Cameron Young, a PGA Tour rookie, fired an 8-under 63 that put him in the lead following the first round of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head on Thursday but there’s plenty of players on his heels.
The first-round score was the lowest first-round score of Young’s PGA TOUR career, PGA Tour Communications said.
Afterward, Young described his round as “very solid.”
“I think my ball striking was very good,” Young said. “I was able to kind of make the most of the opportunities I was given with some shorter putts. Really the only one that got away from me was 17, just kind of a tricky one, but I was able to convert all the five to ten-footers, which was a nice feeling.”
After the opening round, Young, of Jupiter, Florida, led Joaquin Niemann by 2 strokes, while six others — Mito Pereira, Graeme McDowell, Corey Conners, Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka — were 5-under par and 3 strokes back and tied for third. Check here for all the scores.
South Carolina players
Kevin Kisner of Aiken, S.C. shot a 2 under 69, tying him for 32nd. Matthew NeSmith from North Augusta was 1 under par and tied for 54th. Columbia native Bryan Wesley was one over par and tied for 96, while Bryson Nimmer of Bluffton was plus 4 and tied for 122nd. Dustin Johnson, a Columbia native, was plus 1 and tied for 92nd.
Notables
Last year’s Heritage winner, Stewart Cink, was tied for ninth place and four strokes off the pace. Davis Love III, who has won the Heritage five times, world No. 2 Collin Morikawa and world No. 8 Justin Thomas shot 70s, or 1 under par, leaving them tied for 54th. Zach Johnson withdrew due to an illness. Morgan Hoffman, playing in his first PGA Tour event since 2019, shot par and is tied for 71st.
Hot shots
▪ Webb Simpson made five consecutive birdies to finish the first round, becoming the first player on record (1983-present) to birdie Nos. 14-18 at Harbour Town Golf Links in a single round, according to PGA Communications.
▪ Corey Conners recorded his fourth hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR since the start of the 2019-20 season, most of any player in that span.
Corey Conners records his fourth hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR since the start of the 2019-20 season, most of any player in that span.
4, Corey Conners
3, Martin Laird https://t.co/mTqubKER22— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) April 14, 2022
Selected Friday tee times
Wesley Bryan, Maverick McNealy and Ian Poulter, 7:10 a.m. Tee 10
Harold Varner III, Matt Fitzpatrick and Morgan Hoffmann, 7:32 a.m., Tee 10
C.T. Pan, Davis Love III, 8:05 a.m., Tee 10
Sepp Straka, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, 8:38 a.m., Tee 10
Michael Gligic, Bryson Nimmer, James Piot, 9 a.m., Tee 10
Cameron Young, Davis Riley, Sahith Theegala, 11:50 a.m., Tee 10
Patrick Cantlay, Kevin Kisner and Billy Horschel, 1:07 p.m., Tee 1
Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, 1:18 p.m., Tee 1
Check here for all the tee times.
Friday’s weather
A 10% chance of rain and a high of around 70.