Rocket Mortgage Classic 2020: Kevin Kisner Among 3 Co-Leaders After Round 1

The first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic produced a crowded leaderboard with Kevin Kisner, Doc Redman and Scott Stallings finishing the day tied for first place.

Each leader finished seven strokes under par with a 65 Thursday at Detroit Country Club in Michigan, although Kisner was the only one of the three who avoided birdies. Redman and Stallings each had eight birdies and one bogey.

Despite their strong starts, the next three days of the tournament should remain competitive with seven golfers sitting just one stroke off the lead, including a red-hot Bryson DeChambeau. Rickie Fowler and Adam Hadwin are among the notable competitors two strokes back, reaming within striking distance after Day 1.

Round 1 Leaderboard

T1. Doc Redman (-7)

T1. Scott Stallings (-7)

T1. Kevin Kisner (-7)

T4. Bryson DeChambeau (-6)

T4. Peter Malnati (-6)

T4. Emiliano Grillo (-6)

T4. Chase Seiffert (-6)

T4. J.J. Spaun (-6)

T4. Matt Wallace (-6)

T4. Chris Stroud (-6)

Full leaderboard and stats available at PGATour.com.

Stallings was a relative surprise on top of the leaderboard but he fared well with four birdies in each half of his round. He reached the green in regulation in 83.3 percent of holes during the day, giving him a leg up on his competition.

It was a different type of day for Redman, who was even after No. 10. Things turned around in a hurry with seven birdies in his final eight holes, featuring some incredible putting.

"I've come off two good finishes and a really good finish last year at this event, which has never really happened to me," the 22-year-old said, per Larry Lage of the Associated Press. "So I've never had this kind of expectation externally or even internally."

Redman has never won a PGA Tour event while Stallings hasn't won since 2014, but each finished in the top 11 in last week's Travelers Championship, providing some momentum going into Thursday.

Kisner, who hasn't won a stroke-play tournament since 2017, missed his last two cuts but was nearly flawless Thursday to earn a share of the lead.

Continuing this play is the real challenge, though, especially with DeChambeau competing at a high level.

There were more up and downs in his round, including four bogeys, but his peaks were as good as anyone in the field. He not only crushed the ball off the tee with a 358.5-yard driving average, but he also excelled in all facets of the game in Round 1:

Fowler is also a threat to win after shooting 67 in his first round:

Sitting at five strokes under par will help the 31-year-old remain in contention throughout the weekend.

A likely low cut line in Round 2 will only raise the drama Friday with tee times beginning at 6:45 a.m. local time.