The 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic got off to roaring start Thursday at Detroit Golf Club with an abundance of low scores. Numerous players threatened to post rounds in the low 60s, with none better than Monday qualifier Peter Kuest. The 25-year-old was later matched in the afternoon by Taylor Moore, but Kuest was nearly flawless in Round 1, carding nine birdies against one blemish en route to a 64.
Kuest makes for the story of the day — and potentially of the week — if he keeps a good thing going, but the resurgence of Rickie Fowler remains one of the top headlines of the year. Fowler was back at it again with a 5-under 67 that featured eight birdies. Fresh off a record-setting 62 at the U.S. Open and flirting with a 59 at the Travelers Championship, Fowler’s firepower remains clear as day in the smoky skies of Detroit.
He is well-positioned to contend for his sixth career victory, which would be his first since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. Consistently finding his way inside the top 20 in the middle of the season, the 34-year-old has graduated to late contention runs and looks to pay off the recent close calls.
Young guns Ludvig Aberg and Sam Bennett are both one off the lead at 7 under. Former young gun and current two-time major champion Collin Morikawa navigated the Donald Ross design in a 6-under fashion to also find a place on the first page of the leaderboard.
The leaders
1. Peter Kuest, Taylor Moore (-8)
Kuest may have some status on the Korn Ferry Tour — although he has yet to make a start this year — but he continues to try his hand on the PGA Tour. He made the most of his opportunity when he was given a sponsor’s exemption at the Byron Nelson and finished T14. The BYU product has since made the cut at the Canadian Open and should at the very least be one his way to another paycheck if his play from Thursday persists.
“It feels good,” said Kuest. “We’ve got another round tomorrow, so we’re going to get ready for that and then just take it one step at a time. We played really solid, we did it all pretty well. We chipped one in on the front, hit a bunch of fairways, hit a bunch of greens, rolled a couple putts in. Just kept it simple.”
Other contenders
T3. Sam Ryder, Aaron Rai, Ludvig Aberg, Sam Bennett, Dylan Wu, Justin Suh, Adam Schenk (-7)
T10. Doug Ghim, Collin Morikawa, Adam Hadwin (-6)
T14. Rickie Fowler, Trey Mullinax, Callum Tarren, Nate Lashley, Taylor Pendrith, Charley Hoffman, Kyle Westmoreland, Nicolai Hojgaard, Ryan Moore, Bret Stegmaier (-5)
Morikawa is approaching two years since his last victory at the 2021 Open. He has experienced a number of close calls since, and his statistics suggest he is having a great season — it is his best in terms of total strokes gained — but the two-time major champion is a perfectionist. Anything short of utmost precision with his iron play is a failure in his eyes. It was his approach play that dragged him on Thursday, but strong efforts on and around the green have the 26-year-old in the thick of it after 18.
“I don’t think I’m hitting it well until today, until this week really,” said Morikawa. “There were — like the good shots were good, the good shots were just as good, but the misses were worse. That’s the problem, the misses were just in spots I never would have put myself, just blind luck over there trying to make up and down. So that’s what it goes out to is just really hitting a little more quality shots, the misses are a little bit better and you just play from there. Like I said today, it was an easy 6 under, it could have been a lot lower, but that’s kind of what I want, how my game should be really.”
Fowler’s literal race to the clubhouse
Fowler’s propensity to go low traveled from Los Angeles to Connecticut (where he nearly shot 59) and has made its way to Detroit. The five-time winner on the PGA Tour reached 7 under through 16 and looked intent on posting another round in the low 60s for the third straight week. But before he could, Fowler’s body gave way to bodily functions. He ultimately had to settle for 67, but if nature is the only thing getting in his way he should like his chances.
“I mean, to be perfectly honest, I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly, so luckily I just got drug tested so I went straight in,” said Fowler. “There weren’t many bathrooms the last five holes so I was a little shaky coming in, and not to necessarily blame the finish on that, but it didn’t help. Still a solid day, a lot of good stuff, off to a good start, and that’s really all you hope for on a Thursday to get a tournament going is get out moving in the right direction.”
The next wave of PGA Tour talent
Bennett and Aberg have already been formally introduced to the public eye. Bennett won the U.S. Amateur before contending at both the Masters and the U.S. Open. Aberg was the inaugural winner of PGA Tour U and has been splendid in his first two starts as a professional, claiming top-25 finishes in both.
Bennett is a dog, plain and simple. He rocks a goatee, doesn’t have the prettiest swing or fastest club head speed, but he gets the job done. Aberg is much more conventional. The Swede peppers fairways and greens, and picks off birdies when chances are presented. He had an opportunity to play in front of European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald on Thursday, and he surely made an impression by enjoying one of the best driving performances of the PGA Tour season.
2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic updated odds and picks
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Collin Morikawa: 15/2
- Taylor Moore: 17/2
- Rickie Fowler: 11-1
- Ludvig Aberg: 11-1
- Aaron Rai: 14-1
- Justin Suh: 14-1
- Adam Schenk: 14-1
- Adam Hadwin: 22-1
- Dylan Wu: 25-1
- Sam Bennett: 25-1
- Sungjae Im: 25-1
There’s a lot of golf left, so let’s take a chance on a PGA Tour winner just four strokes back. Sepp Straka is listed at 55-1 after a round of 68 that saw him rank fourth in the field in strokes gained tee to green. The big Austrian fell outside the top 100 on the greens, but the smoother surfaces presented Friday morning should aid him in converting more birdie opportunities.