Detroit (USA), Jun 27 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia had a decent start of 4-under 68 but it was only good enough for a tied-44th place in the opening round of the Rocket Classic here. The world No. 36, who reached the Tour Championship in 2024, had five birdies against one bogey and was six shots behind co-leaders, South African Aldrich Potgieter and American Kevin Roy, who shot 10-under 62 each. Starting from the 10th, Bhatia who was third at the Players Championship and had two top-10s earlier this year, birdied the opening and the 14th holes but dropped a shot on the 18th. On his second nine, he birdied the fifth and sixth and parred the rest of the holes for a 68. Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African who grew up in Australia, started at No. 10 and set a tournament record with a 7-under 29 on the back nine. He added three birdies on the back nine and caught the left edge on a 12-foot putt on his final hole. The 10-under 62 shot by Potgieter and Roy was a tournament 18-hole record. The Detroit Golf Club has been one of the easiest courses since the PGA Tour made it an annual stop in 2019. Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back after matching the previous tournament record of 63. Two-time major champion Zach Johnson was in a group of seven players that was two shots back. The Rocket Classic field includes nine of the top-50 players in the world, led by fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa, who opened with a 69. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who rose to No. 7 in the world after winning the Travelers Championship last week in Connecticut, shot a 68. PTI Cor AM AM AM