"If you short-side yourself, it's going to be tough," Dunlap said. "But overall, very, very impressed with the way I kind of navigated around today."

Brehm, 38, a Traverse City resident and Mt. Pleasant native who was followed by 30 to 40 family members and friends and was serenaded all day with "Go Green! Go White!" led a large pack at 4 under that also included world No. 36 Min Woo Lee, playing his first Rocket, and world No. 33 Chris Kirk, who's never missed the cut here. Brehm has had a pretty rough season, at the wrong time, with his PGA Tour exemption for winning the 2022 Puerto Rico Open running short on time, missing 10 of 15 cuts, but he posted his best opening round ever at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and his second-best round ever at Detroit Golf Club (67).

Thursday's opening round got started off with a bang, when 2019 winner Nate Lashley made a hole-in-one at the tough par-3 11th. It was his first ace on the PGA Tour, and it was the eighth ace in Rocket history.

Lashley was 4 under on the par 3s Thursday, but 2 over on the other 14 holes, to post an opening 70.

"Yeah, that's a problem," said Lashley, 41, still looking for a second PGA Tour win. "Gotta clean that up for sure."

Same goes for Tom Kim, the pre-tournament favorite and highest-ranked player in the field at world No. 16 who struggled early and carded a 1-over 73, leaving him with a daunting task of making the cut. He's playing for an unbelievable ninth straight week, and, even at 22, could be running out of gas. Bhatia is playing his eighth straight.

Other notable names in the field include rising star Michael Thorbjornsen (4-under 68), two-time major champion Zach Johnson, world No. 44 Robert MacIntyre (1-under 71) and No. 45 Nicolai Hojgaard (71), and No. 41 Stephan Jaeger (3-over 75). Johnson, 48, who hasn't won since the 2015 British Open, had it to 6 under late in his opening round but double-bogeyed his last hole, the par-3 ninth.

Miles Russell, the 15-year-old phenom from Florida in the field on a sponsor's exemption, opened with a bogey and finished with a 2-over 74 in his PGA Tour debut, which comes before the reigning American Junior Golf Association player of the year and Junior PGA champion is even legally allowed to drive. He's the youngest player ever to compete in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, coming in a year where the prime storyline is youth over stars.

"I feel older saying this now," said Young, who's not so young anymore, compared to the steady stream of ridiculous talent coming out onto the PGA Tour, "but every group of people that comes out here is younger and younger, and more prepared to compete out here."

And at the Rocket, unlike Michigan roads these days, there's simply no pumping the brakes.

Otherwise, you'll get lapped like you're going 10 over on the Lodge.

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