The Irish Golf Club Gazette: RBC

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4/17/2015

GMAC with Every Chance

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Graeme McDowell and America’s Matt Every shared the lead after the first round of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, with Jordan Spieth eight shots off the pace as he came back to earth following his Masters win.

In difficult conditions, with strong winds and a distinct chill in South Carolina, birdies were hard to come by but Every carded six before a bogey on the 18th, while McDowell matched him only in reverse after bogeying the first.

Given the way the course was playing, staying at the top of the leaderboard was as much about survival as anything.

“I was greasy today,” Every said on the PGA Tour website. “It wasn’t my best ball striking, it wasn’t easy out there, but I got the best out of it.

“It was blowing. Back in the trees, when it’s coming from the north and banking off the trees going the other way, it’s dicey, but for the most part I did a good job.”

Sang-moon Bae is alone in third place, one shot back, ahead of a five-way tie for fourth which includes Kevin Kisner, Scott Langley, Morgan Hoffman, Matt Kuchar and up and coming Australian Cameron Smith.

Smith could have been much better placed but for a bogey on the third and a double bogey on the seventh, where his tee shot put him in the trees and he faced a long road back. He had earlier carded five birdies in six holes between the second and seventh holes.

Kuchar’s round was highlighted by a 35ft putt for birdie on the par-five 15th, which was the only hole on which his playing partner Spieth enjoyed any luck.

Appearing tired after a whirlwind week of interviews and appearances which meant he did not have time for a practice round, Spieth three-putted the sixth to drop his first shot of the day and looked lethargic as he missed birdie opportunities on the ninth and 10th greens.

He dropped another shot on the 11th and on the par-three 14th he sent his tee shot straight into the water, setting up a double bogey that put him four over par.

He pulled one back with a birdie on the par-five 15th, but already appears set for a much-needed weekend off.

4/19/2014

RBC Weather Delays McDowell

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Graeme McDowell moved to two under after six holes in the second round of the RBC Heritage, which was then suspended due to weather, and closer to the top of the leaderboard as he defends his title.

K.J. Choi's early tee time and quick start moved him to the top of the rain-delayed RBC Heritage on Friday. Choi shot a 67 to get to 5-under 137, one stroke ahead of Robert Allenby and two in front of a group led by former Official World Golf Ranking No. 1 Luke Donald as the second round was suspended because of heavy storms.

Allenby was among 65 players still on the course when the rain hit Harbour Town Golf Links. Officials delayed the round shortly before 3 p.m. and then sent everyone home until Saturday morning after waiting through about 90 minutes of steady, heavy rain.

Allenby has 13 holes to finish when play resumes Saturday morning.

Donald shot a 69 and joined Billy Hurley III (69) and first-round tri-leader Scott Langley (73) in the clubhouse two shots behind Choi. Bo Van Pelt and Ben Martin were also at 3 under early in their rounds.

Masters contenders Matt Kuchar and 20-year-old Jordan Spieth faltered after their strong starts at Harbour Town.

Kuchar, who tied for fifth last week at the year's first major, had a pair of double bogeys on his first six holes before the rains came and stood four shots behind Choi.

Spieth, a Masters rookie who tied for second at Augusta National, had a 74 and was at 1-over 143 -- good enough to make the projected cut of 4 over, but well off his opening 69.

Choi was four shots back of first-round leaders Kuchar, Langley and William McGirt at the beginning of the day. Based on his recent play, he didn't figure to make much of a dent in the cool, drizzly conditions.

But Choi had three birdies on the front nine, including one on the difficult, par-4 eighth hole, to get into contention. He caught Kuchar on No. 16, rolling in a 20-footer for birdie.

Choi's usual schedule had him return home to South Korea after the Masters to help take care of his three children. However, after hearing for years how Harbour Town might suit his game, he decided to play the South Carolina course.

"If you just hit it beneath the trees, it's a good course to play," Choi said. "It has very small targets and this course is working well."

Kuchar probably wished the storm had arrived sooner. His tee shot found water on the par-3 fourth hole for a double bogey. He sent his drive out of bounds on No. 6 to drop two more shots.

Kuchar opened with a steady performance -- Thursday's 66 was his lowest career round at Harbour Town -- just a few days after contending in the Masters.

He'll see if he can find that game once play resumes. His bad start didn't seem to bother him much. He smiled after hitting his provisional drive on the sixth hole, and then talked about the good time he and his family were having at Hilton Head.

"Chasing my youngest around the beach, so had some fun this morning," Kuchar said. "It's going to be lots of games and some movies maybe the next couple of days."

