Justin Thomas’ 61, 11 birdies good for RBC Heritage lead; Scottie Scheffler three back
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Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the RBC Heritage.
PHOTO: AFP
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HILTON HEAD ISLAND – Justin Thomas missed a new Harbour Town Golf Links record by inches, but still bagged the early lead at the RBC Heritage on April 17 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
The American rolled in 11 birdies and tied the single-round course record with a 10-under 61, narrowly missing a 5½-foot putt right of the hole for a record-setting 60 after dropping in a series of shots with the short stick from substantial distance. He took par at 18.
“I just played really solid,” Thomas said.
“I feel like I didn’t do anything crazy. I just drove the ball well, which is very, very important out here, and I felt like it was just one of those days I put the ball in a spot that I had a lot of good numbers.
“I had a lot of kind of full wedges to where – although you have to be a little conservative at times out here – I felt like they were kind of pins and angles and everything that I could be a little aggressive and just kind of got rolling with it.”
Thomas rated his second shot, an eight-iron onto the 18th green, as his best shot of a round with plenty of options to choose from.
He got himself within striking distance of the record with a birdie putt from 38 feet on the par-three 17th before his missed putt at the last, which was still good for the lowest opening-round score in RBC Heritage history.
The 31-year-old was three shots clear of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, who were tied for second place at seven-under 64 in the US$20 million (S$26.3 million) PGA Tour signature event.
Thomas made the turn with a share of the lead at six-under 30, comprised of six birdies and three pars, but opened the back with bogey on No. 10 before settling back in by taking birdie on five of seven holes.
“I love it,” he added of the tight Harbour Town course layout. “I wish we played more places like it. I think more architects should design places like this. It kind of stands the test of time.”
Defending champion Scheffler made the turn trailing by one shot but quickly pulled even at six under with a 21-foot birdie putt at the 10th. He had seven birdies and played bogey-free.
The world’s top-ranked player is coming off a fourth-place finish at Augusta National as he failed to retain his 2024 Masters title. He appeared and cited only one shot, off the tee at 11, that he did not execute to plan – and he still scrambled for par.
“Did it feel easy? Easy would not be – I think definitely like a less stressful round,” Scheffler said of the juxtaposition between his final round at the Masters and the RBC Heritage opening 18.
“I felt like if you compared my four rounds last week to today, today would be a much less stressful round of golf in terms of scrambling for a par. Overall I would say stress-free day.
“But I will never say that golf is easy, ever. Golf is hard.”
Wyndham Clark shot 65 and is one shot out of second place. Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, winner of the 2023 RBC Heritage, was part of a logjam of five off the lead at 66 that included Brian Campbell, J.J. Spaun, Gary Woodland and Brian Harman. REUTERS
