Nothing like a little history to kick off the 2025 Rocket Classic.
Min Woo Lee, who had held the lead at -9 for much of the first-round action on Thursday, June 26, seemed secure in his position around 5 p.m. His 63 was tied for the course record and with a weaker field playing in the afternoon, Lee felt confident that he would head the field to open Round 2 on Friday, June 27.
But unknown to Lee, two players — one rookie and one veteran (albeit with few wins on the PGA Tour) — were having epic first rounds. Within half an hour, Lee was in third place, looking up at Kevin Roy and Aldrich Potgieter after each shot 10-under 62s to set the Detroit Golf Club record.
Even for Detroit, which has become known for low scores over the first six iterations of its Tour event, it was more than expected. Particularly from two unlikely sources: Potgieter, a 20-year-old from South Africa, is a rookie on the Tour; Roy, a 35-year-old from New York (via Long Beach State), has only been on it since 2023.
And yet … The two started holes apart, with Roy beginning on No. 1 and Potgieter beginning on No. 10, but both went low on the back nine. Potgieter registered a 29 going out, with five birdies and an eagle on 17. Roy, coming in, matched the eagle on 17 and added four birdies on the back nine, for a 30.
“I was shocked my 5-wood went that far,” Roy said of his eagle. “I had 279 pin, I don’t hit a 5-wood that far but maybe a little adrenaline or something going on. Luckily just trickled off the back, it was a fine lie and just had to kind of plop it up and it rolled in like a 2-footer. Certainly a bonus.”
Roy opened his front nine with four birdies. Potgieter cooled off slightly, with only three birdies, but he still nearly took the outright lead on his last hole, as his ball just rimmed out on No. 9. Even he thought it was in.
“I did, I started walking after it,” Potgieter said. “But it was a good putt, I’m happy with it. And it was on a crest so I didn’t know if it was going to be left or right, so it was just a little unfortunate but I’ll take the 62 still.”
It’s not the first time either has played the course. They both played it back in 2023. For Potgieter, it was his first professional event, as he got a sponsor’s exemption to play as an 18-year-old.
“My parents weren’t here, so it was kind of a first step from amateur golf, not even college,” Potgieter said. “So that was a big step for me to come out here by myself with my caddie and play some of these events. It was a good learning curve. And I didn’t make the cut, so there was definitely a chip on my shoulder that I needed to get that done this week.”
After going in the afternoon on Thursday, they’ll both get an early start in Round 2 on Friday, June 27: Roy tees off at 6:45 a.m. and Potgieter tees off at 6:56.
Well, Min Woo Lee was the leader
Despite the young duo’s record round, Lee’s 63 was still enough for third place, tied with Max Greyserman and Mark Hubbard. Lee, an Australia native, finished with 10 birdies, nine of which came after opened with birdie-bogey on 10 and 11. Heading into his final hole, Lee was tied with Andrew Putnam, who parred the hole. Lee surpassed him with a thirty-foot putt that broke twice before it finally went in.
“Me and Bo, my caddie, read it left to right and a little straighter towards the end, but my tendency on left-to-righters is to miss ’em right,” Lee said, laughing. “And I did miss it right and it ended up coming back, which was very nice. So it was a great bonus. We knew it was going to come back right to left, but not that much. Sometimes better to be lucky. Just needed the right speed and it went in dead center.”
Lee’s 63 also tied his career best.
Since winning his first PGA Tour event (the Texas Children’s Houston Open in March), Lee has been “honestly very bad,” he said. He has struggled with putting and recently switched to a new putter, which he feels he’s had more success with. Lee has also been working on improving his driving, attempting to hit more of a fade than the left shot he typically hits.
His performance was also much improved by the friendly nature of Detroit Golf Club, which typically has low scores unlike the tough U.S. Open course in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, that he played two weeks ago.
“I have good vibes here,” Lee said. “I played really well last year and had a good chance to win, so I actually really like this place, and make some birdies.
Andrew Putnam gets on a roll
Putnam had one of his best rounds ever Thursday. The 36-year-old came out blazing on the back nine, with three straight birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. But it was nothing compared to his performance on the front nine: Five straight birdies on Nos. 4-8 to tie Lee for the lead at -8.
Lee, in the group behind Putnam, eventually passed him for the lead with a birdie on 9. Putnam had a 30-foot putt on 9 which came inches away from going in, but ultimately, he needed three shots to finish off the hole.
“Yeah, that’s one of the harder holes, No. 9,” Putnam said. “It’s usually a par hole, but with the way my putter was feeling, I just thought, ‘If I get this on the green, looks like it’s going in.’ … I only had a foot left, but it was like a 30-footer, so usually trying to two-putt those.”
The five straight birdies also came immediately after he bogeyed No. 3 — an impressive recovery.
“Bogeys out here today feel especially awful just because of how many opportunities there are,” Putnam told a reporter from the Golf Channel. “Glad I could stay in after that hole and finish off.”
Putnam ultimately finished in sixth and will tee off Friday at 12:32 p.m.
Michigan men
Grand Rapids native Brett White finished the highest of any Michigan-born player: tied for 26th overall at 5-under. All other Michigan natives finished the first round 100th or higher. Joe Hooks, who played his way into the field by winning the JOHN SHIPPEN Invitational at the Detroit Golf Club over the weekend, carded an even-par 72 to sit in a tie for 130th.
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