Peter Malnati spent much of the day on 59 watch before settling for a 9-under-par 61 and a two-stroke lead at the Rocket Classic on Thursday at Detroit Golf Club.
Malnati went out in 7-under 28 and added birdies at the par-3 11th and par-4 13th hole, positioning himself to go 10 under or better at the par-70 course. Instead, he closed with five pars, with a missed 5 1/2-foot birdie chance at No. 16 along the way.
Malnati, 39, is seeking his third PGA Tour win and angling to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs at the 11th hour. He entered the week 171st in the points race after making just seven cuts in 17 starts this year; he’d jump to a projected 68th place with a win, and the top 70 players as of Aug. 9 will make the playoffs.
Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard are two shots back after opening with 7-under 63s. Fowler’s win at this event in 2023 was his most recent win of any kind, while Gerard is once again in the hunt after tying for ninth at the Open Championship two weeks ago.
Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn are tied for fourth at 6-under 64. Michael Kim, who opened the 3M Open last week with a 59, shot an opening 65 Thursday and is tied with Keegan Bradley, Chris Kirk and others as play wound down.
Defending champion Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa struggled to a 6-over 76.
