HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Justin Thomas had a spherical to match the stainless climate Thursday at Harbour City with 11 birdies that allowed him to tie the course file with a 10-under 61 to steer the RBC Heritage.
The very best shot he hit all day was an 8-iron that dropped close to the pin and settled 5 ft away. He missed that birdie putt, one of many few probabilities he did not convert.
There was little to complain about on a day of hardly any wind, a course in mint situation and heat sunshine that added to the RBC Heritage being the best place to decompress from the hectic week on the Masters.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, coming off a tie for fourth on the Masters, had little or no stress at Harbour City in a spherical of 64 that appeared simple — which isn’t to say it felt that approach.
“I’ll by no means say that golf is simple, ever. Golf is difficult,” Scheffler stated with amusing.
However he was out of place solely as soon as off the tee and one different time when he went lengthy of a inexperienced and each instances he saved par. In any other case, he putted for birdie or higher on the opposite 16 holes and transformed sufficient probabilities for a begin that solely appeared good — not nice — due to Thomas with the bottom rating at Harbour City in 10 years.
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Bay Hill winner Russell Henley additionally had a 64, whereas Wyndham Clark was one other shot again at 65. The group at 66 included former Hilton Head winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland, on the highway again from mind surgical procedure and constructing momentum from a runner-up end in Houston.
Fifty gamers within the 72-man discipline broke par on a course that yielded a mean rating of 69.2
“I felt like in the event you in contrast my 4 rounds final week to right now, right now could be a a lot much less worrying spherical of golf by way of scrambling for a par,” Scheffler stated. “A whole lot of the stuff I needed to do final week I felt like I did not should do right now to shoot a superb rating. The golf course is clearly a bit completely different, however I used to be in place many of the day right now.
“Total, yeah, I might say stress-free day.”
Thomas is winless since capturing his second PGA Championship title in 2022, although his sport has been trending sufficient in the best course that he’s No. 8 on the planet. The Masters was a disappointment — no spherical decrease than 70, 13 pictures behind in a tie for thirty sixth — however he put in some good work at Hilton Head for 2 days and made it repay.
Six of his birdie putts have been inside 10 ft, and he threw in three birdies from the 35-foot vary, one in all them on the seventeenth gap that put him in vary of the course file.
He thought he had it with that 8-iron to a entrance pin on the 18th, which runs alongside the Calibogue Sound, solely to overlook the putt. He additionally missed a 4-foot par putt on the tenth.
“I have been taking part in rather well, actually stable. Felt good about issues,” Thomas stated. “I simply did not play properly final week. Put some actually good work within the couple days main into the beginning right now, and I felt ready. It was nearly going out and doing it, and it was good to take action.”
Amongst those that performed later because the breeze — and nothing greater than a breeze — started to choose up was Justin Rose, who misplaced in a playoff final week. He birdied his final two holes for a 67 to hitch a gaggle that included Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy determined to skip this signature occasion even earlier than the Masters bought began. Hilton Head was not a course he felt suited him with its tight, tree-lined angles.
Thomas felt in another way.
“I like it. I want we performed extra locations prefer it,” Thomas stated. “I feel extra architects ought to design locations like this. It sort of stands of check of time, I feel. Particularly if we proceed to get climate like this and if these fairways get agency — the greens are already getting agency — it should be every little thing we would like by the tip of the week.”
He bought every little thing he may have needed — save for that birdie putt on the 18th — firstly of the week.
