Aberg Takes Early Lead at RBC Heritage with Stunning 63
Ludvig Aberg bounced back from a so-so Masters showing with a spectacular 8-under 63 Thursday at Harbour Town, grabbing a one-shot lead at the RBC Heritage. The Swede’s pure iron play made all the difference in the warm, swirling winds of Hilton Head Island.
Aberg moved ahead of Harris English and Viktor Hovland with a precision 8-iron to about 15 feet on the par-3 17th, converting the birdie putt to claim sole possession of the lead. His par save on 18 felt just as satisfying.
“I felt like I was playing well but made some silly mistakes that prevented me from having a real chance,” Aberg said about his Masters performance. “But I also felt like in the grand scheme of things, I was swinging it nice, I was moving it nice, so I didn’t have to prepare that much in terms of my golf swing on Monday through Wednesday, and I felt like good golf was in there.”
English and Hovland sit one back after matching bogey-free 64s. Houston Open champion Gary Woodland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler headline a group at 65.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy is skipping this $20 million signature event for the second straight year, having previously mentioned that Harbour Town doesn’t suit his game.
Scottie Scheffler, fresh off his runner-up finish at Augusta, had quite the adventure to start his round. His opening tee shot sailed out-of-bounds right—a boundary he didn’t even know existed.
“It was looking like it was going to hit those trees and I guess it flew right through them and then hit path and went out-of-bounds,” Scheffler said. “Thumbs up for the start. It was a good bogey.”
That 12-foot bogey putt limited the damage, and Scheffler steadied himself for a solid 68 in the tougher afternoon conditions.
Hovland seems to be finding his swing again after a disappointing finish at the Masters, where a poorly timed gust of wind on Sunday led to a double bogey on the 15th hole that derailed his chances.
“The whole year I’ve been working really hard, and I think now that I’m seeing my game progress and get closer to where I want it to be, I can start to relax a little bit more and focus on kind of the recovery aspect of things,” Hovland said.
Davis Love III recently refurbished the fabled Harbour Town course to restore greens to their original design, but players felt it played much the same as before—rewarding accurate approaches from the fairway while punishing wayward shots.
Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood struggled to matching 76s.
The day’s toughest job belonged to Brooks Koepka, who never hit a shot. As first alternate, Koepka arrived at 6:45 a.m. and was stuck waiting until the final group teed off at 2:10 p.m., with no withdrawals materializing. Two other alternates—Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore—were also on property, as Koepka’s potential return from LIV Golf would have triggered the addition of two more players to the field.
Collin Morikawa seemed the most likely withdrawal candidate after battling back issues since The Players Championship. But after tying for seventh at the Masters despite some discomfort, Morikawa looked fully healthy Thursday while posting a bogey-free 66.