Allenby jumped into second after birdies on the first and second holes and was glad to get out of the inclement weather.

"It's not fun when it's blowing 20 miles an hour every different direction and it's raining at the same time," he said. "So it was nice get out of there."

Donald is coming off a disheartening Masters (he shot 79-70 to miss the cut), but he generally plays well at the RBC Heritage. He's had four top threes in his past five appearances and, with his 69, broke par for the 17th time in his last 22 rounds here.

"It's a good course for me and my results have certainly showed that in the last few years," Donald said.

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson improved on his first-round showing of 75 to shoot 73 on Friday. The 6-over 148 title was still two shots more than the projected cut line. While Watson hoped to play better, he was just as happy he got a chance to see young Ryder Cup contenders like Spieth and Patrick Reed up close. "Those were my intentions this week," he said.

Five-time RBC Heritage champion Davis Love III won't be around for the final two rounds after following a strong 1-under 70 Thursday with an 80 in the second round -- Love's highest score ever in 93 career rounds at Harbour Town.

4/18/2014

GMAC Trails RBC Leaders

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Graeme McDowell birdied three of his last six holes to sign for a level par 71 at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head on Thursday. Proving a welcome relief after missing yet another cut at Augusta National a week ago, a venue which has yet to offer much success.

Matt Kuchar, who tied for fifth at Augusta National, shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 first round to share the lead with Scott Langley and William McGirt.

The 20-year-old Jordan Spieth tied for second behind Bubba Watson last Sunday and continued his strong play with a 69, part of a large group tied for fifth at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Kuchar and Spieth both spent much of Sunday in the pressure cooker that is the Masters' final round. But neither player allowed any lingering disappointment or fatigue from a grueling week to slow them down here.

"I was anxious to get back out and play another competitive round," Spieth said. "So today was going to be kind of therapy, in a sense, from last week."

Langley and McGirt each had five birdies on the front nine to match Kuchar.

Harris English was two shots behind after a 68 before Spieth topped a group of 15 another stroke back. In all, 54 competitors shot par or better despite gusts of 20 mph that swept through the course much of the round.

Spieth, who tied with fellow Masters rookie Jonas Blixt for second last week, was convinced of the benefits of quickly getting back to work at Harbour Town after a grueling week at the Masters

It was also a get-to-know-you session for Spieth, who was paired with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson and 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.

"It was unbelievable just to be playing with them," Spieth said.

For Kuchar, playing was a no-brainer considering the strong run he's been on for the past month or so.

He tied for fourth at the Valero Texas Open three weeks ago and lost in a playoff at the Shell Houston Open the week right before the Masters.

Kuchar understands how being focused at the Masters can mean being zoned in at Harbour Town.

"You're going to see a lot of guys, if they're not too run down from a major championship, come out and play some pretty good golf the week following."

Kuchar played with confidence and precision, avoiding the winds when possible and playing to the meatiest parts of the smallish greens.

After starting on the back nine, Kuchar birdied both the par 5 holes on the front side before finishing with a birdie on his final hole, the ninth, to shoot in the 60s for the sixth time in his past 11 rounds here.

"It was some awfully steady golf," he said.

Langley, with his early birdie run, looked as if he might finish on top alone after a 17-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th moved him to 6 under. However, Langley wound up in the scrub along the 18th green and took bogey to fall into the three-way tie for first.

Langley has missed seven cuts this season, including his past two tournaments, though he feels confident in his game and took motivation from his friend Spieth's run at a green jacket last week.

"Seeing Jordan do so well, almost win the Masters, inspired me a little bit," Langley said.

McGirt played in the same group with Langley and matched his partner with five front-nine birdies. He chipped in on the par-3 17th to move up into the tie for first.

"Scott and I were both making birdies left and right," McGirt said. "It was easy to feed off each other."

Meanwhile Nick Faldo may make his weekend TV job after all after the CBS Sports analyst opened his first RBC Heritage in eight years with a 6-over 77 to tie for next-to-last place. The 56-year-old Faldo won his first U.S. event at Harbour Town in 1984.

Davis Love III has been the Harbour master at the RBC Heritage with five victories and a tour-best $2.63 million won here. Love has missed the past two years with injuries but is now back for the first time since 2011. The layoff didn't slow Love down as he opened with a 1-under 70 -- his 59th career round under par at Harbour Town.

Tom Watson, a two-time RBC Heritage champion and hadn't played here since 2001, shot a 4-over 75.  

4/17/2014

GMAC Back at Hilton Head

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Graeme McDowell hopes history will repeat itself as he defends his RBC Heritage title at Harbour Town Links at Hilton Head this week.

