Hilton Head, SC — The PGA Tour traveled north this week to Hilton Head, South Carolina for the RBC Heritage at the beautiful beachside Harbour Town Links. For the week after the Masters, there is a strong field this week.
Cameron Young Takes An Early Lead
Cameron Young absolutely tore up Harbour Town for the first round, carding a total of eight birdies on the round. Three of which came on holes 5-7, where he carded back-to-back-to-back scores under-par.
After his birdie on the 10th hole, Young took a three-stroke lead. This would be the biggest lead he held the entire round.
He then went on to birdie two more holes on the back nine, ending with a two-stroke lead over the rest of the field.
Stat-wise, Young also dominated the field. He averaged a driving distance of 312.4 yards and hit 71.43% of fairways in regulation. In addition, he also did well on approach shots and excelled in putting. He hit 77.78% of greens in regulation and gained 1.571 strokes putting. It was truly a dream day on the links for Young.
Rickie Fowler’s Woes on The Course Continue
Out of the 11 events that Fowler has played in this season, he has only made six of the cuts. This is coming from a guy who normally did not miss the cut ever and was one of the top players on tour. Out of the six cuts he has made this season, he has only finished in the top 40 one time. Round one was a lot of the same for Fowler. He shot 5-over and is close to the bottom of the leaderboard.
What can Fowler do to get his mojo back? Where did this drop-off come from? He always brought this swagger, this young sense of style to the Tour that everyone wants back. The main thing that could bring Fowler’s scores down is improving in scrambling. He only hit 50% of greens in regulation and lost .316 strokes putting. If he can get up and down more and lower putts per green, his scores would improve.
Joaquin Niemann Comes Back to Grab Second
After a good performance last week at the Masters, even while playing with the biggest crowd he has ever seen alongside Tiger Woods, Joaquin Niemann is back in contention once again. Early in the first round, he was 1-over, after back-to-back bogies on holes three and four. However, he was quickly able to bring it back with two birdies on holes five and six. Then he added on five more to finish at 6-under. He is currently two strokes back, with a good chance to make a move the rest of the week.
What to Watch Tomorrow
8:16 a.m. : Collin Morikawa, Stewart Cink, and Webb Simpson
8:27 a.m. : Cameron Smith and Joaquin Nieman
11:50 a.m. : Cameron Young and Davis Riley
1:18 p.m. : Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Shane Lowry
