Birdies rained Friday at RBC Heritage. Here are 2nd round results and Saturday’s pairings
At the halfway point in the Harbour Town Golf Links campaign for the tartan blazer, there’s a four-way tie for the lead at the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island as the pros began rattling off birdies from the left, right and center of the narrow fairways. With two rounds to play, 19 players, including Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, are within five shots of the leaders, setting the stage for a wild weekend finish.
All eyes will be on the Masters winner if he saunters up the leaderboard. His presence alone will force the rest of the field to make some hard choices about how aggressively they should go at the difficult Saturday pins.
Sharing the No. 1 spot at 11 under par after Friday were were St. Simons Island resident J.T. Poston, the 47th ranked player; World No. 60 Tom Hoge, a Fargo, N.D. native who lives in Statesville, N.C.; 28th-ranked Sepp Straka of Austria; and California’s Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner and world No. 12.
Hoge collected 7 birdies en route to a blistering second round score of 64, which tied for the best round of the day with Xander Schauffele. Hoge has led the field in putting over the first two rounds.
“I felt like I putted really well today (which) was kind of the key,” Hoge said.
Hoge feels that his strong iron play fits well with the small targets at Harbour Town Golf Links. “That’s kind of the name of my game,” he says.
Meanwhile, Poston backed up his first round performance of 63, which had him leading the field. He remained at the top following his 3 under 68 Friday.
“Today, I scrambled really well,” Poston said following his round. “I didn’t hit a lot of greens. A lot of ones I missed were kind of right there on the fringes and not necessarily in bad places but I just didn’t give myself that many looks.”
Poston’s wife and newborn child are with him this week on Hilton Head. On Thursday, Poston referred to his baby as his “good luck charm.” On Friday, he said, having a newborn “sort of helps me keep my mind off the golf once I get home, which is probably a good thing.”
Straka rattled off eight birdies in his round of 65, which tied with Scheffler for the second best round of the day.
The PGA Tour golf tournament at Sea Pines Resort continues with the third round Saturday — sometimes referred to as “moving day” as the field begins to shift with players moving in and out of contention.
Here’s a 2-minute rundown of Friday’s action and what lies ahead Saturday.
NEXT IN LINE: Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Rodgers and and Ludvig Aberg are 1 stroke back and tied for fifth.
THE PACK: There are 15 players who are between six and nine under par.
SCHEFFLER IN THE HUNT: Masters winner Scheffler is just three back from the leaders following his six-birdie second round 65. “It was a good day,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I could have shot a lot lower.” Scheffler complimented the Harbour Town Golf Links design which rewards accuracy more than length. “There’s more than one way to get around a golf course,” he said. He’s a big fan of trees on a golf courses, he said, “especially when you are not hitting it into the trees.”
OTHER NOTABLES: Rory McIlroy is seven under and tied for 12th. Last year’s winner Max Fitzpatrick is 6 under par and tied for 18th.
CAN SCHEFFLER FOLLOW UP HIS MASTERS WIN?: With a win, Scheffler would become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2006 to win a major and win on the PGA Tour the following week (Woods won the PGA Championship and followed it with a win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational)
22 PUTS: That’s how many putts Hoge had over his 18-hole second round. “I was just rollin’ it well,” he said.
BIRDIES GALORE: Straka leads all players this week with 14 birdies through two rounds (no other player has more than 12)
FAN STRUCK BY BALL: A first-hole drive by Sepp Straka struck a fan standing in the gallery. “Yeah, he was bleeding,” said Straka, noting the fan was hit in the head. “The medics got to him pretty quickly. He said he was doing all right. Hopefully he’s feeling a little better now than he was back then.” Straka said he was hoping to reach out to the fan Friday afternoon to see how he was doing. Straka had a double bogey on the hole. According to the Hilton Head Fire Department, the fan was treated at the scene but did not require additional treatment or transport to a medical facility. There was a second spectator struck by a wayward shot near the merchandise tent but, like the first, the fan did not require medical assistance.
SELECTED PLAYER PAIRINGS TO SEE ON THE TEE:
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, 11:40 a.m.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele, 12:25 p.m
Scottie Scheffler and Stephan Jaeger, 1:10 p.m.
Collin Morikawa and J.T. Poston, 1:50 p.m
Tom Hoge and Sepp Straka, 2 p.m.
HOW TO WATCH SATURDAY: 1-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m. CBS Sports; PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
HOW TO WATCH SUNDAY: 1 1 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m. CBS Sports; PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m.
