07/30/26 12:04:00
Printable Page
07/30 12:03 CDT Peter Malnati shoots 9-under 61, takes early lead in 8th and
final Rocket Classic in Detroit
Peter Malnati shoots 9-under 61, takes early lead in 8th and final Rocket
Classic in Detroit
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) --- Peter Malnati shot a 9-under 61 to take the lead among the
early starters Thursday in the first round of the final Rocket Classic.
Malnati, who missed opportunities on the greens to potentially break 60, had
seven birdies on the front nine and two birdies on the back in his bogey-free
round at the new-look Detroit Golf Club. The course underwent a major
renovation, including converting a couple of par-5 holes into par 4s, in an
attempt to restore Donald Ross' vision for it more than a century ago and to
make it more challenging.
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.
The 39-year-old Malnati is trying for his first victory since 2024, when the
Valspar Championship became his second title on the PGA Tour.
Malnati will have to compete with a field that is stronger than usual, which
includes Cameron Young, the No. 3 player in the world, and U.S. Open champion
Wyndham Clark. Seven of the top 25 in the world ranking, including Xander
Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama, are in the field along with Jackson Koivun,
who held off Scottie Scheffler to win last week's 3M Open in his third start as
a pro.
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.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
|
