RBC Heritage 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
It's sometimes easy to forget about the RBC Heritage in the wake of the Masters. After all, if the Masters is golf's Super Bowl, imagine trying to fill the next weekend with another game. There's a reason they moved the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl, folks.
Still, the players know that a $1,062,000 winning share and 500 FedEx Cup points are on the line this weekend at
Leaderboard
Round 4 Recap
At long last, Jim Furyk has returned to the winner's circle on the PGA Tour.
For the first time since the 2010 Tour Championship, Furyk claimed victory Sunday at the RBC Heritage, defeating Kevin Kisner in a sudden-death playoff with birdies at the par-four 18th and par-three 17th to seal the deal.
Jason Sobel of ESPN.com described the scene as it unfolded at Harbour Town:
Furyk's post-round comments reflected what many bore witness to:
Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner noted how Furyk has struggled when sleeping on the lead just before the conclusion of tournaments in the past:
Tim Rosaforte of Golf Digest added more context to Furyk's lengthy hiatus from the very top of the leaderboard:
Coming from behind was perhaps just what Furyk needed. The 44-year-old veteran fired an eight-under 63, which featured six birdies on the front nine to make the turn in 30 and vault into contention.
Kisner carded a 64, playing exceptionally well in his own right to be in position for a maiden win on tour. Will Gray of Golf Channel actually favored Kisner's chances in extra holes:
Furyk just wasn't going to be denied after so many close calls in recent years saw him fall short.
It's hard to believe a player of Furyk's caliber hadn't won in so long. He wasn't showing good form after missing the cut at the Masters, which has to make Sunday's breakthrough even sweeter.
Troy Merritt was the 54-hole leader on the strength of a second-round 61. Sunday saw him post a third score of two-under 69, which simply wasn't enough to hang with the hard-charging players from behind him, and he wound up settling for third place.
Defending champion Matt Kuchar did well in his guarding of the trophy. Two bogies on the back nine knocked Kuchar back to three under for the day, but he still posted four rounds in the 60s and finished in solo fifth—far and away his best finish since January.
Masters winner Jordan Spieth came out a bit flat in the first round before putting up a 62 to get back into the hunt. Spieth didn't quite have enough in the tank to mount a final-round charge in shooting one under par for the day, putting him in a tie for 11th.
Kyle Porter of CBS Sports alluded to the consistency Spieth has shown, which made his moderate fall down Sunday's leaderboard a bit surprising:
Although Spieth definitely appears to be the future of American golf, Furyk deserves the spotlight for the time being. Whenever anyone is about to write Furyk off for good, he seems to pop up in a marquee tournament.
One of the near misses Furyk had was at the 2012 U.S. Open, where he led after three rounds but wound up in a tie for fourth. He also notched top-five finishes at The Open Championship and PGA Championship last year.
It will be worth watching to see how Furyk carries on after such a big boost in Hilton Head and whether he can position himself for a second career major triumph this season.
Round 3 Recap
No one was able to match Friday's low scores by Troy Merritt (61) and Jordan Spieth (62) in the third round of the RBC Heritage, but Brendon Todd tried his best by firing a bogey-free 63 that included five birdies in a seven hole stretch before making the turn.
Todd's low round put him in a tie with Kevin Kisner and Matt Kuchar for second place at 11-under par. The 29-year-old went out in style with this chip-in on the 18th hole to give him confidence heading into the final round:
This is certainly a nice change of pace for Todd, who missed the cut at Augusta last week and finished outside the top 20 in the three events before that. He's seeking his second career PGA Tour win and his first since the Byron Nelson Championship in May 2014.
As great as Todd was, Merritt is still the leader in the clubhouse. He didn't put together another historic round like the one on Friday, but he didn't need that to be successful. The Iowa native fired a two-under 69, matching his score from Thursday.
It was refreshing to see Merritt keep playing solid golf after shooting 61 on Friday, because there was always the chance that was a one-off fluke. He's yet to win on the PGA Tour, so until he's capable of being able to stay atop the leaderboard for 72 holes, skeptics will be out.
Merritt seemed to recognize how he's viewed, based on these comments to reporters before the third round, via Wilson Golf:
Sometimes the best thing for a player like Merritt, in search of a victory that can change his life in many ways, is to block out the noise. He seems to have done that easily this week with three rounds ranging from very good to incredible.
Another player who put up another low score to get in Merritt's view is Brice Garnett, who climbed 17 spots into a tie for fifth place with at 10-under with a 65. He's another player still in search of his first victory on the PGA Tour.
The player everyone is keeping an eye on this weekend is Jordan Spieth. This year's Masters champion is still hanging around the leaderboard at five shots back, but facing a steep climb with eight players either ahead of him or tied with him at nine-under par.
Spieth shot a three-under 68 in the third round, bouncing back nicely from a bogey on the first hole to shoot four birdies on the final 17 holes to stay in contention with 18 holes to play.
All of these players so closely bunched together right behind Merritt will certainly make for an exciting final round, though the weather is going to play a factor in things.
Per Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel, officials have opted to start Sunday's final round early in the morning to hopefully get everyone done before the storms hit Hilton Head, South Carolina:
The change in start times may be good for Merritt, who won't have to sit back and think about what everyone else on the leaderboard is doing before he tees off. He can take the course early, knowing the other players will be forced to keep up with him.
