“I’ve been working on all of it,” Malnati mentioned. “Nothing specific. We know the name of the game, driver between the left rough and right rough, approach shots on the green, hopefully in the right section, hopefully below the hole, but that doesn’t always matter. I’m always working on ways to control that ball a little more. 

“Hasn’t really shown, but I’ve been consistent in the work. It hasn’t changed, just I’m building. It’s like the iceberg, they say, I’m building and building, there’s a lot going on below the surface, so hopefully this is just the tip of it.”

Malnati will now work towards the weekend in the Motor City, where big names will be hunting him down on the leaderboard. In addition to Fowler and Gerard, stars like Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay shone bright in Round 1 and are in position to strike in the penultimate event of the regular season.

Leader

1. Peter Malnati (-9): Should Malnati convert his first-round lead to a lead by the time 72 holes are completed, he would move up more than 100 spots in the season-long race to No. 68 on the eve of the postseason. More important than a possible postseason berth, playing privileges for future seasons would be secured as well.

“I’m determined to get it back on the Tour,” Malnati mentioned. “Not that I have any say in that anymore, but I’m not giving up hope. I want to come back.”

Coming into this week, Malnati had played in 17 PGA Tour events this year, compiling one top-20 finish and 10 missed cuts. It’s the beauty of the sport — one week can change a season — and Malnati will look to do just that again, similar to 2024, the last time he won at the Valspar Championship.

“The struggle has been real, for sure,” Malnati mentioned. “Like just that pull of like do I keep going out there when, I think if you looked it up. … I think since I won the Valspar tournament, I’m going to guess that I’ve had maybe two finishes in the top 30, I would say. It’s been tough, but the one thing that is consistent is when I am home … there’s never three days in a row that I don’t long to go practice. Like I love to do this. Even though it’s frustrating, I don’t ever feel like I don’t want to do it anymore, so I’m going to keep doing it.”

Contenders

T2. Rickie Fowler, Ryan Gerard (-7)
T4. Patrick Fishburn, Patrick Cantlay (-6)
T6. Michael Kim, Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley, Stephan Jaeger, Doug Ghim, Michael Brennan, Hayden Springer (-5)

There are plenty of bubbles that will burst over the next few weeks, including the top 30 that will earn spots in the Tour Championship. It is a position that Fowler is familiar with, as he was in line to qualify for the postseason finale with nine holes to play at the BMW Championship before a brutal back nine ended his season early.

One year later, he finds himself in a similar position at No. 32 with a quality outing this week, doing more than his fair share of heavy lifting for his postseason aspirations. On Thursday, Fowler’s ball striking was nearly flawless as he hit 12 fairways and 17 greens while penciling six birdies and an eagle on his scorecard by day’s end.

“I know where I’m at and all that,” Fowler mentioned. “Obviously, would like to just play well and have a good week here. The earlier, sooner you could potentially lock up just being in the top 30, that would be something that would be great for me, and then above that, just being in the position where we have a chance going into East Lake would be ideal. 

“But at the same time, it’s not necessarily a position where I’m looking at playing next week just to get points, because also it is a tough stretch. This week, the weather’s great being up this far north, but you look at Greensboro on through the Playoffs, and that’s just grinding it out and trying to survive. Play well this week, enjoy some days at home, rest up because it’s going to be a hot, sweaty, muggy run to the finish.”

New kid on the block

Both the postseason and the Presidents Cup are on the minds of players and leadership alike, with assistant captain Bradley getting an up-close and personal view of 21-year-old Jackson Koivun. A winner last week at the 3M Open, Koivun has catapulted his name onto the list of potential picks by captain Brandt Snedeker for the competition in September.

A run into the playoffs may be required for Koivun’s selection to come to light as he checks in at No. 70 in the FedEx Cup standings. An opening round of 69 won’t do his position in the season-long race any favors, though Bradley continued to sing Koivun’s praises much like other pros have this last week.

“He’s just an incredible player,” Bradley mentioned of Koivun. “Really, really great guy. How old is he, 20, 21, something in there? Yeah, he seems more mature and older, which makes him unique is a lot of the younger players that I have seen come out that are really good play a much different game. He’s not a 195-ball-speed guy; he’s just a really solid player. I was really impressed.

“I’m just trying to focus sort of on what I’m doing mostly, but it certainly was nice to see him up close. He seems like he’s got a lot of just confidence and maturity. I couldn’t imagine doing what he’s doing at that age. He certainly has the makeup.”

2026 Rocket Classic updated odds, picks

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Patrick Cantlay: 15/2
• Ryan Gerard: 8-1
• Rickie Fowler: 17/2
• Xander Schauffele: 14-1
• Keegan Bradley: 21-1

Despite being rather congested, the leaderboard features only four players with odds south of 20-1, with Malnati priced at 24-1 even with his two-stroke lead. No one is really posing as the main threat, so it may be wise to throw a dart on a player with an early tee time on Friday, like Ben Griffin at 65-1. Griffin shot 68 on Thursday despite having issues with his new driver being too spinny. He went to the range after his round, hoping to figure it out and go low early in Round 2 with fresh greens underneath his feet.