Kevin Roy, Aldrich Potgieter shoot Rocket Classic-record 62s

Kevin Roy and Aldrich Potgieter each shot 10-under 62 on Thursday to break the Rocket Classic record and share the first-round lead.

Detroit Golf Club has been one of the easiest courses since the PGA Tour made it an annual stop in 2019. A pair of Korn Ferry graduates took full advantage.

Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African who grew up in Australia, started at No. 10 and set a tournament record with a 7-under 29 on the back nine. He added three birdies on his back nine and caught the left edge on a 12-foot putt on his final hole that would have given him a 61.

“I started walking after it,” Potgieter said. “But it was a good putt. I’m happy with it. And it was on a crest, so I didn’t know if it was going to be left or right, so it was just a little unfortunate, but I’ll take the 62 still.”

Potgieter and the 35-year-old Roy each had an eagle and eight birdies in bogey-free rounds.

Roy finished his round eagle-birdie to match Potgieter’s number. Roy chipped in for eagle from 30 feet at the par-5 17th hole and stuck his approach at No. 18 to about 5 feet to set up his final birdie.

“Just one of those days everything was clicking,” Roy said. “Lot of fairways, lot of greens, putter got hot, bonus chip-in on 17 for eagle. It’s just when you’ve got it going, it’s a lot of fun to try to keep it going.”

As well as Roy and Potgieter played, they can’t get comfortable on a short course with greens that are even more receptive than usual with recent rain.

Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back after matching the previous tournament record of 63. Andrew Putnam shot a 64, and two-time major champion Zach Johnson was in the group another shot back.

While the course is easy as usual, the competition is relatively strong for the tournament that many top players have skipped in the past.

The field includes nine of the top 50 players in the world, led by fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa, who opened with a 69. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, the Travelers Championship winner last week who is ranked No. 7 in the world, shot a 68.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.

Source: espn.com