A year ago GMAC arrived in South Carolina on the back of missing the halfway cut at the Masters, but came from four shots behind in the final round before beating Webb Simpson in a play-off.

Twelve months on, the former US Open champion again suffered an early exit from the year’s first major championship after rounds of 72 and 78 at Augusta National.

“Last year’s win was great, but it means nothing now,” McDowell said. “Now we have to treat it like another event, prepare how we always do, execute our game plan and hope things go well,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to getting back and managing the expectations of a defending champion this year.

“I’m aware of the pitfalls and don’t want to put too much pressure on myself.

“The Hilton Head area has always been on my radar and I feel like I can win here. It’s a very nice course that tests every facet of the game, and it’s stood the test of time. I’m excited to be coming back.”

While McDowell was off form at Augusta, three of his rivals at Hilton Head certainly were not, with 20-year-old Jordan Spieth finishing joint second, Matt Kuchar joint fifth and Kevin Stadler joint eighth.

McDowell has also been paired with first-round leader Bill Haas and Brandt Snedeker in the first two rounds, while Spieth has been drawn with past and present Ryder Cup captains Davis Love and Tom Watson.

Spieth’s performance in the Masters lifted him from 14th to fourth in the Ryder Cup qualifying standings.

Five-time RBC Heritage champion Love returns to the event after a two-year hiatus due to injury.

Love, who turned 50 on April 13th, will be making his 27th career start in the tournament. He and Watson have combined for 1,301 starts on the PGA Tour, while Spieth has made just 43.

Six-time major winner Nick Faldo is also in the field to mark the 30th anniversary of his victory in 1984.

US amateur Matt Fitzpatrick has also made the journey from Augusta to compete. The 19-year-old from Sheffield missed the cut on his Masters debut by just one shot.

7/27/2013

McDowell Recovers with 65

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Graeme McDowell recovered his chances with a 65 at the RBC Canadian Open.

But it Hunter Mahan who finished with a flurry of birdies in an eight-under-par 64 to seize the halfway lead after fellow American John Merrickhad set the clubhouse lead on 11-under 133 after a magical 10-under 62 that contained an eagle and eight birdies, but Mahan jumped into a two-shot advantage after following up his opening 67 in style.

The 31-year-old Mahan had a ninth-placed finish at the Open Championship last week and the five-time winner on the PGA Tourgave himself another excellent chance to contend for silverware this weekend.

He birdied two, three, four, 11 and 13 before finishing with gains at each of the last three holes.

On a leaderboard dominated by players from the United States,Bubba Watson occupied third position on nine under after bettering his opening 68 by one shot, while a pair of 68s have put Patrick Reed on eight under. Australian Aaron Baddeley has also had two rounds of 68 so far.

Tommy Gainey jumped 87 places after a huge improvement on his first-round 73, managing an eight-under 64 second time around to join Chris Kirk in a share of sixth place on seven under.

The overnight leader Brendan Steele had a dismal day. Yesterday's 65 put him at the front of the pack, and a 75 knocked him back to four under.

It was another troubling day for Luke Donald with the former world number one, who missed the cut at the Open, also poised to miss out on the weekend in Ontario. A one-under 71 put the Englishman on level par, one shot adrift of the anticipated cut mark.

But Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell put a dismal Thursday behind him as he improved on his opening round by 11 shots, banishing memories of his 76 by going round in a sparkling 65 that included an eagle at the long 16th hole. He is staying for the weekend, and more of the same could hoist the former US Open champion into contention.

7/26/2013

McDowell Struggles at Canadian Open

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Graeme McDowell had a day to forget as Brendan Steele set the early pace at the RBC Canadian Open in Oakville.

Luke Donald missed the cut at the Open and there was no respite for the former No 1 in Ontario.

And up and down round saw him register a double bogey, three bogeys and four birdies to finish on one-over - eight shots behind Steele.

McDowell endured a torrid time, with the former US Open signing for a four-over 76 - with his round including six bogeys and two birdies.

While the Ryder Cup duo struggled at Glen Abbey Golf Course, Steele was in superb form to open up a one-shot lead over Scott Brown, Matt Kuchar and Scott Gardiner.

The 30-year-old holed eight birdies, with the sole blemish on his round coming at his final hole.

Love

Steele, whose only Tour title came at the 2011 Texas Open, told pgatour.com: "I love being up here. I played in '06 and '07 on PGA Tour Canada. And really, got me ready to play the Nationwide Tour, which I played in '08, '09 and '10.

