2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic Final Round: Tee Times & Pairings Explored

Deadlocked at the top! Rai and Bhatia’s two-way tie is still going strong at the end of the third round at Motor City. Both the young guns have scored 68 under 72 in the penultimate round and have an overall score of 17 under 199.

One of the highlights of the tournament was that not even a single bogey had been carded by Akshay Bhatia yet. If he manages to win without making a bogey in the rest of the tournament, he will match J.T. Poston (in 2019) and Lee Trevino (in 1974) in terms of winning a PGA Tour championship without carding a bogey.

In a tweet shared by PGA Tour Communications on its X handle (formerly known as Twitter), it is clear who will face whom for the last time in this year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. Unlike the previous rounds, the whole Sunday round will commence from a single tee (#1), with the pairing of Ryan Fox and Taylor Pendrith teeing off at 7:40 am ET.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic must have been a thrilling experience for golf enthusiasts, even though many prominent names, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele were missing from the tournament. In an unexpected turn of events, a player who made the cut, Will Zalatoris, unfortunately, couldn’t complete his four-day outing at the Detroit greens.

What happened to Will Zalatoris in the Rocket Mortgage Classic’s third round?

Will Zalatoris’s momentum at the Rocket Mortgage Classic was halted by the resurgence of his familiar foe—the back injury, which he sustained back in 2022. The injury has in the past caused the 27-year-old to take a 9-month hiatus in his professional golf career in 2023.

During the third round, Zalatoris, who was paired with Nick Dunlap and Dylan Wu, shook hands with them after playing just 8 holes as a result of some discomfort he felt in his back. In the words of Zalatoris’s manager, Allen Hobbs, “Will experienced some discomfort after a swing today and, out of utmost precaution, made the tough decision to withdraw.”

Will Zalatoris’s 2024 season hasn’t been without any setbacks. Apart from the injury, Zalatoris withdrew from events as well, which included the Mexico Open and the CJ Byron Nelson. To add to his misery, Zalatoris had failed to make a few cuts in the vents he played, the latest being at Pinehurst No. 2. Despite his nagging back injury, the one-time PGA  Tour winner managed to get three top-10 finishes, which is worthy of commendation.

During an interview post-first round of the tournament, he even said that his recovery approach has been proving fruitful. According to him, “I think a lot early on this season I would play a tournament, need to take three, four days off, and now I’m able to just keep on going. So really, like, even though it’s nice and warm, that obviously helps with the back, but I think it’s just trying to find the right cadence of when I’m taking time off, and so far this stretch is the best I’ve felt.“

With Zalatoris’ withdrawal, the Sunday round is here. Do you think that Akshay Bhatia will be able to capitalize or that Aaron Rai will win his maiden PGA Tour championship?