From the late wave and beginning on 10 tee, World No. 374 Henrik Norlander smoothed a bogey-free 5-under 33-34=67 in R1 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, good for a 14-way T8, three adrift of co-leaders and AM-wavers Tony Finau and Taylor Pendrith.
This is the 35-year-old’s third Rocket after a T12 in 2020 (67-70-69-68) and a T38 last year. He arrived 150th in the FedExCup standings, missing five of his last six cuts, interrupted by a T31 at the opposite-field Barracuda two starts ago, where he was in the top 5 after each of the first three rounds in the Modified Stableford format, including T2 at halftime. On 10 (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, the Augusta University alum lost 0.245 strokes off-the-tee but gained 1.772 approaching, 0.996 around, and 1.152 with the flat stick, converting three of five birdies from between 11 and 20 feet, including a walk-off 11-footer at the par-3 ninth.