Four share lead in wild Heritage
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Webb Simpson managed only one birdie on the back nine Saturday at Harbour Town, and that was just enough for him to post a 3-under 68 and join a four-way share of the lead at the RBC Heritage.
It sets up another Sunday of endless possibilities on the PGA Tour.
Tyrrell Hatton of England had one of six rounds at 63 as he tries to win back-to-back starts for the second time in his year. The other occasion was in 2017 in Scotland and Italy. This time it would be three months apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down golf.
Abraham Ancer rode his strong iron play to a 65, while Ryan Palmer had a 66 to join the lead at 15-under 198.
Carlos Ortiz, who started this tournament with two double bogeys after playing only five holes, suddenly has a chance to grab his first PGA Tour victory after two eagles in a round of 63. He was one shot behind, along with Colonial winner Daniel Berger and Joel Dahmen, both with 63s.
A week ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge, 14 players were separated by three shots going into the final round. This week at Hilton Head, 21 players are separated by three shots.
And there was more testing than usual.
Players and caddies on the charter flight to Connecticut for next week’s event have to take a saliva test for the coronavirus before they can get on the plane. Eleven others had testing Friday night because they were deemed to have been in close contact with Nick Watney, whose positive test Friday was the first in golf ’s return.
Among them was Sergio Garcia, who flew with Watney from Austin, Texas. The initial test was negative. Garcia was nervous as he waited for the result, though not so nervous he couldn’t put down a 65 to join the chase. He was two shots behind, along with Ian Poulter and Joaquin Niemann.
Bryson DeChambeau, starting the day one shot behind, hit his approach into the par-5 second in the trees and it never came down. He has added 40 pounds of mass, still not enough to uproot the tree and shake it loose. That led to a bogey, and more damaging was no birdies on the back nine for a 70.
Even so, he remained three shots behind in a group that included Dustin Johnson, who birdied three of his last four holes to go from around the middle of the pack to 12-under 201, three shots behind and very much in the picture. That’s all it took Saturday, and it likely won’t be any different in the final round.