DETROIT (AP) — Cameron Young birdied seven of his first eight holes in the second round of the Rocket Classic and thought he had a shot at the lowest score in PGA Tour history.
“I was thinking 55,” he said.
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Xander Schauffele watches his shot from the 11th tee during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Chris Kirk hits from the ninth tee during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Rickie Fowler hits from the 11th tee during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Patrick Cantlay chips onto the 18th green during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Cameron Young chips onto the eighth green during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Young cooled off with two birdies on his back nine in a bogey-free round, closing with a Detroit Golf Club-record tying 61 to reach 10 under for the tournament to tie Patrick Cantlay (66) and Patrick Fishburn (66) atop the leaderboard Friday.
“You hate to call it a disappointing 61,” he said, lamenting missing many birdie opportunities that preventing him from breaking Jim Furyk’s record 58 that has stood for a decade.
Young, the No. 3 player in the world with three wins this season, shot a 59 in 2024 at the Travelers Championship and had a chance to join Furyk with multiple sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour.
“It felt like I had a 10-footer for birdie on pretty much every hole,” Young said.
A lot of players took advantage of one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour.
Matt Wallace (64) and Rickie Fowler (68) were two shots back.
Fowler surged into the lead — briefly — at 11 under before falling back to the pack. He three-putted from 24 feet to bogey No. 11 and went from thigh-high fescue to a greenside bunker at No. 13, leading to his second of three bogeys on the back nine.
“Nice to finish with birdie on 18,” said Fowler, whose sixth and last win was the 2023 Rocket Classic. “A lot of good stuff today and nice to be in a good spot for the weekend.”
First-round leader Peter Malnati, who followed up his 61 on Thursday with a 71, was another stroke back in a large group that included Xander Schauffele (66).
Hideki Matsuyama (68) extended the PGA Tour’s longest active cuts streak to 30 by getting to 5 under with a slew of players, including Tony Finau (67), who is hoping to improve his positioning to be among the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings after next week’s Wyndham Championship.
“I check it pretty much every tournament just kind of see where I’m at, even on off weeks,” said Finau, the 2022 Rocket Classic champion, who entered the tournament No. 87 in the standings.
Matt Kuchar was another stroke back, getting a boost from his seventh career ace with a 9-iron on the 156-yard, par-3 5th hole. Kuchar invited a kid to join him inside the ropes to retrieve the ball, which he signed with a black marker.
“I saw a little boy that was kind of the right age where you know they’re so excited to be out here, just very impressionable,” Kuchar said. “One of those things where it’s easy to make their day. I think anytime you get to make a kid’s day, it makes your day.”
The Rocket Classic, which is in its eighth and final year, drew a stronger than usual field and some notable names missed the cut at 3 under.
U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (74) was 5 over. Chris Gotterup, a three-time winner this year and ranked No. 7 in the world, was 1 over to end his streak of making the cut in 14 straight starts. Akshay Bhatia (71) — No. 12 in FedEx Cup standings — also dropped out at 1 under.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Xander Schauffele watches his shot from the 11th tee during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Chris Kirk hits from the ninth tee during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Rickie Fowler hits from the 11th tee during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Patrick Cantlay chips onto the 18th green during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Cameron Young chips onto the eighth green during the first round of the Rocket Classic golf tournament at the Detroit Golf Club, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bo Bichette went 5 for 5 with a three-run double and scored three times, Luis Robert Jr. homered and drove in four, and the New York Mets routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-1 on Sunday.
Sean Manaea pitched seven strong innings and struck out 11, most by a New York starter this season. Francisco Alvarez also went deep and Jared Young had three hits for the last-place Mets, who improved to 5-1 on a nine-game trip following a substantial selloff ahead of last Monday’s trade deadline.
Coming off a 9-0 defeat Saturday night, New York turned the tables and outhit Pittsburgh 15-4. Bichette had a bases-loaded double in the fourth that pushed the lead to 8-1. Robert launched a two-run shot in the third, and Alvarez homered leading off the fifth.
Manaea (4-5) allowed only Jake Mangum’s homer in the third. The big left-hander gave up three hits and walked none.
Jack Weisenburger, just called up from Triple-A Syracuse, tossed two scoreless innings in his major league debut to finish it.
Pirates starter Jared Jones (2-4) was tagged for eight runs and six hits in three-plus innings. He walked three and hit two batters with pitches as Pittsburgh lost for the fifth time in six games.
Rookie outfielder Carson Benge returned to the Mets’ lineup from a sore left wrist and went 2 for 5 with an RBI single and a walk.
Mets: Travel to Atlanta to open a three-game series Monday night with RHP Christian Scott (3-3, 3.15 ERA) starting against RHP Bryce Elder (8-6, 3.69).
Pirates: Begin a three-game series at Miami on Tuesday night as RHP Paul Skenes (9-10, 3.96 ERA) faces RHP Eury Pérez (5-9, 3.61).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Mets pitcher Jack Weissenburger, right, celebrates with catcher Francisco Alvarez, left, after getting the final out of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Jones, left, walks off the mound after handing the ball to manager Don Kelly, second from left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Mets’ Luis Robert Jr. hits a two-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Jones during the third inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Mets’ Francisco Alvarez, right, is greeted by A.J. Ewing (9) as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Kirby Yates during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)