near-miss at the US Open, has declared he's hitting pause on his season. The star led by two shot with only five holes to go when disaster struck - two fateful missed putts leading to a three-bogey nightmare - and Bryson DeChambeau seized the moment for a stunning victory.

Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.

The crushing blow at Pinehurst had McIlroy duck out pronto, reeling from his unravelling on the grand stage. He's since announced a breather from the green, bowing out of the Traveler's Championship with sights set on a return before the Open next month.

"Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I've had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer," McIlroy began in a statement posted to social media last week. "Firstly, I'd like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that.

"As I reflect on my week, I'll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly, the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I'll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.

"As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have. The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.

"I'm going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland."