Rocket Mortgage Classic 2022 Leaderboard: Tony Finau picks up where he left off to share the lead after Round 1

With thunderstorms in the Detroit area earlier in the week, the players were provided with ideal scoring conditions on the morning of the first round of the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic. The man finished quickly to claim the title. Last week’s 3M Open win began around the same time on Thursday when Tony Finau signed a no-magic 8 under 64 to command sharing the lead with Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

Finau put together a batting clinic at the Detroit Golf Club when he hit more than four strokes on approach and nearly two more on tee. In fact, the 32-year-old is so in sync with his truck and iron in his hand that he ranks outside the top 45 in both short-game metrics.

If Finau’s putter heats up – as it did on Sunday at the 3M Open – the rest of the field could struggle as he searches for his second win in as many weeks. Along with Pendrith, Webb Simpson and Michael Thompson combined strong press play with timely possession to take the lead in bottom six. Both of these PGA Tour veterans are outside the top 100 of the FedEx Cup rankings for the week and have hit the highs thanks to their first-round efforts and will be a storyline that follows the next 54 holes. .

Leaders

T1. Tony Finau and Taylor Pendrith (-8): Basketball is often described as a “running game” and it is likely that golf will soon be seen in a similar light. From Patrick Cantlay in last year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs to Xander Schauffle’s midsummer, the likes of Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler have been able to put together some memorable quality shots. So this begs the question: Can Finau accomplish something similar?

A three-time PGA Tour winner and twice in less than a year, Finau is hitting the ball as well as anyone and could finally make his name to the high end of the game. Connected to all 18 regulated greens in the first round at the Detroit GC, it is clear that the rest of the Finau tournament – and the whole season – will simply depend on the hitter.

“Yes, it feels a bit like that, but it’s been a whole different week,” Finau said. “This game is a fun game because sometimes you play well and the next week you are a bit off, sometimes you play well and you move on. It’s great that it continues after last week and continues into the day. now.”

Other candidates

T3. Michael Thompson, Webb Simpson, Cameron Champ, Lee Hodges, Matt Wallace (-6)

T8. Stephan Jaeger, Taylor Moore, Sam Ryder, Si Woo Kim, Zach Johnson and nine others (-5)

Post-production is coming and the past few days have been good for someone like Jaeger. With players leaving LIV Golf officially dropped from the FedEx Cup standings, the 33-year-old jumped from 133rd in the season-long race to 125th without holding a club. The movement inside the bubble continued in the first round as Jaeger shot a 5 under 67 and is now predicted to move to 111 based on his current position.

“I don’t want to tell you much because it doesn’t – you know, I’ll be fine. In a sense, it didn’t change my life,” Jaeger said of the pressure to qualify for post-qualification. Season. “I have a great support team at home and my wife is always there. Yes, I want to. Do I need to? No, I’ll be fine. I try to keep as many points of view as I can. It’s possible. It’s not the end of the world and I know I’ll be back. Yeah, it’s been a great start, so hit the floor this week and try to make something happen.”

Homeless Hubbs make money with

Not all holes in one are the same as Mark Hubbard spotted on Thursday. Scoring the 10th goal of his life – according to his brother Nathan – the man referred to by some as “Homeless Hubbs” was disgusted with his swing at par-3 11, dropped his club and ended up watching his tee go down cup bottom.

“Honestly, it’s pretty embarrassing,” Hubbard said. “I looked up and it was a perfect one-yard draw. Wyndham [Clark] Actually, as soon as I let go, he would say, ‘Dude, you better not come in,’ but sure enough that it landed and dripped inside like a slam dunk. Yeah, I think that’s probably going to be one of my favorite holes I’ve ever made just because of the circumstances. And none of them even gave me compliments after that. ”

Biggest FedEx Cup Leaders From Thursday

From here on out, the post-season will be noticed by competitors as every shot is magnified when it comes to one’s job safety. After just 18 holes of competition, several have seen their names race across the FedEx Cup leaderboards and hope to continue on to the coveted top 125 to qualify for the first ever playoff event in the US. Memphis in two weeks.

2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic updated odds and selections

• Tony Finau: 33/10
• Taylor Pendrith: 8-1
• Webb Simpson: 14-1
• Cameron Champ: 16-1
• Orange Davis: 28-1
• Sahith Theegala: 28-1
• Patrick Cantlay: 28-1
• Kurt Kitayama: 35-1
• Will Zalatoris: 35-1
• Si Woo Kim: 35-1
• Charley Hoffman: 40-1
• Lee Hodges: 40-1
• Callum Tarren: 40-1
• Matt Wallace: 40-1
• Troy Merritt: 40-1

The weather forecast for Friday looks pretty much the same as Thursday, which means wind picks up in the afternoon. Therefore, it might be prudent to look to an early-morning golfer and Kitayama fits this criteria. Beating 5 under 67 in Round 1, the two-time DP World Tour winner circumnavigated Detroit GC in a magic-free way while connecting on 17 regulatory greens. Ranked sixth in terms of strokes won from tee to green, Kitayama hit about two strokes both on tee and on approach. He arrived in Detroit after two successful weeks in Scotland, where he finished second to Xander Schauffele at the Scottish Open.

Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme recap Thursday’s action at Rocket Mortgage Classic 2022. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.