Perfect weather conditions—with pleasant temperatures around 27°C (80°F) and a light breeze—combined with a very forgiving setup at Detroit Golf Club, featuring minimal rough and receptive greens, turned the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the 29th event of the PGA Tour season, into a true birdie fest on Thursday.
More than 120 players finished under par. To crack the top 10, a round of 65 or better was required. And to lead after the opening 18 holes, players had to break the course record with rounds of 62, ten under par—an outstanding score achieved in the afternoon wave by both American Kevin Roy (-10) and South African Aldrich Potgieter (-10).
Roy capped off his opening round with eight birdies and an eagle—thanks to a sensational chip-in from off the green on 17—without a single blemish on the card. Potgieter matched his scorecard and came close to taking the solo lead at 11 under on the par-3 9th (having started on the 10th tee). Unfortunately, his birdie putt from just over four meters caught the left edge of the cup and refused to drop.
No putter needed on his last two holes 😲
Back-to-back hole-outs for Hideki!
📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/4n7CwUXU56
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 26, 2025
Both players entered the tournament outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings—the threshold to qualify for the first of the three August Playoffs. Potgieter began the week ranked 73rd, while Roy sat in 100th. A win this week would catapult them up the standings, virtually securing a spot in the postseason and bringing them closer to the coveted top 30 that will compete for the FedEx Cup title in Atlanta. But there’s still a long way to go until Sunday—and a long list of contenders to fend off.
Among them is Min Woo Lee (-9), who led for most of the day after carding a 63 in the morning wave, finishing tied for third with Max Greyserman (-9) and Mark Hubbard (-9), the latter joining late with a clutch six-meter birdie putt on 18. And don’t count out players like Henrik Norlander (-7), Victor Perez (-6), Nico Echavarria (-6), Wyndham Clark (-6), Patrick Cantlay (-6), or even Matt Fitzpatrick (-5) and Hideki Matsuyama (-5), among many others. Because in these conditions, Detroit is a course that invites comebacks and some very, very low scores.
