Currently, Koepka is roughly 20 points back of the fifth spot in the Aon Swing 5<\/a>, in which the top five point earners between signature tournaments earn a pathway into the top-tier events.\u00a0<\/p>\n Koepka, however, is committed to the Canadian Open in two weeks, leading into the U.S. Open. So if he played Colonial and then qualified for the Memorial, that would be seven straight starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Secondly, Koepka\u2019s withdrawal doesn\u2019t just affect him. Two other golfers miss out on a start, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of the Returning Member Program, Koepka can\u2019t take a spot away from any other members in the field. Therefore, whenever he tees it up, two more players earn tee times to round out the threesomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n So if Koepka remained committed to Colonial, the 132-player field would increase to 135. But instead, Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn are now the first two alternates instead of being automatically in the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n And had Koepka played his way into the Memorial, two additional players would have gotten into that field as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n Koepka has made 11 starts this year, with six top 25s and one top 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t the only WD for Colonial, either. Byron Nelson winner Wyndham Clark<\/a> also pulled out of the field after his first victory in over two years. Still, the field at Colonial will feature seven of the top 20 players in the world. <\/p>\n
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