Rocket Mortgage Classic's Round 1 leaderboard full of longshots looking for big win

Day 1 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic came with its fair share of surprises.

As Tony Finau, the No. 16 ranked golfer in the world, climbed to the top of the opening round’s leaderboard, a few unexpected players met him there.

Taylor Pendrith, the No. 237 player in the world, tied Finau’s score of 64 on the day for a share of first place. The tournament's course record is 63, first set by Nate Lashley in 2019. Pendrith entered the round with 80-1 odds to win the tournament, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

[ Mark Hubbard drops club in disgust, still makes hole-in-one ]

Pendrith’s fifth-place tie in October’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship has been a shining achievement of his career thus far, along with his two PGA Tour Canada wins in 2019. The Kent State alum also finished tied for 11th in the Barracuda Championship and for 13th in the Barbasol Championship this season.

After suffering a rib injury in March, Pendrith, 31, believes he’s now fully recovered. The Richmond Hill, Ontario, native also said making the 3½-hour drive to Detroit Golf Club made Thursday “feel like a home game.”

“Honestly, for me, it's just really nice to be back playing healthy,” Pendrith said. “It's been a long time off and I'm just happy to be playing golf again pain free. Obviously the eight under is a great start, but there's so much golf left and, like I said, I'm just happy to be back playing and everything (else is) a bonus.”

In a tie for third sits No. 236 Michael Thompson, who shot 66 and entered with 125-1 odds to win. The 37-year-old has two PGA Tour wins and most recently finished tied for fifth at January's Sony Open in Hawaii.

Thompson hit 14 greens, and said he was “surprised” by his putting performance.

“These greens don't really fit my eye,” Thompson said, “because there's so many little undulations and you can have a 20-footer that breaks three different ways and it's hard to read sometimes. … I was really committed to my line and that's what helped me put a good stroke on it. Played really solid golf. The driver was a little bit off on the back nine, but nothing really to be upset about.”

Matt Wallace and Lee Hodges, who both also entered with 125-1, are also tied for third. Wallace ranks No. 165 globally and said his play is inspired by his desire to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs next month.

Still, Wallace is focused on what’s in his control and “putting good scores on the scorecard.” This sentiment was shared by Hodges, who ranks No. 234 in the world.

Hodges finished tied for third in The American Express Desert Classic in January. He also ended tied for 16th in the 3M Open earlier this month in Minnesota. He started his day in Detroit with two birdies and an eagle on the first five holes.

“Just (need to) keep doing what I'm doing,” Hodges said. “I'm striking the ball as good as I've struck it in a long, long time and just need to keep hitting good putts and they'll go in.”

Just below the players tied for third, No. 431 Nick Watney's odds of 1000-1 make him arguably the biggest surprise in the opening round. He's in a group tied for eighth with a score of 67. The Sacramento native has five career PGA Tour wins and finished tied for second at the Sanderson Farms Championship this month.

No. 345 Kiradech Aphibarnrat is also defying oddsmakers. He has 500-1 odds to win and is tied for eighth as well. The 33-year-old has nine career top-10 PGA Tour finishes, but his last one came during the 2019-20 season.

Other surprises in the tie include Henrik Norlander, ranked No. 374 with 300-1 odds and Stephan Jaeger, who entered with 150-1 odds and ranked No. 205. Jaeger, 33, has only one top-10 PGA tour finish in his career.

“I missed the cut in Minneapolis last week and went home and just kind of went through some old stuff,” Jaeger said. “And, (I) tried to figure out what was going on. Felt a lot more comfortable today, which is great. Just (an) overall solid round.”

Chandler Engelbrecht is a reporting intern at The Detroit Free Press and can be reached at CEngelbrecht@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @ctengelbrecht.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rocket Mortgage Classic's Round 1 leaderboard full of longshots