2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic leaderboard, takeaways: Bryson DeChambeau lights it up in Round 1

DeChambeau sits one back of the lead after torching Detroit Golf Club on Thursday

The big fella -- Bryson DeChambeau -- did big fella stuff on Thursday in Round 1 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. After Round 1, he trails Scott Stallings, Doc Redman and Kevin Kisner as all three shot 7-under 65s to get the event started while DeChambeau followed them all up with a 6-under 66.

DeChambeau owned the afternoon, though, by hitting absolute missiles off the tee down the back nine following an up and down front nine. The putter was working (more on that below), the driver was always working and the current best player in the world is doing work at Detroit Golf Club.

We'll dive a little deeper into his round as well as everyone who's chasing him going into Friday's Round 2 below as we look back on the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

T1. Doc Redman, Kevin Kisner, Scott Stallings (-7) -- The Doc felt like a bit of a sucker bet coming in given that most people were taking him just because he had a nice T2 finish here last year to earn temporary membership on the PGA Tour. However, the reality here is that Doc has been playing terrific golf since the PGA Tour returned a month ago, and that continued on Thursday as he teed off early in the morning wave. He putted it a little better than you'd like in terms of sustainability, but I don't think he's going to fade from this board. 

T4. Bryson DeChambeau, Peter Malnati, Emiliano Grillo, Chase Seiffert, J.J. Spaun, Matt Wallace, Chris Stroud (-6) -- I hate to be the bearer of this news to those who thought Bryson was no more than a meme come to life on the PGA Tour this season, but what he's doing thus far is working. Consider his back nine performance following a 1-under front nine. He averaged 345 yards off the tee, picked up 1.7 strokes off the tee, made six 3s and shot a 31. This is what happens when you go to a course that allows him to open up the throttle a little bit. He was the player to beat coming in, and absolutely nothing has changed after Round 1. If he's going to putt like he did on Thursday (first in the field in strokes gained), that's a wrap until next week.

T11. Rickie Fowler, James Hahn, Chris Kirk, Lucas Glover, Richy Werenski, Adam Hadwin, Henrik Norlander, Seamus Power, Hudson Swafford, Mark Hubbard, George McNeill, Johnson Wagner, Rhein Gibson (-5) -- Obviously the big name here is Fowler, who has not had the best 2020. Despite ranking 100th in driving and 70th in approach shots coming into Thursday, he was better in both categories and had a clean card other than a double at the 18th hole. He also putted the lights out, which his his M.O. (but hasn't been in two straight missed cuts).

"... It's some of the worst I've putted or maybe the most inconsistent," said Fowler of his missed cuts at the Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Heritage. "To be where I was and know that there were a handful of shots that were either mental mistakes or putts that missed and changes the course of the round -- yeah, it always sucks not being there on the weekend."

T43. Viktor Hovland (-3) -- Hovland didn't make anything on these greens, which is a good sign for a lower score in Round 2. He's 25-1 to win the tournament after Round 1 for a reason, because the firepower has gone nowhere and all it takes is one day of not missing a put for Hovland to grab a spot atop the board.

T68. Patrick Reed (-2) -- Reed closed nicely with a 33 on the back, but he was unusually abysmal around the greens, and his iron play wasn't all that solid either. It can't be easy playing with DeChambeau hitting it 50 yards past you on every hole, but I expect a nice step forward in the 66 or 67 range on Friday in Round 2. 

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CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with the latest scores, updates and highlights from the Rocket Mortgage Classic below. Check out the live scores at the top of this story or a more detailed leaderboard.

[Jul 2, 2020 at 5:38 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Bryson is just burning down the back nine. He's averaging over 340 off the tee and is about to shoot a 30 on this side to take the lead. Insane.

[Jul 2, 2020 at 3:36 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Bryson goes out in 35 with bogeys at his last two holes but birdies the first hole on the back nine to run it back to -2 overall.

[Jul 2, 2020 at 2:45 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Of the late tee times so far, Martin Trainer is having the best day. He's -4 thru 8 holes and three back of the lead.

[Jul 2, 2020 at 1:26 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Bryson birdies the first hole in the afternoon wave. You can't shoot 53 unless you birdie the first. Top four on the leaderboard are Doc Redman (-7), Scott Stallings (-7), Emiliano Grillo (-6) and Peter Malnati (-6).

[Jul 2, 2020 at 12:51 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Nice 67 from Rickie Fowler and 68 from Webb Simpson. They should be in the mix all weekend, although I trust Simpson to have more staying power than Fowler.