(Hilton Head Island) Collin Morikawa played another solid round Friday at the RBC Heritage with a score of 66 (minus 5), and he appears to have returned to the form that allowed him to win two major titles.
For his part, Masters Tournament champion Scottie Scheffler still looks dangerous. Even after a grueling victory at Augusta National and a whirlwind trip home to Dallas, the world’s No. 1 golfer is back in the running.
There’s congestion ahead after two days of ideal conditions at Harbor Town.
Morikawa is part of a four-way tie for the lead with Tom Hoge (64), JT Poston (68) and Sepp Straka, who redeemed himself after a first tee shot that hit a spectator en route to a double bogey. Straka saw blood, but was able to come to his senses after being assured that the spectator was well. He finally handed in a card of 65.
The leading group finds itself at minus-11, one shot ahead of a group that includes Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (66) and Ludvig Aberg, second at the Masters Tournament and the one who seems to become Scheffler’s most formidable rival.
Scheffler, whose Masters victory was his third in four tournaments, avoided bogeys and completed his round in 65 strokes. He is three shots behind the leaders.
“I think I managed to attack the course well and scored a good score,” said Scheffler.
Morikawa is looking for the consistency that allowed him to win the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park and the 2021 British Open.
He was in contention last week at Augusta National, finding himself tied for the lead during the final round before committing a double bogey. He continued this good streak during the first two rounds of the RBC Heritage.
“I have confidence in my swing,” he said. If the ball goes to the right or to the left, I must accept this fate. Two or three months ago, or even two weeks ago, if I missed two shots, I wondered what to do to correct the situation. »
Canadian Adam Hadwin slipped to tie for 23e rank at 5 under after a round of 70. Adam Svensson climbed to tie at 30e rank at minus-4 thanks to a score of 66. Corey Conners played 71 and is tied for 47e ranked at 2 under, one shot ahead of Nick Taylor, who scored 70.