The last time we witnessed the lowest score ever recorded in a tournament was in 2016. It was the Travelers Championship when Jim Furyk shot a 58 on the final round and recorded 12-under par in just one day. Well, it looks like this week at the 2025 Rocket Classic, history might repeat. After the first round concluded, we saw Kevin Roy and Aldrich Potgieter taking the clubhouse lead at 10-under par! That’s a score we haven’t seen in a while in a single round on the PGA Tour. And it was not just these two, but the variance in scores we saw on this course was less than a typical PGA Tour course —nearly 129 players shot under par! While the numbers are shocking, an insider let us in on a secret that might be the reason for the unexpected stats.

The Rocket Classic has been played at Detroit Golf Club’s North Course since its inception in 2019. It was designed by Donald Ross, who stuck to the classic flat layout and tight-lined fairways. The tight-lined fairways were predominantly because of the trees lined up on either side of the fairways, but that might not be the case anymore!

Speaking to CBS News, the director of golf at Detroit Golf Club, Carl Hayes, let us in on a secret. The golf course is prepping for restoration work, which will begin immediately after the Rocket Classic concludes, and because of that, they have already mowed down several trees from the fairways. “So this year, as a part of our preparation for the restoration project that we have that’s going to start literally next week, right after the final putt, basically, we’ve removed about 150 trees approximately, installed in preparation seven miles of main drainage. And then also the main irrigation. So all of this work is underground right now, or the trees that have been removed. Maybe that’s why we’ve seen some pretty good scores today,” he said.

And now everything makes sense. It’s not just his words, but even the statistical insights after the first round, displayed why the course was relatively easier to navigate than before. Take a look at the leader’s stats. Kevin Roy hit 12 out of 14 fairways off the tee and missed only 3 greens-in-regulation. And not just him. Potgeiter, who is also tied for the lead, missed just one GIR and his 11 out of 14 fairways off the tee. There are numbers that we haven’t even seen from Scottie Scheffler, who is known as one of the best ball strikers on tour.

Even the Strokes Gained total for the first round is at 0.89, which implies that there’s hardly a stark difference between the high-skilled players to the average skilled players on tour, which is unlike the case during other PGA Tour events. Scottie Scheffler, who ranks first in SG on the tour with 2.66, is now looking meek if you compare him to Kevin Roy’s 7.09 during the first round in Detroit. While the comparison may not be right, given that Scheffler’s stats are over 52 rounds of play, you do see where we are going with this.

A pair of course record 62s, carded 8 minutes apart (!)

Aldrich Potgieter and Kevin Roy share the lead @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/EQqbctmSKj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 26, 2025

In 2022, when Tony Finau shot a course record score of 26-under to win the tournament, his lowest score in a round was 8-under par on the first day. Last year, when Cameron Davis won the event, he shot 18-under on all four days, with his lowest score in a day going only at 6-under. With the scores going in the direction they are after the first day, we can expect a new course record to be set this week. But this might be the last chance for players to score low on this course, as the restoration is going to make things not so easy from next year.

What might the course look like next year?

The $16 million restoration will be led by golf architect Tyler Rae as soon as the Rocket Classic concludes this weekend. Apart from the tree removal, bunkers will be added and removed from several holes, and even the pond that sits before the Par 5 14th green will be gone. The course will also be lengthened by almost 200 yards, from its current length of 7,370 yards. While length is not a problem for most players on tour, accuracy will be a challenge off the tee in the coming years.

Right now, the course has smaller bunkers in play on the fairways and bordering the greens. But with additions of new bunkers on the course, it won’t just be the number that players will have to be wary of, but also the size of the massive bunkers as part of the restoration plan. The contours of the greens will also become more difficult, and this might be the last time we will ever witness the incredible stats that we did on the first round.