Three tied at RSM Classic

Harry Higgs lost his full PGA Tour card toward the end of last season and took a step Friday at Sea Island toward getting it back. Higgs played bogey-free on the more difficult Seaside course for a 7-under 63, giving him a share of the lead with recent Texas grad Cole Hammer and Andrew Putnam going into the week of the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga. Even without anyone from the top 20 in the world at Sea Island, plenty is at stake in the final official PGA Tour event before a six-week break to end the year. Hammer, who had a 66 at Seaside, is playing on a sponsor exemption and has no full status on any tour. Putnam, whose only PGA Tour title was in 2018, had a 65 on the Plantation course. He is playing for the eighth time in 10 weeks, having missed only the Bermuda Championship in the fall because he’s made every cut — he was a runner-up in Japan — and because the weather isn’t all that great at home near Seattle. Former University of Arkansas golfer David Lingmerth is tied for seventh place at 10-under par. Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) is at 4-under par. Nico Echavarria (Razorbacks) missed the cut at 3-under par. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) finished at 2-over par and Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) wound up with a 4-over par.