DETROIT – Consider Cameron Champ a fan of the front nine at Detroit Golf Club.

Champ was one of the last finishers Thursday afternoon at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and after a slow start he birdied five of the last seven holes on the front side, his second nine, to come home in 32. But that was barely noteworthy compared to his second-round effort, where Champ torched the outward half to the tune of an 8-under 28 that helped him take the tournament lead at 13 under.

Champ’s front side included a six-hole stretch of five birdies and an eagle from Nos. 2-7, and going back to the opening round he had a stretch of 14 straight holes in which he was 12 under.

“The front nine was about as big as the hole’s probably ever looked for me. Just everything went together,” Champ said. “It’s kind of hard to explain. I mean, a run like that you kind of just go with it.”

Champ became the third player this season on Tour to shoot 28 for nine holes, one week after Chez Reavie pulled off the feat en route to victory at the Travelers Championship. A winner earlier this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Champ has struggled recently and is in search of his first top-50 finish since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

With two more par-5s on the back nine, there were brief thoughts that Champ could challenge a sub-60 score on the par-72 track. But that wasn’t to be, as he made just one birdie coming home to turn a sizzling start into a 7-under 65.

“The back nine I really didn’t play bad. I just didn’t give myself enough close opportunities,” Champ said. “Definitely happy with the way I fought all day. When I got on that run, I kind of kept it going. So on this course I think that’s kind of where you can make up shots, just kind of going in quick spurts here or there.”