Justin Thomas (-10) had sunk an eleven-metre putt on the 17th hole to make his eleventh birdie of the day, but then missed a one-and-a-half-metre putt on the 18th to have achieved the twelfth and a perfect, beautiful round of 60 strokes that ultimately ended up being 61. One thing for another. Surely the Kentucky native won’t complain too much, seeing himself as the undisputed and prominent leader of the RBC Heritage.
The one on the 17th wasn’t the first long putt he holed. Thomas played brilliantly today at the start of this Signature Event, in search of a victory that has been eluding him for too long: he hasn’t won since the PGA Championship in 2022, a Major no less, almost three years ago. An eternity. He played brilliantly, as we noted, but his putter was on fire, despite that final slip on the 18th and another earlier on the 10th hole, missing an even shorter putt that cost him the only bogey of his round.
Scottie Scheffler (-7) wasn’t bad on the greens either, who on the other hand today excelled in tee-to-green golf, even with more power than the leader, to the delight of the hundreds and hundreds of fans who followed the match that the World Number One shared with Viktor Hovland (-2) today. What a marvel it was, by the way, how smoothly the game flowed today at Harbour Town: the Texan and the Norwegian completed their round in three hours and 55 minutes. Scheffler, for example, is one who argues that the main reason for slow play is three-player matches, although there must be more when the difference becomes, as it was today, an hour and twenty minutes.
Even Scottie’s mistakes seemed to make perfect sense today. He’s already in the galactic groove, there’s no doubt about that. What two candidates have emerged from the start, Thomas and Scheffler, although it’s still too early to conclude that the matter will be between the two of them. Russell Henley (-7), for example, matched Scheffler’s 64. And in a morning session of calm play, with fantastic greens, we also have J. J. Spaun (-5), Brian Campbell (-5) or Matt Fitzpatrick (-5), who won here three years ago and could well turn around a modest season on one of the courses where he feels most comfortable.
Although it’s not a tournament with two distinct playing sessions, as the tee times are consecutive from eight in the morning until after two in the afternoon, the truth is that the second half of the field encountered slightly more demanding playing conditions, as the greens became firmer (and lost some of their smoothness, being more trodden) and the wind blew with a bit more intensity. Wyndham Clark (-6) and Brian Harman (-5) were the best among the players who teed off later in the afternoon, so these two Major winners should be kept in check. By the way, the notable pace of play, with matches clearly under four hours, was maintained throughout the day. Harbour Town, an old-fashioned course, without great distances between holes, also helps in this regard, but it would be good to take note of what happened as much as possible.
This light round would have been especially appreciated by Justin Rose (-4), undoubtedly one of the players who suffered the most wear and tear last week in Augusta, once again falling short of the green jacket after losing a playoff. The Englishman was in the last matches and delivered one of the best afternoon cards, a score of 67 strokes, finishing in style with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes.
