Career day vaults Mickelson to the top

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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Our experts provide their picks to win and top fantasy values as the PGA Tour heads to Canada.

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The R&A announced today which tournaments will be part of The Open Qualifying Series for the 149th Open Championship at Royal St. George’s. On the PGA TOUR, they are: The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 5-8). The tournament will send the leading three players, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top 10 and ties. The Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill was a qualifying site last year, and sent Keith Mitchell, Sungjae Im and Sung Kang to The Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. The RBC Canadian Open (June 11-14) will send the leading three players, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top 10 and ties. This was a Qualifying Series site last year, too, which made news when Graeme McDowell tied for eighth to earn a spot in the field. With The Open returning to his home country of Northern Ireland for the first time in 68 years, he had been vocal about his desire not to miss it. Adam Hadwin (sixth place) also qualified in Canada. The Travelers Championship (June 25-28) will send the leading two players, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top eight and ties. The Travelers wasn’t used last season and replaces the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where Nate Lashley and Doc Redman earned spots in the field last year. The John Deere Classic (July 9-12) will get its customary last spot in the Series. The leading player, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top five and ties will earn a spot in the field at Royal St. George’s. Last season this spot went to John Deere winner Dylan Frittelli of South Africa. The Open Qualifying Series was introduced in 2014 to ensure access to players from around the globe into The Open, which bills itself as the most international of the majors. The Series this year will visit seven professional tours in 11 countries across five continents. The first chance for players to earn their way into the 2020 Open Championship will be at the Emirates Australian Open, the week before the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15. Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, a rising star on the PGA TOUR who will represent the International Team at the Presidents Cup, qualified for The Open by winning in Australia last year.

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