Smith leads RBC Heritage after 62
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Cameron Smith birdied the difficult 17th and 18th holes at Harbour Town to shoot a 9-under 62, his career low on the PGA Tour, and take a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage on Thursday.
Cink finished his 63 around lunchtime and no one appeared likely to beat that score in overcast, breezier afternoon conditions. Yet Smith played his best down the challenging stretch.
The Australian chipped in for birdie on the par-3 17th, then stuck his approach to the lighthouse finishing hole within 5 feet to take the lead. Smith surpassed his previous low of 63, accomplished three times on tour.
The 47-year-old Cink shot his lowest score in 75 career rounds at Harbour Town — not bad, considering he won here in 2000 and 2004.
Collin Morikawa, who will defend his PGA Championship title up the South Carolina coast next month, shot 65 along with Matt Wallace. Charles Howell III, Billy Horschel and Harold Varner III shot 66.
Smith is coming off a tie for 10th at the Masters, his second strong finish in five months at Augusta National. He was runner-up to Dustin Johnson last November.
“I feel like Augusta really gets my mind going, my creativity going,” he said.
Smith got a free drop after his second shot to the par-5 15th was near a temporary structure and played it to 3 feet for birdie. He missed the fairway and the green on the 16th before pitching to 6 feet to save par.
He saved his best for the last two holes, where the winds off Calibogue Sound regularly batter shots that appear on the mark.
Smith’s tee shot on the par-3 17th landed in a bunker well below the putting surface. Smith figured it would be a difficult up-and-down until he saw a nice lie and more green to work with than he anticipated.
“The ball was sitting nice,” he said. It sat in the cup after Smith’s next stroke, which moved him into a tie with
Cink at 8 under.
On the 18th, Smith smashed a 3-wood down the middle of the fairway and a 9iron to near tap-in range, matching Davis Love III in 2002 and Peter Lonard in 2005 for the lowest opening round at Harbour Town.
“That was the icing on the cake,” he said.
Smith has never finished better than 15th in five previous appearances at the Heritage and missed the cut the last two years.
“Everything just came together,” he said. “It was a great day on the greens. I was hitting my irons really good. I had lots of good looks, and I just took advantage of them.”
LPGA Tour
KAPOLEI, Hawaii — Lydia Ko went low again, shooting a 9-under 63 at Kapolei Golf Club on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead midway through the second round at the Lotte Championship.
Ko, a two-time major champion who’s seeking her first win since 2018, is 24 under par her last three rounds. She nearly caught Patty Tavatanakit with a final-round 62 last week at the year’s first major, the ANA Inspiration.
Ko had an opening-round 67 at Kapolei and was 14 under at the midpoint. The 23-year-old from New Zealand made nine birdies in her bogey-free second round and needed just 24 putts.
With half the field still on the course, Ko’s closest pursuers were fourthranked Nelly Korda (68) and Luna Sobron Galmes of Spain, who had 10 birdies and shot 64.
Sobron Galmes
plays
primarily on the Ladies European Tour and is ranked 233rd.
A Lim Kim, who won the U.S. Women’s Open in December, shot 64 and was tied with Brianna Do (66) at 10 under.
European Tour
ATZENBRUGG, Austria — Alejandro Canizares defied chilly and windy conditions to shoot a 5-under 67 Thursday for a one-stroke lead after the opening day of the Austrian Open.
The Spaniard carded an eagle and four birdies to sit in front of a quartet of players, which included former No. 1 Martin Kaymer and John Catlin, a twotime winner in 2020.
Rikard Karlsberg and Jacques Kruyswijk also finished their opening round on 68.