Coming off the back of a top-10 finish at last weeks 3M Open, Waterford’s Séamus Power struggled to find his rythym on day one of the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club and he finds himself with a mountain to climb to make the weekend.
Kicking things off on the back nine, Power started in the best way possible with birdies at the 10th and 11th before a skewed tee ball at the 13th seemed to put a curse on his day.
Now hitting his third off the tee at the 13th, Power finished up with a triple bogey with no thanks to a couple of missed straightfoward putts to make matters worse. But you have to give it to the two-time PGA TOUR winner, he did bounce back with birdie at 15 to get back to even-par before going bogey-birdie closing out his first nine holes.
Now taking on the front nine, Power was again punished by a right flared tee shot at the par-5 fourth as that error forced a bogey at one of the easier scoring holes. Power’s morale began to drop after adding another bogey at the par-3 fifth.
One could argue that Power’s worst bogey of the day came at the last, as he made a three-putt bogey at the 18th to post a three-over-par 73 to sit T128.
Detroit Golf Course is regarded as one of the easier courses on the calendar and Power will need a huge Friday round if he is to compete this weekend. Nothing less than low 60s will see him into the third round.
Power sits 104th in the FedEx Cup rankings and as The Rocket Classic and next week’s Wyndham Championship are the last two tournaments left of the regular season, Power will need a miracle to get into the top-70 for the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Peter Malnati showcased an exhibition of golf as he eased his way around Detroit, posting a bogey-free nine-under-par 61 to lead by two strokes after 18-holes. This is Malnati’s lowest career round to date.
Malnati’s fine Thursday showing is somewhat unexpected considering he has missed more cuts than he has made on the PGA TOUR this season.
Malnati’s front nine saw an astonishing seven birdies as he took the turn with a 28.
“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,” Malnati said.
Taking on the back nine with thoughts of a sub 60 on his mind, 39-year-old Malnati sunk a 55-foot birdie putt at the 11th to get things moving again. Malnati would make one more birdie at the 13th.
“I don’t think I took advantage of a super easy course,” said Malnati, who won on the PGA TOUR in 2024 and 2015. “I played great.”
Both Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard follow closely at seven-under-par as they hold a share of T2. Fowler’s best work came at the par-5 14th where he made eagle, sticking a 244 yard second shot to 15ft. Gerard was bogey free in posting his 63.
There is a pair of Patricks in T4 as Cantlay and Fishburn sit one behind Fowler and Gerard at six-under. World No.3 Cameron Young shot a one-under-par 69 while U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clarke posted a one-over 71.
Leave a comment