Among the closest chasers is Montgomery, who's playing in his first tournament since early May because of torn labrums in both shoulders. The last five tournaments he did play, he was cut twice and withdrew once. He barely played a handful of practice rounds over the last several weeks before deciding last week to play this week.

"Not swinging very hard at it right now," said Montgomery, 29. "But I'm at least advancing it forward."

Young, the highest-ranked player left in the field at No. 23, finished tied for second here in 2022, the year Tony Finau won the championship.

Young has had his ups and downs this season, including a recent stretch of 10 consecutive rounds of 72 or higher. He made that a distant memory with a 59 at the Travelers last weekend. He didn't have his best stuff Friday, he acknowledged, but plowed through it, including a chunked 5-iron at the par-5 17th that still set up birdie.

"Golf's just a funny game," said Young, 27. "I hit some mediocre shots today, and really got away with them."

Of course, you take all the breaks you can get in golf, but especially at the Rocket, where the winning score has been in the 20s under par all but one year.

"You've got to make sure that you're ready," said van Rooyen, 34, who made five consecutive birdies on the back nine Friday, "for whatever that course gives you."

Other notables include Will Zalatoris, who shot a 1-under 71 that was derailed by double-bogey at the par-5 14th (he chipped in the water, from behind the green), and was at 7 under. He was one shot better than defending champion and crowd favorite Rickie Fowler, who followed his opening 66 with a par 72.

Tom Kim, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 16, missed the cut by a stroke at 4 under, after a second-round 68. Kim, who missed a short birdie putt at the par-5 17th before making birdie at the par-4 18th closing hole, was playing for the ninth consecutive week. This marked his second straight missed cut at Detroit Golf Club, after he burst onto the PGA Tour scene with a T7 in 2022.

Among the other notables to miss the cut, which was 4 under, were up-and-coming pro Michael Thorbjornsen (3 under), Daniel Berger, Webb Simpson and Francesco Molinari (2 under), Robert MacIntyre (1 under) and 15-year-old Miles Russell (even). Gary Woodland (2 over) and Stewart Cink (3 over) also headed home. All three local players in the field this week, Traverse City's Ryan Brehm (1 over), Flint's Willie Mack III (1 over) and Grosse Pointe Woods' Kyle Martin (4 over), missed the cut.

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