In one of many stranger transitions this PGA Tour season, the RBC Heritage began on Thursday simply 4 days after the ultimate spherical of the Masters. It is an excellent discipline in a no-cut, big-money occasion, which is enjoyable for followers. Nonetheless, it felt odd to look at golfers play a daily PGA Tour cease so rapidly after the primary main championship of the yr.
So, it was no shock to see among the larger stars wrestle a bit and a few lesser names rise to the highest of the leaderboard. A kind of names is J.T. Poston, who shot a round-of-the-day 8-under 63. He is trailed by, properly, everyone else within the discipline on the $20 million occasion at Hilton Head.
Let’s check out his spherical in addition to these on the chase going into Spherical 2 on Friday.
The chief
1. J.T. Poston (-8)
Poston was second within the discipline in placing on Thursday, which is why he is main. However he additionally hit it properly, which has not been the case. After placing collectively 5 high 20s in six begins on the West Coast, Poston has no high 20s in 4 begins since heading east.
He credited higher ball-striking (he was high 15 in that class on Thursday), but additionally gave a shout out to his spouse for permitting him to get a bit sleep with their new child on the street.
“We have got a two-bedroom apartment,” defined Poston. “My mother is staying with us. We have got her in her little setup. Final evening my spouse was nice; she bought up in the midst of the evening a pair occasions when she was able to eat or being fussy and let me sleep, so possibly we’ll hold doing that.”
Different contenders
T2. Collin Morikawa, Seamus Energy (-6)
T4. Austin Eckroat, Mackenzie Hughes, Sahith Theegala, Patrick Rodgers, Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka (-5)
Åberg has the look you wish to see from a younger potential star going into this occasion off a solo second on the Masters. He is a flusher’s flusher, hit 13 of 14 fairways on Thursday with that good swing of his and cruised to a 66 with completely nothing on or across the greens.
Terrifying stuff.
“My focus shifted proper once I bought right here,” stated Åberg. “We have been attempting to be sure that final week was final week and this week was this week. However, yeah, clearly final week remains to be one thing I look again on with a smile. However, yeah, my focus is right here this week, and hopefully we’ll have the ability to sustain good golf.
“I would prefer to suppose that I am younger and I will have the ability to deal with it,” he added about enjoying three consecutive weeks. “However, sure, I feel I will crash for a number of days subsequent week once I’m not enjoying. However I am trying ahead to the remainder of the week.”
Scottie … once more?
Scottie Scheffler has misplaced to at least one golfer since March 1 — that was Stephan Jager on the Houston Open a number of weeks in the past. He is defeated … everybody else he is performed, together with wins on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Gamers Championship and, after all, final week’s Masters. Might that proceed this week? He is off to a good begin at 2 below that included a double bogey.
It is his thirty sixth consecutive spherical at or below par to begin 2024.
“It could have felt higher if I bought off to a greater begin,” stated Scheffler, who made double on the third gap after botching a bunker shot and failing to rise up and down. “I attempted to offer myself a bit little bit of grace there, however I bought fairly annoyed in the direction of the center of the spherical as a result of I used to be enjoying good, felt like I used to be hitting good putts and my velocity was possibly a spark off.
“I shanked the bunker shot on 3. I shank it a good quantity, however by no means in competitors … I attempted to sort of give myself a bit little bit of grace there. It clearly was only a psychological lapse and I wasn’t fairly into it but. Tried to offer myself a bit little bit of time. I had a significantly better again 9. Hit loads of actually good pictures. Hit some good putts, too. Trying ahead to the remainder of the week.”
Scheffler seemed the best way anybody would take care of profitable the Masters: bodily and emotionally exhausted.
“I feel I used to be possibly too settled down to begin the day. I wasn’t fairly into the competitors. I feel possibly it was a little bit of fatigue, no matter it was. However I felt like I used to be nonetheless sort of getting adjusted to the golf course.”
Scheffler shouldn’t be in an excellent place for a fourth win in 5 begins due to when this match lands on the schedule. Beating the perfect gamers on the planet in a given week is troublesome sufficient as it’s. Doing so after the emotional toll of profitable a Masters is monumental. If anybody can do it, it is him. However there have been positively some errors in there early for Scheffler that we’re unaccustomed to seeing.
These errors will probably be cleaned up finally, and Scheffler will play his means into the match. The query for him after Spherical 1 is whether or not falling exterior the highest 20 after the primary day will prohibit him from yet one more victory.
2024 RBC Heritage up to date odds, picks
Odds by way of Sportsline consensus
- Collin Morikawa: 6-1
- J.T. Poston: 7-1
- Ludvig Aberg: 7-1
- Scottie Scheffler: 10-1
- Rory McIlroy: 11-1
- Patrick Cantlay: 12-1
I am in on Åberg getting a victory this week, and I like these 7-1 odds. Which suggests Scheffler is certainly going to shoot 64 on Friday and surge into the lead. Guys who hit it nice and you need to keep watch over embody Cameron Younger (20-1) and Russell Henley (28-1).
