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Julio Cesar Valdera Morales is a Newsweek contributor based in Spain. His focus is golf as well as politics and economics. Julio has been with Newsweek since February, 2025 and previously practiced law. Julio earned his Masters Degree at the University of Havana. You can get in touch with Julio by emailing j.morales@newsweek.com.
Contributing Sports Writer
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The wave of players withdrawing from the Rocket Classic continues, even breaking through among the top names on the PGA Tour. With less than 48 hours until the event, seven players have already removed themselves from play at the Detroit Golf Club.
The latest addition to this list is the toughest blow yet: Tony Finau, World No. 44 and winner of the 2022 Rocket Classic.
Finau’s withdrawal was confirmed by the PGA Tour Communications Twitter account. No information has been provided yet about the six-time PGA Tour winner’s reasons for making this decision.
Rocket Classic field update:
Tony Finau WD
Joseph Bramlett IN— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 24, 2025
Joseph Bramlett, World No. 232, will take Finau’s place in the field.
Finau was scheduled to tee off on Thursday at 12:43 p.m. Eastern Time from the 10th tee, sharing a group with Harry Hall and Aaron Wise.
The Salt Lake City native tied for 66th place at last week’s Travelers Championship, posting an 11-under score. He had two poor first rounds (73 and 74), appeared to recover by carding a 68 on moving day, but completely faded in the final round by carding a 76.
At the end of last season, Finau underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The procedure was successful, but he had to skip his commitment to play in the Grant Thornton Invitational with Nelly Korda.
Tony Finau of the United States plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 19, 2025 in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Tony Finau of the United States plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 19, 2025 in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
However, the 35-year-old appears to have recovered from the injury, as he was able to start the 2025 season normally, tying for 15th in the season-opening tournament, The Sentry. To date, he has played in 16 PGA Tour events.
His results have not been on par with previous seasons, though. He has only one top-10 finish and four other top-25 finishes so far this season. These results have caused him to fall to 44th in the world rankings and 51st in the FedEx Cup standings.
In contrast, Finau finished in the top 25 15 times in 2024, including five top-10 finishes and his best finish was runner-up at the Houston Open. He played in 22 tournaments that season.
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