Jordan Spieth's downturn started with a previously undisclosed injury

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – This is a week to celebrate consistency because the PGA TOUR has set up its stage at the RBC Heritage on a most-beloved golf course. RELATED: Leaderboard | Five Things to Know: Harbour Town Harbour Town Golf Links “is in my top five,” said Tom Watson, and Hale Irwin gushed about “that look, that feel, that mystique.” Said Nick Faldo, “it’s got the right charm, the right ambiance,” and when Nick Price came here, he added, “I used every club in the bag because it demands strategy.” Those Hall of Famers have given way to a new generation of elite players, but the sentiments strike a consistent chord. Many of those on the first page of the leaderboard may be playing well because they feel they’ve already won just by being here. “I love the island here, such a great event,” said Graeme McDowell, who won here in 2013 and hasn’t missed it since. No surprise, he shot an opening-round 66 this time around, after which he said, “A phenomenal golf course where people are just happy to see you.” He’s three off the lead (Cameron Young, 63), and so is Shane Lowry, another most personable Irishman and the winner of the 2019 Open Championship, won on Irish turf, no less, at Royal Portrush. At 35, Lowry has stepped out of the shadows of his great friends and fellow major winners, Rory McIlroy and McDowell, and established himself as a global star. Ranked 30th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he might be playing as nicely as anyone not named Scottie Scheffler. “Yeah, it’s pretty good,” said Lowry, who can be excused for missing a short birdie putt on his 18th hole, the par-4 ninth, in Thursday’s first round, for his performance – five birdies and 13 pars for a 66 – was part of a long run of good form. “I felt I was (just) looking out the window at the Honda,” he said. “And I’ve played pretty good since that.” He speaks the truth. Second to Sepp Straka at The Honda Classic, Lowry continued solid play at THE PLAYERS Championship (T-13), Valspar Championship (T-12), and Masters (T-3). He has broken par in 11 of his 16 rounds, and just once in seven stroke-play tournaments worldwide in 2022 has he finished outside the top 20. That finish, in his so-called off-week, was a T-24. On a breezy Thursday morning when the Calibogue Sound offered its usual sultry backdrop, the challenge to Harbour Town was as it always has been – figure out how to shape the ball around the trees and don’t get too lofty with your trajectory. Veterans know that, and sometimes rookies catch on quickly, too. “You can’t get around here without thinking, that’s for sure,” said Young, who teed off in in the first pairing off the first hole and went bogey-free in his pace-setting 63. “It can get pretty windy out there, so you have to really pick your spots where you think you can be a little aggressive and places where you just can’t.” Rookie Young had it going early this season with a second at The Genesis Invitational amid a stretch of five straight tournaments in which he never finished worse than T-26. Then came a missed cut at THE PLAYERS Championship, a lackluster World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play – he failed to make it out of group play – and another MC at the Masters. In other words, Young came into this week seeking consistency. McDowell, Lowry, and others RBC Heritage veterans would tell the kid from Scarborough, N.Y., via Wake Forest, that he’s come to the right spot. Harbour Town Golf Links is saturated is consistency, from the way the residents embrace the tournament to the style of play the course demands. “The way the course is set up, I like keeping the ball under the trees,” said Lowry. “I think it kind of suits that. You kind of flight it around here and that’s what I do well, keeping it down out of the wind.” And the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year has another attribute that serves him well at Harbour Town. “There are a lot of talents I would like for myself,” McDowell said. “Rory’s driving, Tiger’s mind. (But) Shane’s chipping is right up there for me. Shane, to me, is one of the best chippers of the ball that I’ve seen.” That is a valuable tool anywhere, but particularly at Harbour Town, where you might feel like you’re playing 18 postage stamps. The small greens are partly why this Pete Dye design generates such a passionate following. Lowry’s steady form continued as he hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 greens, so his chipping prowess wasn’t tested much in his bogey-free effort. Maybe it’s become ho-hum stuff, but for Lowry, it’s all about keeping himself in the mix as he chases his first win since that Open Championship. “I just need to be patient and need to keep going,” he said. “Hopefully, I get the breaks on some Sunday when I need it and I can win another tournament soon. That’s kind of what’s just spurring me on is just trying to win. It’s so hard to win out here.” Consistency is also elusive, even at Harbour Town, which continues to do its part – timeless, unchanging and charming as ever.

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NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Some players’ tee shots struggled to reach the fairway. Long-irons and woods were needed to get within shouting distance of the green … on par-4s. The most recent major champion watched an approach shot sail on the wind and land on the wrong green. After a morning that was docile enough to have one player dreaming of a sub-60 round, the afternoon of the Genesis Scottish Open was a struggle as the winds gusted off the Firth of Forth. Collin Morikawa didn’t hesitate when asked about the wildest shot he saw. It wasn’t one he hit and it barely got airborne, but it came to rest in a most unlikely spot. Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris may have been separated by just a single shot in last month’s U.S. Open but their balls on the par-5 16th on Thursday were separated by the most miniscule of margins. Zalatoris’ chip on rolled across the green before hitting the hole. It slowed down until coming to rest atop the poker chip that Fitzpatrick uses to mark his ball. It was odd enough of an occurrence that Morikawa’s caddie, J.J. Jakovac, got down on one knee to snap a photo with his phone. In the morning, Cameron Tringale parred his final three holes for a 9-under 61 that gave him a three-shot lead. With the winds relatively manageable, Morikawa and Jakovac decided to leave the 5-wood in the bag instead of the lower-flying option of a 2-iron. “The 2-iron would have come in handy on the back nine,” Morikawa said with a smile. The Renaissance Club’s second half offers the best vistas of the Firth of Forth but that beauty also makes it brawny, leaving it more exposed to the high winds that are a trademark of golf in the game’s birthplace. This is the fourth edition of the Genesis Scottish Open played at The Renaissance Club. The first three were defined by benign conditions and low scores. The course fought back Thursday afternoon. A 66 from Kurt Kitayama was the best round from the afternoon wave by two shots. Only six players who teed off in the latter half of the draw shot under par, and only two shot lower than 69. Thirty-two players were in the red in the morning. The late starters’ scoring average of 73.5 was more than three strokes higher than the scoring average for the morning wave. Rickie Fowler, the 2015 Scottish Open champion, was among those who shot 69 in the afternoon. His 6-iron on the 147-yard, par-3 14th landed 20 yards short of his target. He needed a driver, 2-iron and 6-iron to reach the green on the par-5 16th, where many players struggled to reach the fairway. A driver and a 2-iron left him 30 yards short of the green on the par-4 finishing hole. The group of Fitzpatrick, Morikawa and Zalatoris represented the reigning champions of the U.S. Open and Open Championship, and the player who may be the TOUR’s best when conditions get tough. They all shot 71 on Thursday afternoon. “It was just knowing that you have to hit a great shot to hit it to 40 feet,” said Morikawa. Zalatoris, who ranks 16th on TOUR in driving distance, hit three 3-irons into par-4s, as well as a 3-wood. Fitzpatrick watched his tee shot on the par-3 12th catch a gust and sail into the middle of the adjoining 14th green. He took a drop off the putting surface, hit a 40-yard pitch over that green and an ancient wall to within 10 feet of the hole. He made the putt to save par. Justin Thomas shot 73, as did Hideki Matsuyama. Xander Schauffele shot 72. The rain that fell Wednesday made things even more difficult, making the course play longer and limiting players’ ability to run the ball along the ground. Winds of 15-20 mph are expected Friday, as well. “That’s links golf,” Zalatoris said. It is indeed.

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The Open to pay winnings in American dollars

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