Peter Malnati shot a career-low 9-under 61 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club.

The 39-year-old made seven birdies in an outward 28 before adding two more at the 11th and 13th. His bogey-free round set the tournament course record, beating the 62 recorded by Jake Knapp during the second round in 2025.

Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard share second place after rounds of 63, while Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn opened with 64s. Michael Brennan and Keegan Bradley are among the players four shots behind Malnati at 5-under.

Malnati arrived in Detroit ranked 171st in the FedExCup standings, having missed more cuts than he had made this season. His only top-25 result in 17 starts was a tie for 19th atThe CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

An aggressive start pays off

Malnati’s caddie suggested leaving the driver in the bag at the first hole, hoping for a conservative opening shot. Malnati chose driver instead, found the middle of the fairway and made the first of his seven front-nine birdies.

“Even in the beginning before I knew it was going to be a special day, I didn’t feel the same level of like anxiety,” Malnati said.

He moved to 8-under by converting a 55-foot birdie putt at the 11th. Another birdie two holes later took him to 9-under and brought a sub-60 round into consideration, but several missed putts over the closing stretch left him with 61.

It was still his lowest score across 908 PGA Tour rounds. His previous best was 62, a number he posted at the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open and the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii.

“I don’t think I took advantage of a super easy course,” Malnati said. “I played great.”

The round gave Malnati his third career 18-hole lead or co-lead in his 321st Tour start. He finished tied for 21st after leading the 2020 Butterfield Bermuda Championship and tied for 14th after sharing the opening lead at the 2021 Sony Open.

Malnati owns two PGA Tour titles, the 2016 Sanderson Farms Championship and the 2024 Valspar Championship. His Valspar victory remains his most recent top-10 finish, 61 starts ago.

Fowler and Gerard lead the pursuit

Fowler, the 2023 Rocket Classic champion, produced his lowest score in 25 competitive rounds at Detroit Golf Club. His 63 was also his fourth round of that number or lower this season.

Gerard matched his PGA Tour career low with a bogey-free 63. He played the back nine in 29 and birdied five of his final six holes after tying for ninth at The Open Championship. Gerard entered the week 18th in the FedExCup standings with five top-10 finishes this season.

Brennan recovered from playing his first four holes in 2-over by making eight consecutive birdies from the fifth through the 12th. It was the longest birdie run on Tour this season and one short of the PGA Tour record shared by Mark Calcavecchia and Kevin Chappell.

Detroit Golf Club underwent a $16 million renovation after the 2025 tournament. The work included converting two par-5 holes into par-4s and adding bunkers as part of an effort to restore more of Donald Ross’ original design while strengthening the test.

Low scoring continued despite those changes. Patrick Fishburn led the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green during his 64, while Cantlay also shot 64 in his pursuit of a first Tour victory since the 2022 BMW Championship.

World No. 3 Cameron Young opened with a 69, and US Open champion Wyndham Clark shot 71. The Rocket Classic and next week’s Wyndham Championship are the final two events before the top-70 in the FedExCup standings advance to the playoffs.

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