Leaderboard: Major hopes hang in the balance

Round 1 of the Safeway Open begins Thursday from Napa, California. Here’s how to follow the action. Tee times Leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS (All times local) Brandt Snedeker, Jordan Spieth, Jim Furyk Thursday: 12:30 p.m., No. 1; Friday: 7:30 a.m., No. 10 Keegan Bradley, Pat Perez, Kevin Streelman 12:40 p.m., No. 1; Friday: 7:40 a.m., No. 10 Shane Lowry, Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele 12:30 p.m., No. 1; Thursday: 7:30 a.m., No. 10 Kevin Tway, Sergio Garcia, Emiliano Grillo 12:40 p.m., No. 1; Thursday: 7:40 a.m., No. 10

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HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Jordan Spieth knew better than to hit his tee shot to the right on the 12th hole at Harbour Town. He did it anyway, but as the ball flew through the air, Spieth fully expected to find it among the trees. He thought he might even get lucky and be able to punch it out toward the green. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Featured Groups, tee times That is, until he heard the ball hit timber. It ricocheted off that tree and scooted some 20 yards across the cart path and out-of-bounds. “It just got kind of a tough break,â€� Spieth said. He hit a provisional, found the putting surface with his fourth shot and proceeded to add insult to injury with a “sloppyâ€� three-putt for triple bogey. Making matters worse were all the red numbers on the leaderboard early during the first round of the RBC Heritage. “All of a sudden, I’m 3 over through three, and you start to see guys going 2 under through two, 2 under through three early,â€� said Spieth, who had started on the back nine. “It’s not a great feeling.â€� On the 13th tee, Spieth looked at his caddie, Michael Greller. Let’s put that behind us, Spieth told him. Let’s get four more birdies and get back under par. That would be their new target to salvage the day. “I ended up getting a few more than that,â€� Spieth said. “Just tried to position myself each hole to have a decent look, and certainly that was the case on that front nine.â€� A few more, indeed. Spieth rebounded with a 12-footer for birdie at No. 13 and then reeled off six in a row on the front nine, which is his longest stretch on the PGA TOUR. He ended up signing for a 66 and is just two strokes off the lead held by Ian Poulter and Mark Hubbard. Spieth’s streak started at the second hole with an 8-footer, followed by five more birdie putts of 5, 3, 3, 7 and 12 feet in quick succession. To say he was feeling it might have been an understatement. “In the middle of it, I thought, this would be really cool to birdie the last eight,â€� Spieth said. He found the fairway at the eighth hole but had a touch of mud on his ball. With water to the left of the green there, Spieth decided caution was the prudent play, finding the front right part of the green, some 45 feet from the hole. That two-putt par was followed by a 3-foot birdie at No. 9 to cap off the 29. A week ago during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, it was a four-putt double bogey, where Spieth missed twice from inside 3 feet, that threatened to derail his round. He ended up making birdie on two of his last three holes, though, and went into the weekend tied for second. Spieth finished in a tie for 10th when he couldn’t get anything going on Sunday, shooting a 1-over 71. So, he comes to this toney resort of Hilton Head still looking to break a winless streak that dates back to the 2017 Open Championship. Spieth, who has three top-12 finishes in four starts at the RBC Heritage, stopped short of calling Thursday – or last week – a roller coaster, even though it might look that way to some. He thought his iron play got stronger as the day progressed, and he expects to build on that positive. “Today wasn’t really a roller coaster,â€� the 26-year-old said. “That triple, again, it was a bogey at worst if it doesn’t ricochet 25 yards out of bounds. So certainly, Sunday last week was, and that was my first time in that position in right around two years, being anywhere near within three strokes of the lead starting a Sunday. “So I expect that to be not quite sharp yet. You start to feel more comfortable the more experiences you get.â€� Whether Sunday will bring another opportunity remains to be seen. But Spieth sees this as a process – the more times under the gun, the more ready the three-time major champion will be to successfully close the deal again. “So, I’m giving myself grace,â€� Spieth said, repeating a word he used last week at Colonial. “But that’s not to say I’m not expecting to do better and better each week.â€�

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