Whatever happens, it's going to come fast because the PGA Tour wants to get off the course before Mother Nature comes into play. Merritt will be the sentimental story as he seeks a victory, but the vast number of low scores leaves things wide open in the final round.
Round 2 Recap
If Jordan Spieth had a Masters hangover on Thursday at the RBC Heritage, he got over it by Friday.
The 21-year-old sensation rebounded from a 74 in the first round to shoot a nine-under par 62 in the second round. Per ESPN Stats & Info, Spieth's 62 tied his best round ever:
Spieth had as close to a perfect round as most players could hope to get, as he made nine birdies with no bogeys. The PGA Tour tweeted out a highlight video with eight of those birdies, led by a chip-in on the eighth hole:
He's still got a steep climb before catching leader Troy Merritt at 12-under par, but this was a masterful round by the world's second-ranked player.
Speaking to reporters after the round, via The Associated Press (h/t USA Today), Spieth said he just used a simple back-to-basics approach after Thursday:
""That was just better golf," Spieth said. "I told you guys yesterday, no excuses. I just played poorly."
...
"I went back to posture, ball position, hand position and tempo," he explained. "And I struck that ball quite a bit better."
"
Whatever Spieth did in 24 hours worked like magic. Tim Rosaforte of Golf Digest praised the Texas native for keeping his commitment to this event, as it's not uncommon for top stars to recharge the batteries after Augusta, and how important it will be for him:
Per ESPN's Jason Sobel, Spieth even had designs on going lower than 62 if a few putts would have gone his way:
Yet as great as Spieth was, and how many shots he may have left on the course, Merritt is the story of the RBC Heritage through two rounds. The 29-year-old saw Spieth shoot a 62 and decided to do one better by firing a 61, which combined with a 69 on Friday leaves him at 12-under with a four-shot lead.
Merritt's 61 tied the lowest score ever on the course, with the PGA Tour showing the birdie that allowed him to match that historic mark:
How does one sum up what he accomplished when it comes with historical implications? Merritt tried to do it in a 140 characters or less on Twitter:
As far as the specifics of Merritt's round, he was poised to have a strong round with a 33 on the front nine. Making the turn allowed the Iowa native to find another gear, shooting 28 with seven birdies in nine holes to enter the clubhouse comfortably in the lead.
Merritt has never won on the PGA Tour and his only professional victory was at the Mexico Open on the Nationwide Tour in 2009. He's got a long way to go before securing this win, but odds are against anyone putting up a lower single-day score the rest of the weekend.
The players chasing Merritt, in addition to Spieth, include Matt Kuchar and John Merrick who are both at eight-under par. Neither player had a round like Merritt or Spieth, though both have been consistent with rounds in the mid- to high-60s.
Kuchar is as comfortable at this event as anyone playing, having won the RBC Heritage last year. This season hasn't been kind to the 34-year-old with three top-10 finishes in 13 events and finishing outside the top 40 at the Shell Houston Open and the Masters.
While four shots is a nice lead for Merritt, Kuchar and Merrick are going to provide a nice challenge. There are three other players lurking at seven-under par, and Spieth as part of a group featuring five players at six-under par.
The RBC Heritage tends to get lost on the PGA Tour schedule because of where it falls, but low scores and a close grouping in contention have made the weekend look very interesting.
Round 1 Recap
Jordan Spieth can probably be forgiven for still riding high after his Masters conquest.
It appeared the 21-year-old had a bit of a green jacket hangover on Thursday, as he shot a three-over 74 that left him eight strokes off the lead and in danger of missing the cut.
Most folks wouldn't have blamed Spieth for skipping this tournament altogether, but not only did he choose to honor his commitment to play in the tournament, he isn't making any excuses for his rough round, either, as he told Jason Sobel of ESPN:
While Spieth struggled, Matt Every and Graeme McDowell thrived, each shooting an opening-round 66 to tie atop the leaderboard on Thursday. Of course, Every didn't feel as though he played his best, per Sobel:
He was a bit more blunt with Amanda Balionis of PGATour.com:
Of course, if shooting five-under on the day is a poor day for Every, the rest of the field won't want to see him on his A-game. He'll certainly need to be sharp heading into the weekend, as Sangmoon Bae shot a 67 and five players, including defending RBC Heritage champion Matt Kuchar, all shot a 68 on the afternoon.
Ian Poulter was among a large group of players to shoot a 69 on the afternoon, and he also provided one of the opening-round highlights with this shot on No. 12:
Ernie Els finished at even par for the day, but his approach on No. 11 rivaled Poulter's excellent shot:
And then there was Luke Donald, who had his struggles on the day, shooting a 73, though he was nothing short of brilliant on this approach shot at No. 15:
Even the players who had afternoons to forget had some highlights.
Spieth will hope to provide a few highlights of his own on Friday as he seeks to make the cut. While catching the leaders seems a long shot at this point, Spieth's dominant showing at the Masters makes him the sort of player you don't want to underestimate.
Every and McDowell certainly won't be underestimating anyone as they try to maintain their lead, especially with defending champ Kuchar nipping at their heels. Expect a fun weekend of golf as the field scrambles to win the RBC Heritage.
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