Rocket Classic Round 2: Kirk, Knowles and Putnam Share the Lead as Jake Knapp Fires a Record 61

The Rocket Classic's scoring record lasted exactly one day. Then Jake Knapp showed up angry.

Knapp shot an 11-under 61 on Friday at Detroit Golf Club, breaking the 62s that Aldrich Potgieter and Kevin Roy posted on Thursday, and the round dragged him from deep in the field into the thick of a crowded weekend. He is not leading, though. That honor belongs to a three-way logjam at 14-under 130: Chris Kirk (65), Philip Knowles (64) and Andrew Putnam (66). Jackson Suber (65) is alone in fourth at 13 under, and Potgieter, Mark Hubbard and Michael Thorbjornsen are two back at 12 under.

Knapp Turns a Grudge Into a 61

Knapp opened with an even-par 72 on Thursday, a number that ranked 130th in a 156-player field on a day when 7 under only got you a tie for seventh. By his own account, he did not take it well.

"I was just probably upset all night and this morning, so I think that maybe helped a little bit," Knapp said.

Starting on the 10th tee, Knapp did not make a birdie until the 13th. Then the round caught fire. He went 5 under over the next five holes, a run capped by a 34-foot eagle putt on the par-5 17th, and he never let up. The final card showed an eagle, nine birdies and no bogeys. Golf Digest's numbers show how complete it was: he picked up about three strokes on approach and nearly six on the greens compared with Thursday, and he got up and down all three times he missed a green.

The jump was 123 spots on the leaderboard, from near the bottom to a big pack at 11 under, three behind the leaders. Low numbers are nothing new for Knapp. He shot 59 at the Cognizant Classic in March, and he won the Mexico Open as a rookie in 2024.

Three Names, Three Different Paths

Kirk's round started with three straight birdies, and the six-time TOUR winner finished with nine birdies against two bogeys for his second straight 65. Kirk's last title came at the 2024 season opener at Kapalua, and his game has the steady look of someone who knows how to close.

Knowles is the surprise. The 28-year-old is still looking for a first TOUR win, and this is only the third made cut in 11 starts for a player who has had a grinding season. Knowles was refreshingly honest about it.

"It's not been my best year thus far by any stretch of the imagination, but golf is funny," Knowles said.

Putnam had the toughest assignment of the three. He played in the afternoon after the wind picked up, made three birdies and a bogey on the front nine, and found only one more birdie coming home. A win would be the second of his TOUR career and his first since 2018.

"The wind came up, got a couple tricky holes out there, so glad I could grind it out," Putnam said.

The Co-Leaders From Thursday Cool Off

The two record-setters from the opener came back to earth. Potgieter shot 70 and still sits in a share of fifth at 12 under, very much alive but no longer setting the pace. Roy managed a 71 and dropped into the 11-under crowd. Min Woo Lee, who opened with 63, slid all the way back with a 73.

Meanwhile, Collin Morikawa fixed what broke on Thursday. After losing almost five strokes on the greens in the first round, he switched putters and shot 64 to climb to 11 under. The world No. 5 is three back, sharing a spot with Knapp, Roy, Hideki Matsuyama (66), Ben Griffin (67) and Gary Woodland (66), among others.

The Cut Line Bites Big Names

With the field this bunched, the cut fell at 6 under late Friday evening, and plenty of recognizable names went home.

Wyndham Clark, who opened with 66, finished at 4 under and missed. Max Homa (71-70) was at 3 under, Rickie Fowler, the 2023 champion, at 2 under, Tom Kim at 1 under after a Friday 76, and defending champion Cam Davis at even par after rounds of 74 and 70. Keith Mitchell finished 5 over. With the regular season winding down, those misses come with FedExCup consequences, with Clark projected to fall outside the top 70.

Keegan Bradley, fresh off his Travelers win, survived right on the number at 6 under. So did Will Gordon, playing on a Major Medical Extension and needing a made cut to keep status. Gordon birdied the last two holes to get there.

"It's not in the back of my mind, it's in the very front," Gordon said.

The Weekend in Detroit

Eight shots separate the leaders from the last player inside the cut, and on a course yielding 61s, that gap is not much. Kirk brings the experience, Putnam the ability to grind on a windy afternoon, and Knowles the freedom of someone with nothing to protect. Behind them, Suber, Potgieter and Morikawa all have the firepower to rewrite the board by Saturday evening.

Three tied at the top and more than a dozen within three shots means one hot stretch on moving day could change everything.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap, cut line report and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, Golf Digest, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.