Rocket Mortgage Classic leaderboard: Tony Finau stays hot

The first round of the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic is in the books, and one of the game’s biggest stars shares the top spot on the leaderboard.

Check out the complete leaderboard here. 

Here’s what you need to know from the first-round action in Detroit.

The leaders

On the heels of his third PGA Tour victory at last week’s 3M Open, Tony Finau stayed hot in the Motor City, firing a bogey-free, first-round 64 — eight under par — to share the top spot on the leaderboard with Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

Pendrith is in the midst of his first full PGA Tour season and is seeking his maiden PGA Tour victory. He’s had one top 10 thus far, at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

The contenders

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Despite Finau and Pendrith’s ultra-low opening scores, they share only a two-shot lead over their closest competitors. Five players are at six under after Round 1, including Webb Simpson and Cameron Champ.

Two-time major winner Zach Johnson is also in the mix at five under par, three shots off the lead.

The ace you have to see

Tour players have understandably high expectations when it comes to their ballstriking — it’s their job after all — but it’s always funny when a pro has a bad reaction to a shot and the ball actually ends up in a good place.

Thursday at Detroit Golf Club provided an extreme example of such perfectionism.

Mark Hubbard didn’t like his tee shot on the par-3 11th — so much so, in fact, that he dropped his club after impact, shoulders slumping. You can probably guess what happened next. Yep: the ball hit the front of the green, rolled out toward the hole, did a 360 spin and dropped in. An ace!

Never judge a book by its cover, folks.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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