How are big names faring at RBC Heritage? No. 1 McIlroy is learning his way around
Rory McIlroy’s education on Pete Dye is ongoing.
He’s becoming more comfortable with the late golf architect’s creation on Hilton Head Island after more than a decade away. He’s 10 under par after three rounds of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing at Harbour Town Golf Links.
“The last two days here (are) the first two times I’ve shot under par on this golf course, so it’s taken a while to learn it,” McIlroy said after a 5-under-par 66 Saturday. “Yeah, Whistling Straits, for example, the same thing. Just playing the course a bit more and getting more comfortable with lines and seeing your shots a bit better. Yeah, the more you play Pete Dye golf courses, the more you get comfortable on them.”
Record low scoring at Harbour Town and a packed leaderboard seemed to work against McIlroy’s chances to overtake the leaders Sunday.
Four players are 15-under-par 198 after three rounds. That’s one shot higher than Justin Leonard’s 54-hole record from 2002.
Only nine players of 75 were over par Saturday.
The 4-under-par cut line after 36 holes was the lowest in tournament history. The six rounds of 63 that had been fired by mid-afternoon Saturday are a tournament record for a single round.
Brian Gay’s 20-under winning total in 2009 is in jeopardy as soft conditions and little wind have welcome an onslaught from the world’s best players.
Some of the biggest names in golf are at Harbour Town as an unusual PGA Tour season obstructed by coronavirus resumes.
Among the leaders at 15 under is Webb Simpson, who has three top-10 finishes at Harbour Town. He shot 3-under 68, which might seem pedestrian among the low numbers.
But Simpson said it was a decent score under tougher conditions in the afternoon.
“Today played like typical Harbour Town, I thought — windy, some gusts, some tricky shots,” Simpson said. “The golf course burned up completely there on the back nine.”
Experience might not matter on the crowded board. The past four years the Heritage was won by first-time PGA Tour winners.
A couple of stars playing the Heritage for the first time are hanging around on the weekend.
Second-ranked Jon Rahm is 9 under, and Brooks Koepka finished 12 under.
Also 12 under is S.C. native Dustin Johnson, who added the RBC Heritage back to his schedule after his partnership with the title sponsor.
Justin Thomas is also 9 under but said his 66 on Saturday could have been lower with a better reads on the greens.
“Every time I felt like I had them read correctly, I didn’t,” said Thomas, No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “But it was good to hit some really quality shots off the tee and into the green.”
PGA Tour RBC Heritage Scores
Through Saturday’s third round at Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island
Purse: $7,100,000
Yardage: 7,099; Par: 71
Tyrrell Hatton 71-64-63—198
Abraham Ancer 69-64-65—198
Ryan Palmer 65-67-66—198
Webb Simpson 65-65-68—198
Carlos Ortiz 69-67-63—199
Daniel Berger 67-69-63—199
Joel Dahmen 68-68-63—199
Joaquin Niemann 69-68-63—200
Chris Stroud 68-69-63—200
Sergio Garcia 70-65-65—200
Erik van Rooyen 66-68-66—200
Michael Thompson 65-69-66—200
Ian Poulter 64-69-67—200
Matthew Fitzpatrick 66-66-68—200
Corey Conners 68-63-69—200
Brice Garnett 65-71-65—201
Alex Noren 69-66-66—201
Andrew Landry 68-67-66—201
Dustin Johnson 68-66-67—201
Brooks Koepka 67-66-68—201
Bryson DeChambeau 67-64-70—201
Matt Wallace 68-68-66—202
J.T. Poston 67-69-66—202
Tony Finau 66-68-68—202
Sam Ryder 69-65-68—202
Tyler Duncan 71-63-68—202
Jhonattan Vegas 70-63-69—202
Doc Redman 72-66-65—203
Scott Stallings 70-68-65—203
Rory McIlroy 72-65-66—203
Justin Rose 70-67-66—203
Lucas Glover 69-68-66—203
Matt Kuchar 70-66-67—203
Sebastián Muñoz 65-69-69—203
Mackenzie Hughes 66-68-69—203
Matt Jones 69-69-66—204
Justin Thomas 72-66-66—204
Jon Rahm 71-67-66—204
Charl Schwartzel 71-67-66—204
Maverick McNealy 72-66-66—204
Adam Hadwin 72-65-67—204
Mark Hubbard 64-72-68—204
Viktor Hovland 65-71-68—204
Chesson Hadley 68-68-68—204
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 67-69-68—204
Wyndham Clark 68-66-70—204
Branden Grace 69-69-67—205
Sepp Straka 67-71-67—205
Collin Morikawa 68-69-68—205
Harris English 67-70-68—205
Bill Haas 71-66-68—205
Rory Sabbatini 70-67-68—205
Max Homa 67-69-69—205
Jason Dufner 69-66-70—205
Dylan Frittelli 65-69-71—205
Chez Reavie 68-70-68—206
Brian Harman 70-67-69—206
Jim Herman 68-69-69—206
C.T. Pan 68-68-70—206
Vaughn Taylor 67-69-70—206
Ernie Els 67-67-72—206
Matthew NeSmith 66-67-73—206
Peter Malnati 71-67-69—207
Harry Higgs 69-68-70—207
Bernhard Langer 69-67-71—207
Brian Stuard 68-70-70—208
Ryan Armour 69-68-71—208
Gary Woodland 69-68-71—208
Stewart Cink 68-68-72—208
Troy Merritt 70-68-72—210
Wesley Bryan 69-68-73—210
Bubba Watson 69-68-73—210
Jordan Spieth 66-70-75—211
Danny Lee 68-67-76—211
Xander Schauffele 72-66-75—213
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 6:08 PM.
