Rory McIlroy hits $1.1M shot for charity in dramatic finale to COVID-19 relief match

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – It was only one putt. And it was just the first round of the RBC Heritage. But that 8-footer Jordan Spieth made for birdie on No. 9 at Harbour Town Golf Links onThursday, his final hole of the day, felt important. It got him back to even par for the tournament and headed into an uncertain second round with a modicum of momentum. “It’s one stroke, but to shoot over par versus even is actually kind of a big deal,â€� said Spieth, who is six shots behind the leader, Shane Lowry. “It doesn’t feel like the golf course beat you today. It’s a three-round tournament, just kind of one round, tied the course.â€� Spieth felt like he stayed patient and kept himself in the hunt on a day when he could have shot 2 or 3 over. The man who ranks 212th in driving accuracy only hit eight fairways on this tight, tree-lined Pete Dye creation but his iron play was spot on as he managed to find 15 greens in regulation. “One of my irons went in the water, but it’s the best 8-iron I’ve hit in a year-and-a-half,â€� Spieth reported. “I caught an into gust when it was supposed to be down. Another one of my missed greens, two of them were kind of just on the fringes. “All in all very pleased with what I did to get myself on or around the greens in a couple of strokes. And I really have to bust it out here.â€� The putter was another story, though. Spieth felt like he had the lines but had trouble adjusting to the speed after playing on those lightning-fast greens at the Masters where he tied for 21st last week. Related: Lowry cards bogey-free 65 to lead | Donald returns to RBC Heritage after back injury | Featured Groups, tee times | Insider: Big week for small ball | Kisner keeps perspective as lifelong friend battles tumor  And with winds expected to blow 20-30 mph – and gust to 40 – on Friday, Spieth knows the contrast between the speeds at Augusta National and Harbour Town will only be more pronounced. “I really got Augusta’d out here,â€� he said. “What I mean is I was still putting to the speed of Augusta. I haven’t fully made the transition away from that. “And as we are expecting high winds, I’m sure the greens will slow down even more to make it fair. I’m really going to need to dial in my speed on the greens. Just tough out there coming off last week to this week, to get yourself to pop it harder than you really want to.â€� Spieth, who is playing the RBC Heritage for the first time since 2015, is looking for his first top-10 in 12 starts this season. In three previous appearances at Harbour Town, the affable Texan has finished 11th or better, and to hear him talk, one wonders why he took the four-year break. “I feel like I’m doing myself a disservice, just because it’s after the Masters, not coming to this event,â€� said Spieth, whose career-low in Hilton Head is 62. “I’m trying to play golf courses where the greens and the grass type and the conditions suit my game. “And I haven’t done a great job in my scheduling this year thus far with this new schedule. But I think adding this event was really good for me.â€�

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Whether the turf is sun-baked or rain-soaked, brown or green, no matter if players attack with driver or proceed cautiously with irons, Carnoustie showed Thursday in The Open Championship that it can hold its own. In what might be the easiest conditions of the week, Kevin Kisner took only 22 putts, one of them for a long eagle that sparked his 5-under 66. It gave him a one-shot lead and little more than bragging rights in the house of stars where he is staying. One shot behind was a collection of players with little history in golf’s biggest events, including Erik Van Rooyen and Zander Lombard of South Africa. Tony Finau had eight birdies to offset his share of mistakes to join them at 67. Of the top seven on the leaderboard, none has won a major. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm powered their way to 69s, going for the green on short par 4s. Tiger Woods took out his driver one time and shot 71, a round slowed by a short putt he missed and a pot bunker he couldn’t avoid. But no one could go really low. The 31 players who managed to break par were separated by just four shots. “The golf course is great for me,” Kisner said. “The conditions have been fine. Going forward, you never know what you’re going to have in Scotland. I know the rain is coming in tomorrow. I don’t think the rain is going to affect how the golf course is playing in one day, but I have to just keep doing what I’m doing. If I have 22 putts the next three days, I bet I’ll have a pretty good shot.” Three of his housemates also were under par — PGA champion Justin Thomas (69), two-time major champion Zach Johnson (70) and Rickie Fowler (70). Another is defending champion Jordan Spieth, who was in range of the lead until he made one mental error and two bad swings while dropping four shots over the last four holes for a 72 that didn’t do too much damage. Even in gentle weather by Scottish standards, Carnoustie served up its usual dose of craziness. Padraig Harrington holed a short putt for par on the opening hole and turned to leave when he saw a golf ball trundle onto the green. It was the tee shot of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who hit driver off the tee to set up an easy birdie. That was as easy as it got for Koepka for the next two hours. He shot 41 on the front nine. And then he shot 31 on the back nine. “The scores probably weren’t as low as we anticipated, but 1 over is not the worst,” Koepka said. “Definitely didn’t shoot myself out of it, which very easily could have happened.” Sergio Garcia hit a drive that never stopped rolling on No. 10 until it dropped over the edge of Barry Burn. The water was shallow enough for the former Masters champion to smash through a ball rock and water to get the club on the ball and escape without further damage. Carnoustie was not kind to everyone. Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, managed only one birdie in his round of 76, his highest start in The Open since his debut at Turnberry in 2009. Masters champion Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson and Garcia were all at 75 and now have to worry about just getting to the weekend. On the longest day — from Sandy Lyle hitting the opening tee shot at 6:35 a.m. and the group including newcomer Bronson Burgoon finishing off the first round nearly 13 hours later — everyone had their own style of getting around the course reputed to be the toughest links in golf. “Different players are going to have a different way to see how they’re going to play this golf course,” McIlroy said. “I know Tiger is out there hitting a lot of irons off tees and doing it his own way. No one’s going to argue with him — he did it like at Hoylake, and he was able to win there.” There’s one difference, Woods said. “Hoylake is flat. This is not,” Woods said. “And when Hideki hits a 3-wood 400 yards into a burn, you know it’s kind of quick. A couple of my 6-irons went about 240. It’s hard for people to understand it, but it’s just the nature of this golf course.” Kisner’s best score in three previous trips to The Open was a 69 in the final round last year at Royal Birkdale. The firm, crusty conditions are not entirely new. It reminds him of Palmetto, the Alister Mackenzie design in his hometown of Aiken, South Carolina. Not so familiar was his putting. Kisner, normally solid with his striking and his short game, has not contended since the week after the Masters, and he putted so poorly at the Greenbrier two weeks ago that he spent most of his time on putting when he arrived at Carnoustie. “Worked really hard on my speed, which is always the hardest thing for us to get accustomed to here,” he said. “And the ball started coming off on the line, and when I’m doing that, I feel like I can hole them all.”

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LAS VEGAS — Sung Kang found the missing piece to his game and put everything together Thursday in the Shriners Children’s Open for a 10-under 61 that gave him a two-shot lead after the first round. RELATED: Leaderboard | Phil Mickelson among early adopters of Callaway’s UW hybrids Kang already had nine birdies against one bogey when he hit 7-wood from a fairway bunker to 18 feet on the par-5 closing hole at TPC Summerlin and made the eagle putt. “Last few weeks I wasn’t driving it very good, but my iron play was pretty sharp and my putting was pretty good,” Kang said. “So I was just thinking if I can get my driver somewhere in play I could actually score better.” Sungae Im made five straight birdies on the back and, along with an 8-foot eagle putt on No. 9 at the turn, shot a 63. He was joined by Charley Hoffman and Chad Ramey, who birdied all but two holes on the back nine. Matthew Wolff, who lost in a three-many playoff last year at the TPC Summerlin, was among those at 64. Sam Burns, coming off a victory last week in Mississippi, was poised to move closer to the lead until his tee shot on the par-3 17th hole found the water. He made double bogey — this after four straight birdies — and had to settle for a 66. Las Vegas marked the return of six more Ryder Cup players on both teams, and the Europeans seemed to fare well. Viktor Hovland had a 67, with Paul Casey at 68 and Ian Poulter at 69. Brooks Koepka also shot a 68, while Harris English was at even-par 71 and Scottie Scheffler opened with a 74. Rickie Fowler failed to reach the FedExCup Playoffs last year. With his wife expecting their first child, he began the new season in Las Vegas and had to rally with three birdies over his last six holes to salvage a 72. Kang missed only two greens, one of them a par putt from 15 feet on the eighth hole, and his lone bogey was a three-putt from 20 feet on the par-4 third. The par on his penultimate hole is what he savored because of the momentum he saved, especially with how he finished. He hit a slight draw with his 7-wood out of the sand, and then Matt Kuchar was on the same line with a chip, allowing Kang to see the would would snap off to the left. He knew the eagle putt was good before it reached the hole. “When the putt is 6 feet short of the hole it was just outside the right edge and I knew it was going to go,” he said. The low scoring was not a surprise — it took 7 under to make the cut last year — especially in such calm, warm conditions. “You get no wind, you can start attacking this golf course,” said Hoffman, who played golf at UNLV and lived in town until recently moving back home to San Diego. “It starts blowing 15 to 20 (mph), it’s a different animal.”

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