Kuchar rides strong Masters to Hilton Head

Past RBC Heritage champ tied for fourth at Augusta

Matt Kuchar heard the shouts from the crowd on almost every hole at the RBC Heritage pro-am on Wednesday: “Great Masters, Matt.”

He hopes to keep the excitement from last week’s major going when the RBC Heritage starts Thursday in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

“I’ve been very excited about my game,” Kuchar said. “I haven’t had the results, especially recently. But I’ve put in some good time (at practice) and the work paid off last week.”

Kuchar tied for fourth at Augusta National, his second-best finish and fourth top-10 showing in his past six appearances.

This one was punctuated by a 31 on the final nine holes that included a thrilling hole-in-one on the 16th hole.

“It was a real thrill and a great way to finish,” Kuchar said.

Kuchar looks to start the same way at Harbour Town Golf Links. He’s a past champion here, winning in 2014 and ending fifth and tied for ninth the next two visits.

Kuchar believes there’s much to be said about following Augusta with Hilton Head. As much as he loves to compete at the Masters, Kuchar enjoys the more laid-back atmosphere at the RBC Heritage. It doesn’t hurt that his game seems tailor-made for the narrow fairways and smallish greens.

“This is almost like the perfect event after the Masters,” Kuchar said. “You get in the Lowcountry and feel the blood pressure go down a little bit and you just relax a little.”

Most of the game’s best are using the week for rest and recovery.

There’s no newly minted Masters winner Sergio Garcia at the RBC Heritage, no world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy or Phil Mickelson.

What they’ll find is a layout that’s a bit more open after Hurricane Matthew rolled through last October, battering the course and island with 90 mph winds that left several damaged trees on the grounds and shattered docks behind Harbour Town’s iconic 18th, the lighthouse hole.

Johnson, recovering n from his spill at the Masters that injured his back, is next slated to play at the Wells Fargo Championship on May 4, the first of three in a row.

Garcia was the only n player to break par all four days at the Masters.

For the sixth time in n the last seven years, the Masters champion was a first-time major winner.

LPGA: Paula Creamer is tied for the lead after the first round of the LPGA Lotte Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii.

Creamer and Mi-Hyang Lee led the afternoon finishers with 6-under 66s to lead by one. Morning finishers Lizette Salas, Su-Yeon Jang, Beth Allen, EunHee Ji and Elena Sharp all finished at 5-under 67. Stacy Lewis and 42-yearold Becky Morgan were in a large group at 68 after the morning session at Ko Olina Golf Club.

Salas, who played for the U.S. in the last two Solheim Cups, fired a careerlow 62 in the final round of the 2013 Lotte, then lost a playoff with Suzann Pettersen. Jang is playing on a sponsor exemption for the second time. She finished fifth last year.

Hawaii’s Michelle Wie, the 2014 Lotte champion, shot 71.