The Day

Collin Morikawa is part of four-way tie for the lead at Hilton Head

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Collin Morikawa had another solid round Friday in the RBC Heritage with a 5-under 66 and appears to be getting back to the reliable form that made him a two-time major champion.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler's form never seems to change. Even after an emotionall­y taxing victory at Augusta National, a quick trip home to Dallas and only nine holes of practice, the world's No. 1 player is right in the mix.

It's crowded at the top after two days of warm, ideal conditions for scoring at Harbour Town, and this $20 million signature event is wide open going into the weekend.

Morikawa had a four-way share of the lead with Tom Hoge (64), J.T. Poston (68) and Sepp Straka, who recovered from an opening drive that plunked a spectator in the head and led to a double bogey. Straka saw blood but settled down after hearing the spectator was going to be fine, then put together eight birdies for a 65.

They were at 11-under 131, one shot ahead of a group that features Ludvig Aberg, the Masters runner-up who is starting to get anointed the biggest challenger to Scheffler.

Scheffler, whose Masters win was his third title in his last four starts, didn't look as though he did anything special, the very trait that makes him so good. He was bogey-free, picked up birdies on the par 5s on the front nine and then ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back for a 65.

He was three shots back.

“Didn't really struggle for par too often today,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I was attacking the golf course pretty well. Was able to post a good number. I felt like today when I stepped on the first tee I was ready to go.”

Morikawa has been searching for the key to that repeatable swing of his that led to a PGA Championsh­ip title in 2020 at Harding Park and the British Open a year later. He won last fall in Japan, but has been lacking the trust in whatever fix he keeps making.

But he found something at Augusta National last week — he was among those tied for the lead on Sunday until a pair of double bogeys around the turn — and kept hitting the sweet spot during practice and the opening two rounds of the RBC Heritage.

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