Peter Malnati shot a career-best 9-under 61 to set a tournament record in the first round of the Rocket Classic and take a two-shot lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He opened with a 7-under 28 on the front nine and added two birdies on the back, surpassing Jake Knapp\u2019s 62 tournament record from the second round of the 2025 Rocket Classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also the lowest first-round score by any player on the Tour this season. Nine players recorded first-round 62s this season, with only one player converting the early lead into victory, Justin Rose at the Farmers Insurance Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With thoughts of a sub-60 round crossing his mind, he made a 55-foot putt for birdie at No. 11 and was nine under through 13 holes before missing some putts down the stretch in a bogey-free round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two time PGA Tour winner, holds a two stroke lead over 2023 champion Rickie Fowler and Ryan Gerard, who carded five birdies in his final six holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patrick Fishburncards his low round of the season with a 64, a further stroke behind with Patrick Cantlay, who is seeking his first title since the 2022 BMW Championship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Brennan (T6\/-5) recorded eight consecutive birdies on Nos. 5-12, the longest birdie streak on TOUR this season and one shy of tying the all-time PGA Tour record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the top players in the field, though, did not get off to a good start. Cameron Young, the No. 3 player in the world, shot a 1-under 69 and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark was 1 over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two-time champion Cam Davis is T47 with a two-under round, while defending champion Aldrich Potgieterlooks out of contention with a six-over round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First-Round Leaderboard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter Malnati shot a career-best 9-under 61 to set a tournament record in the first round of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[58],"class_list":["post-15214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-golf"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPos.<\/strong><\/td> Player<\/strong><\/td> R1<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> 1<\/td> Peter Malnati<\/td> 61 (-9)<\/td><\/tr> T2<\/td> Rickie Fowler<\/td> 63 (-7)<\/td><\/tr> T2<\/td> Ryan Gerard<\/td> 63 (-7)<\/td><\/tr> T4<\/td> Patrick Fishburn<\/td> 64 (-6)<\/td><\/tr> T4<\/td> Patrick Cantlay<\/td> 64 (-6)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"