HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Cameron Smith birdied the tough 17th and 18th holes at Harbour City to shoot a 9-under 62, his profession low on the PGA Tour, and take a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink on the RBC Heritage on Thursday.
Cink completed his 63 round lunchtime, and nobody appeared more likely to beat that rating in overcast, breezier afternoon circumstances. But Smith performed his finest down the difficult stretch.
The Australian chipped in for birdie on the par-Three 17th, then caught his method to the lighthouse ending gap inside 5 toes to take the lead. Smith surpassed his earlier low of 63, achieved 3 times on tour.
The 47-year-old Cink shot his lowest rating in 75 profession rounds at Harbour City – not unhealthy, contemplating he received right here in 2000 and 2004.
Collin Morikawa, who will defend his PGA Championship title up the South Carolina coast subsequent month, shot 65 together with Matt Wallace. Charles Howell III, Billy Horschel and Harold Varner III shot 66.
Smith is coming off a tie for 10th on the Masters, his second sturdy end in 5 months at Augusta Nationwide. He was runner-up to Dustin Johnson final November.
“I really feel like Augusta actually will get my thoughts going, my creativity going,” he stated.
Smith received a free drop after his second shot to the par-5 15th was close to a brief construction and performed it to three toes for birdie. He missed the golf green and the inexperienced on the 16th earlier than pitching to six toes to save lots of par.
He saved his finest for the final two holes, the place the winds off Calibogue Sound repeatedly batter photographs that seem on the mark.
Smith’s tee shot on the par-Three 17th landed in a bunker nicely beneath the placing floor. Smith figured it could be a tough up-and-down till he noticed a pleasant lie and extra inexperienced to work with than he anticipated.
“The ball was sitting good,” he stated.
It sat within the cup after Smith’s subsequent stroke, which moved him right into a tie with Cink at eight underneath.
On the 18th, Smith smashed a Three-wood down the center of the golf green and a 9-iron to close tap-in vary, matching Davis Love III in 2002 and Peter Lonard in 2005 for the bottom opening spherical at Harbour City.
“That was the icing on the cake,” he stated.
Smith has by no means completed higher than 15th in 5 earlier appearances on the Heritage and missed the reduce the final two years.
“Every little thing simply got here collectively,” he stated. “It was an awesome day on the greens. I used to be hitting my irons actually good. I had numerous beauty, and I simply took benefit of them.”
Cink is having fun with a late-career renaissance. He received his first match in 11 years this previous September, added 5 extra top-20 finishes together with a tie for 12th on the Masters and has pocketed greater than $1.9 million this season – his most since 2009, when he received the British Open.
Cink began on No. 10 and drove into the water left for a bogey.
“It received my consideration,” Cink stated. “We have been actually good and clear the remainder of the way in which. No extra errors. I performed actually, rather well the remainder of the way in which.”
Johnson, the world’s top-ranked participant who has an endorsement cope with match sponsor RBC, opened with a 1-under 70. Will Zalatoris, the fast-rising 24-year-old who was runner-up to Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, performed with Johnson and shot 68.
“Admittedly, I am somewhat fried from final week,” Zalatoris stated. “Popping out of the gates making a few birdies was good. Type of set the tone.”
The fourth-ranked Morikawa shot within the 60s for the fourth time in 5 rounds at Harbour City and stated it was one among his finest rounds of the 12 months, which already features a victory.
It “places a whole lot of confidence in my sport,” he stated.
Defending champion Webb Simpson, who set an occasion scoring document final 12 months at 22 underneath, began with an even-par 71. He had shot within the 60s in 13 of his earlier 16 rounds right here.