Aldrich Potgieter took a peek at the leaderboard before lining up his last putt on a crest of the ninth green, knowing he had to make the 12-footer for birdie to break a tie with Kevin Roy.

The putt grazed the left edge, with Potgieter missing an opportunity to cap a record-setting day by taking the outright first-round lead at the Rocket Classic on Thursday.

“I was real eager to make that putt,” he said.

Potgieter and Roy each shot 10-under 62 to break the tournament 18-hole record.

Detroit Golf Club has been one of the easiest courses since the PGA Tour made it an annual stop in 2019.

A pair of Korn Ferry graduates took full advantage.

Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African who grew up in Australia, started at No. 10 and set a tournament record with a 7-under 29 on the back nine.

Potgieter and the 35-year-old Roy each had an eagle and eight birdies in bogey-free rounds.

On 578-yard, par-5 17th, Roy’s drive went 300 yards, his second shot traveled another 288 yards and his chip from the rough rolled in from 30 feet.

“Just one of those days everything was clicking,” Roy said. “I was shocked my 5-wood went that far. I had 279 pin. I don’t hit a 5-wood that far, but maybe a little adrenaline or something going on.”

As well as Roy and Potgieter played, they can’t get comfortable on a short course with greens that are even more receptive than usual with recent rain.

“It was pretty easy,” Andrew Putnam said after a 64.

Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back after matching the previous tournament record of 63. Two-time major champion Zach Johnson was in the group of seven players that were two shots back.

LPGA

Cassie Porter drove the green on a reachable par 4 and chipped in to start a streak of three straight birdies, teaming with Gemma Dryburgh in foursomes for a 4-under 66 to lead the Dow Championship in Midland, Mich., in the LPGA Tour’s only team event.

The duo dropped only one shot and finished with six straight pars for a one-shot lead over six teams, including Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, and Leona Maguire and Jennifer Kupcho.

The defending champions are Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikuinl, both among the top five in the women’s world ranking. They were among those two shots behind at 68.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Padraig Harrington made four birdies, though it was the bogey he saved after losing a tee shot deep in a thicket of trees on the 15th hole that helped him keep a share of the first-round lead with Mark Hensby at the U.S. Senior Open in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The leaders shot 3-under 67 for a one-shot edge over a group of six, including Stewart Cink, who hit the first 17 greens before making bogey after coming up short on No. 18.

Harrington, the 2022 U.S. Senior champion, made all four birdies on the (easier) front nine at the Broadmoor and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th deep into the woods. The Irishman took a cart back to the tee box for his third shot, then hit that into the right rough.

His approach to 20 feet and the ensuing make limited the damage and he made three pars on the way in to stay atop the leaderboard.

It was quite a different scene for Hensby, who made seven birdies on his front nine and got to 6 under at the turn, but finished bogey-bogey for his 67.