"It was a great progression in my life. I had a great time up here. Made a lot of friends and spent two summers traveling the country.

"Really, just an overall good day. Hit a lot of good shots and was able to hole some putts. When you have a good round like that and you play that well, you kind of have everything going.

"Today was probably the most complete round that I've had all year, so that was kind of nice. Didn't miss many greens, didn't hit many shots off line, and I was able to roll a few putts in."

Brown enjoyed a bogey-free round of six-under 66 while the highlight on Kuchar's card was an eagle on the par-five 18th.

Gardiner sank six birdies in a row between the second and seventh holes, adding another on the 15th before bogeying the next.

Sweden's David Lingmerth was the leading European on five under, sitting alongside Hunter Mahan on the leaderboard.

4/22/2013

McDowell Wins RBC Heritage

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Graeme McDowell's career relished what he called his first authentic PGA TOUR win, defeating fellow U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson in a playoff at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.

McDowell's been at the center of some of golf's biggest moments, from his rousing triumph at Pebble Beach in 2010 to capturing the winning point for Europe in that year's Ryder Cup matches. He has six European tour victories, too, but he hadn't triumphed in the weekly grind of the world's top tour.

"This game kicks you more often than it gives you a pat on the back," McDowell said. "It's hard to win."

Not on this day for McDowell, who pushed forward on wind-blown Harbour Town Golf Links when his rivals were moving backward, unnerved by the 20 to 30 mph winds that rattled the course.

He rallied from four strokes down when the day began to take a one-shot lead into the 72nd hole. Then after he made his only bogey of the round to fall into tie with Simpson, he two-putted from about 15 feet to make a par on the extra hole that Simpson couldn't match.

"I guess the weather was what the doctor ordered. I needed that to get close to the leaders," said McDowell, who earned 50 FedExCup points and moved to No. 6 in the standings with his victory.

McDowell, from Northern Ireland, had a 69, one of only three scores in the 60s among the 70 who teed off Sunday.

Simpson, the reigning U.S. Open winner, shot 71. He had a chance to win in regulation, but his 22-footer for birdie went 3 feet past and set up the additional hole.

"I came in with not too much confidence, but I just stayed true to the process of what we've been working on," Simpson said.

Luke Donald shot a 69 to tie for third with Kevin Streelman, who had a 72. Jerry Kelly rounded out the top five after his even-par 71.

Charley Hoffman, the 54-hole leader, ballooned to a 77 and fell into a tie for sixth with Russell Henley (69) and Chris Stroud (70).

McDowell patted Simpson on the back after the playoff miss and smiled widely as the boats in Calibogue Sound tooted their horns and whistles. Neither McDowell nor Simpson made the cut a week ago at the Masters, yet bounced back in a big way at Harbour Town.

McDowell acknowledged he was frustrated and disappointed after missing the weekend at Augusta National by a shot. If he had made the cut, McDowell wondered if he'd have had the motivation to break through at Harbour Town. "It's funny the way things happen," he said. "I wouldn't swap this for a top 10 last week."

The course showed its teeth, winds arcing flagsticks and blowing debris on every hole. Donald backed off his putt on No. 7 when a large leaf tumbled through his line. Crews watered several greens between groups simply to keep balls holding instead of skipping off the sod.

Blowers were heard throughout the day, trying to push off leaves, twigs and other tree parts falling everywhere on the course.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the area, warning of gusts up to 45 mph.

"Extremely difficult," Donald said of conditions. "Strongest wind I've played in all year."

Few managed the wind better than McDowell, who lurked behind most of the round until striking on the back nine. He made a 28-foot birdie putt on No. 11 to move into a three-way tie for first with Simpson and Hoffman.

McDowell broke the tie on the 16th hole, landing his approach within 8 feet and making the birdie putt. He saved par from the back of the green on the 17th hole, but couldn't do it a second time on the closing, lighthouse hole at No. 18 for his first bogey in 32 holes to fall back into a tie with Simpson.

Simpson's chase appeared over when he made three bogeys in a six-hole stretch to fall two shots behind. He steadied himself with a birdie on No. 12 and parred his way to the finish to reach the playoff.

Donald, who's got two seconds and a third in his past four appearances at Harbour Town, got an early charge going before Hoffman and Simpson hit the course with four birdies on his first six holes to draw within two of the lead.

Donald, ranked No. 6 in the world, couldn't keep the surge going, though. He had birdie chances on the final three holes of the front nine, but came up empty. Bogeys on the 13th and 15th holes end Donald's run. Still, it was the fourth top-five finish in the last five trips to the RBC Heritage for Donald.

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