Peter Malnati shoots 9-under 61,
takes early lead in 8th and final Rocket Classic in Detroit
[July 31, 2026]
By LARRY LAGE
DETROIT (AP) — Peter Malnati has missed more cuts than he has made
on the PGA Tour this season, filling his head with doubts about his
game.
He just got quite a confidence boost.
Malnati shot a career-best, 9-under 61 to tie a tournament record in
the first round of the final Rocket Classic on Thursday, giving him
a two-shot lead.
When Malnati stood on the first tee, his caddie suggested leaving
the driver in his bag to play it safe and set up a solid start.
Malnati, though, went against the advice and used his driver to put
a tee shot in the middle of the fairway that set up his first of
seven birdies on the front nine.
“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," he said.
With thoughts of a sub-60 round crossing his mind, he made a 55-foot
putt for birdie at No. 11 and was nine under through 13 holes before
missing some putts down the stretch in a bogey-free round.
Detroit Golf Club underwent a $16 million renovation, including
converting a couple of par-5 holes into par 4s and adding a lot of
bunkers, in an attempt to restore Donald Ross’ vision for it more
than a century ago, while making it more challenging.
“I don’t think I took advantage of a super easy course,” said the
39-year-old Malnati, who has won on the PGA Tour in 2024 and 2015.
“I played great.”
He wasn't alone.
Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard shot 63s, putting them two shots back
and one stroke ahead of Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn.
Michael Brennan surged up the leaderboard after starting 2 over
through four holes with eight straight birdies — one shy of the PGA
Tour record. He finished with a 65, putting him four strokes back
with a pack of players that includes Keegan Bradley.
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Peter Malnati hits from the 11th tee during the first round of the
Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday,
July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Despite significant changes at the course, Malnati
and many other players still went low at a tournament that has been
a birdie fest since 2019, when a Detroit-based mortgage company
ended a decade-long drought in Michigan without a PGA Tour stop that
dated to Tiger Woods winning the last Buick Open.
The PGA Tour is moving to a new model for 2028, effectively creating
two tours and Detroit organizers are taking an exit. The Rocket
Classic wasn't interested in continuing to spend $15 million a year
to be part of the second tier and didn't want to double the costs to
be part of the elite tier.
“It’s definitely been a bummer to kind of come into this knowing it
was the last one,” said Fowler, a Rocket Mortgage spokesman and the
tournament's 2023 champion.
Malnati will have to hold off a field that is stronger than usual in
Detroit.
Some of the top players in the field, though, did not get off to a
good start. Cameron Young, the No. 3 player in the world, shot a
1-under 69 and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark was 1 over.
The Rocket Classic and next week's Wyndham Championship are the last
two tournaments left before the top 70 advances to the FedEx Cup
postseason.
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