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Thomas ties course record leads at RBC Heritage by 3 shots
RBC Heritage
Justin Thomas walks off the 18th green after just missing a 5-foot birdie which would have set the course record at Harbor Town golf links. His 61 gave him a three-shot lead after the opening round at Hilton Head Island. - photo by JOSH AUBREY/staff

Justin Thomas took full advantage of beautiful conditions Thursday at the Harbor Town golf links as he tied the course record with a 10-under 61 and leads the RBC Heritage by three strokes.

 

Thomas actually had a chance to break the course record which was held by Troy Merritt and David Frost, but his 5-foot birdie on the 18th hole just missed the cup. On the heels of a disappointing Masters tournament where he tied for 36th Thomas took advantage of a hot putter, sinking three putts of over 30 feet in blistering the course with 11 birdies.

 

“I’ve been playing really well, really solid,” Thomas said. "I felt good about things. I just didn’t play well last week. Put some really good work in the couple days leading into the start today, and I felt prepared. It was just about going out and doing it, and it was nice to do so.”

 

Thomas hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since capturing the PGA Championship in 2022. Despite a frustrating finish last week in Augusta Thomas has been showing signs of getting back to the winner’s circle. He is currently No. 11 in the FedEx Cup standings and just missed on capturing the Valspar Championship last month before coughing up the lead in the last few holes to eventual champion Viktor Hovland.

 

"I just played really solid today," Thomas said. "I feel like I didn't do anything crazy. I just drove the ball well, which is very, very important out here, and I felt like it was just one of those days I put the ball in a spot that I had a lot of good numbers."

 

RBC Heritage
Scottie Scheffler blasts out of the bunker on the par-5 15th hole in Thursday's opening round. Scheffler would go on to birdie the hole and the defending champ is currently in second place at -7. - photo by JOSH AUBREY/staff

On a day that saw 50 players in the 72-player field shoot below par, defending champion Scottie Scheffler backed up his fourth-place finish at The Masters with a round of 64. Scheffler acknowledged he enjoys the Harbor Town course and while scores were low he still feels like posting a round of -7 is still a grind regardless of how he makes things look.


“I will never say that golf is easy, ever,” Scheffler said. “Golf is hard. I felt like if you compared my four rounds last week to today, today would be a much less stressful round of golf in terms of scrambling for a par. A lot of the stuff I had to do last week, I felt like I didn’t have to do today to shoot a good score. The golf course is obviously a bit different, but I was in position most of the day today.”

 

RBC Heritage
Justin Rose acknowledges the crowd after making a long birdie putt on the 18th hole in the opening round of the RBC Heritage Thursday at Harbor Town golf links. Rose birdied the final two holes to finish a round of 67. - photo by JOSH AUBREY/staff

Russell Henley also shot a 64, while Wyndham Clark came through with a 65. The group at 66 included 2023 RBC Heritage winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland. Among the afternoon wave 2025 Masters runner up Justin Rose shot a 67, while Savannah native Brian Harman made a bogey on 18 and shot a 66.