Good day for Poulter at RBC Heritage
English star, Hubbard top leaderboard following error-free opening rounds
Britain’s Ian Poulter capped an error-free opening round with a birdie-birdie finish to grab a share of the lead with American Mark Hubbard at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., on Thursday.
With the PGA Tour staging just its second event following a threemonth hiatus due to the COVID -19 pandemic, Poulter showed no signs of rust with a rock-solid seven-under 64 in ideal scoring conditions at the Harbor Town Golf Links.
Hubbard, chasing his first PGA Tour title, was equally sharp in an error-free round highlighted by an eagle on the par-five second.
“It’s very important being bogey free,” said Poulter. “Any time that happens on this golf course, you obviously have played pretty well. It’s a fiddly, testy, tricky golf course.”
The pair were being chased by Americans Michael Thompson, Webb Simpson, Ryan Palmer and Brice Garnett, along with Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz, South Africa’s Dylan Fritelli and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who holed out from 27 yards for an eagle-two on his last hole to join the group one shot back.
Playing the back nine first, Jordan Spieth had a roller-coaster opening round that began with a triple bogey on his third hole before eight birdies, including seven over his final eight holes, to lead a group two back at 5-under.
The 29 coming home equalled the lowest nine-hole score of the three-time major winner’s career.
Also in the clubhouse at 5-under 66 were Hamilton’s Mackenzie Hughes, Tony Finau, Matthew Nesmith, Britain’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and South African Erik van Rooyen.
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was at 3-under after a 69, while Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., is at 1-under.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., each sit at 1-under, one shot better than David Hearn of Brantford, Ont.
World No. 1 Rory Mcilroy’s final round troubles at the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he shot a 4-over 74, followed him to Hilton Head. The Northern Irishman got off to a horrendous start with three bogeys on his outward nine.
Playing the back nine first, Mcilroy steadied himself after the turn with a pair of birdies for a 1-over 72, but finished eight shots behind the leaders.
Meanwhile, Spieth recovered from a poor start with a stunning run of birdies to tie the lowest nine-hole score of his career in the opening round.
The three-time major champion, who started on the back nine at the Harbour Town course on Hilton Head Island, was 2-over on the day when he reached the par-five second where he made the first of six consecutive birdies.
It’s very important being bogey free. Any time that happens on this golf course, you obviously have played pretty well. It’s a fiddly, testy, tricky golf course.
The longest birdie stretch of Spieth’s career ended when he parred his penultimate hole, but he added another birdie at the last for a front nine 29 that left him with a 5-under-par 66.
“I really enjoy playing this golf course. It’s one of the cooler courses,” said Spieth. “I haven’t had necessarily a ton of success, but I also haven’t played it very often. So I’m looking forward to continuing on my back nine today.”
Spieth said he was thinking how cool it would be to birdie each of his final eight holes, but had to take his foot off the gas when he saw the condition of his ball on the fairway of the eighth hole.
“I had like a little bit of mud on the left side of the ball, and I didn’t really want to play it because, if it’s not there, it’s going to go in the water left of the green, so I played it safe, which was the right play,” said Spieth.
The birdie run helped Spieth, seeking his first win since the 2017 British Open, claw back from an indifferent start.