Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay found themselves in the mix after the inaugural round of the Rocket Classic in Detroit, as tournament leader Peter Malnati flirted with a once‑in‑a‑lifetime sub‑60 performance. Malnati posted a career‑best nine‑under‑par 61, matching the event’s lowest first‑round total and carving out a two‑stroke cushion ahead of Fowler and Ryan Gerard. Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn trailed just one shot further back.
When Malnati stepped up to the first tee, his caddie advised him to leave the driver in the bag, suggesting a conservative approach to secure a solid start. Defying that counsel, Malnati launched his driver and placed the ball squarely in the middle of the fairway, setting the stage for his first of seven birdies on the front nine. "Even before I realized it was going to be a special day, I didn’t feel the usual anxiety," Malnati reflected.
"I don’t think I took advantage of an overly easy course – I just played great." With the idea of breaking 60 already percolating in his mind, Malnati sank a 55‑foot birdie putt on the 11th hole and was nine under through 13 holes, maintaining a flawless, bogey‑free round. A few missed putts toward the end kept him from reaching the magical 60, but his 61 still represented a remarkable achievement.
The Detroit Golf Club, the venue for the event, recently underwent a $16 million overhaul. The renovation transformed a couple of former par‑5s into challenging par‑4s and added numerous bunkers, all in an effort to revive Donald Ross’s original design philosophy while making the layout more demanding for modern professionals. Fowler and Gerard each carded 63s, keeping them just two strokes behind the leader and a single shot ahead of Cantlay and Fishburn.
Michael Brennan staged a dramatic surge after an early two‑over start, rattling off eight consecutive birdies – one shy of the PGA Tour record for most in a row – and finished with a 65, positioning himself four strokes off the lead. Among the pack trailing Malnati were Keegan Bradley, who endured a light‑hearted mock‑hole‑in‑one from spectators on the par‑three fifth, and Open runner‑up Cameron Young, who posted a one‑under round, while U.S.
Open champion Wyndham Clark was one over. The tournament has become a birdie‑rich affair since 2019, when a Detroit‑based mortgage lender revived PGA Tour action in Michigan after a decade‑long hiatus that dated back to Tiger Woods’ final Buick Open victory.
Despite the extensive course changes, players continued to post low scores, underscoring the event’s reputation as a scoring bonanza. Beyond the on‑course drama, the Rocket Classic sits within a broader context of PGA Tour restructuring. The Tour plans to adopt a new two‑tier model in 2028, effectively creating a primary and a secondary circuit.
Detroit’s organizers have chosen to exit the evolving landscape, citing the prohibitive cost of remaining. The tournament had been spending roughly $15 million annually to maintain its status in the secondary tier and was unwilling to double that outlay to join the elite tier.
"It’s definitely been a bummer to kind of come into this knowing it was the last one," Fowler admitted, speaking as a Rocket Mortgage spokesperson and the defending champion from 2023. His comments reflected the bittersweet sentiment surrounding the event’s final edition under its current format. Fans can catch the second round of the Rocket Classic live at 7 p.m.
on Sky Sports Golf, with streaming options available for those without a contract. For those interested in playing the course themselves, the venue is part of a network of 1,700 courses across the UK and Ireland, where golfers can secure the best rates and book a round online.
To locate a course, simply enter a city, course name, or postal code into the search tool. If no results appear, try a different query. Overall, the opening day delivered a blend of high‑octane performances, strategic course redesign, and the poignant farewell of a tournament that helped re‑establish PGA Tour golf in Michigan. As the field heads into the second round, all eyes will be on whether Malnati can finally break the 60‑stroke barrier and how Fowler, Cantlay, and the rest of the contenders will respond to the challenge.