DETROIT — There was a better than decent chance Peter Kuest could have been spending Thursday fishing.
Instead of baiting a hook, however, Kuest found himself leading the Rocket Mortgage Classic after firing an 8-under 64 in the first round at Detroit Golf Club, joined late in the day by Taylor Moore, who matched Kuest's 64 with five birdies on the back nine. The leaders enjoyed a one-shot cushion over a pack of seven golfers and two better than a group that included World No. 20 Collin Morikawa.
Kuest's round was especially impressive for a guy who qualified for the tournament on Monday and is playing in just his fourth PGA Tour event this season.
"It feels good," Kuest said after a round that included nine birdies and just one blemish — a bogey at No. 12. "We've got another round tomorrow so we're going to get ready for that and then just take it one step at a time."
It's the only way to take it for Kuest, who has been forced to try and Monday qualify for most events he's played this year, though he received a sponsor's exemption at the Byron Nelson Classic. He has status on the Korn Ferry Tour, but not enough to secure a spot each week. In fact, he has yet to play a tournament on the developmental circuit this year.
He missed the cut at the Texas Open in April but tied for 14th at the Byron Nelson Classic in May and tied for 57th earlier this month at the RBC Canadian Open. Now, he's trying to put together a career-defining week in a tournament he played in 2020 on a sponsor's exemption.
"Yeah, we played really solid, we did it all pretty well," said Kuest, who was 6 under on the front nine. "We chipped one in on the front, hit a bunch of fairways, hit a bunch of greens, rolled a couple putts in. Just kept it simple."
Simple enough, especially considering how he could have been spending his time.
"Probably fishing back in Utah," Kuest said when asked about alternate plans had he not qualified by firing a 66 Monday at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills. "I probably would have gone Tuesday, probably in the afternoon today after practice. Probably be fishing right now."
For Moore, the opening round wasn't totally out of nowhere considering he earned his first Tour victory in March at the Valspar Championship, but he had missed three straight cuts before coming to the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Returning to Detroit Golf Club after his first appearance last year, Moore knew he needed to get his putter going. He did just that, needing just 25 putts to cap off a bogey-free round.
"Playing here last year, knowing how many under par it takes to win (helps)," Moore said. "I had a good week here last year. With the current state of my game I've kind of been stuck in neutral, so this has been really good for me to see. I felt like I've been really, really close and obviously was just stoked to see some putts go in and post a good number."
It was a number that was just good enough to keep Moore and Kuest ahead of a large group of players that are taking advantage of soft conditions at Detroit Golf Club.
Seven players were bunched one back at 7 under, including Dylan Wu, who was all over the map on Thursday. He had five birdies and three bogeys, but he added two eagles, including an albatross on No. 14 when he holed out from 262 yards on the 570-yard par-5.
"It was the perfect hybrid," Wu explained. "I just tried to hit about a 245 shot with wind helping off the left. As soon as I hit it, I hit it perfect I thought, but I kind of lost it halfway because of the haze and the grandstand and everything. So I looked at my caddie and I'm like, 'Where'd that go?' And he said it's going pretty close to the pin.
"I didn't see it land and then like a couple seconds later the crowd went wild. It was pretty surreal. I didn't even see the shot go in and lost the ball halfway through. ... It was a pretty crazy moment there, so it was really fun."
For Morikawa, the round was a positive step in what has been an inconsistent stretch.
He was top 30 at the PGA Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge, but a bad back forced him to withdraw from The Memorial before managing a tie for 14th at the U.S. Open. An opening-round 74 last week at the Travelers Championship too much to overcome as Morikawa missed the cut, but his second-round 63 was a step toward turning things around.
And while Thursday's round wasn't perfect, it was enough to put Morikawa in a good position in his first appearance at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
"What's great is that I didn't feel like I played phenomenal today and put together six birdies," he said. "We didn't really have many tough stretches or had to make many par saves out there so that's what you want. You want to keep giving yourself birdie opportunities, especially on this golf course where 25, 30 under might win."
Rocket brand ambassador Rickie Fowler was tied for the lead late in his morning round, but bogeys on the final two holes left him three shots off the pace.
"Still a solid day," Fowler said. "A lot of good stuff, off to a good start and that's really all you hope for on a Thursday to get a tournament going is get out moving in the right direction."
It was a difficult day for some of the more notable players in the field.
Defending champion Tony Finau shot par 72 for the round while Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama, playing together in the afternoon, did a fine job of tearing up the course.
Matsuyama managed a birdie at No. 17 to finish at 3-over 75 while Thomas birdied the first hole then scuffled his way to a 4-over 76, better than just four players in the field.
