He hinted that there was still plenty of work to be done before his Masters title defense in a few weeks. All an opening-round 76 at the Zozo Championship did was illustrate he was right all along.
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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Golf’s original Rory stole the show with a 7-under 64 in the opening round of the RBC Heritage at sun-splashed Harbour Town on Thursday. Rory Sabbatini, a six-time PGA TOUR winner who was lifting trophies long before Rory McIlroy came on the scene, played through back pain and went bogey-free for a two-shot lead. “I hurt my back on Sunday doing something stupid,� said Sabbatini, 42. “I kind of took it easy for the last few days, and was happy to be able to play today. Just trying to simplify everything. Wasn’t trying to hit it hard; just put it in the fairway, find the greens. “… This morning I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure I was going to play today.� John Huh, Billy Horschel, Chesson Hadley and 2014 RBC champion Matt Kuchar all shot 66 and are just two shots back. Hadley was the only player in the top 10 who played in the afternoon. Sabbatini has only missed the FedExCup Playoffs once, in 2016, since the FedExCup era began in 2007. He is 90th in the standings this season, and showed glimpses of his former self with a T5 at the Valspar Championship last month and a T17 at The Honda Classic before that. At the RBC on Thursday, he hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, which was where he excelled. He made just over 121 feet of putts, taking a tidy 26 strokes with the flatstick. He also made the longest putt of the day, a birdie effort on 14 that traveled nearly 52 feet before finding the cup. Asked to elaborate on how he’d hurt himself, the leader said, “I was working on my posture and my golf swing, and I was practicing something bad, and I just hurt myself doing it.� He made six birdies in his first 17 holes, then was doing a stretch when he felt his back pop on the tee of the ninth hole, his last of the day. He birdied that one, too. “What I’ve been trying to get it to do all week,� Sabbatini said of his back. “And it kind of released everything for the closure of the last hole.� OBSERVATIONS JOHNSON ENCOURAGED. Dustin Johnson hadn’t played Harbour Town since 2009, when he missed the cut, so his 2-under 69 was a step in the right direction. “The greens are kind of tough to read,� said Johnson, who missed three times inside 10 feet to bogey three of his last five holes. “But it was all right. Pretty pleased with it.� Although he hasn’t won since the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Johnson is still the No. 1 player in the world. He is coming off a T10 finish at the Masters, so his game may be trending in the right direction after he went 0-3 and looked out of sorts at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. As an RBC brand ambassador, Johnson said he was looking far beyond just making the cut Friday. “I’ll be here for the next few years,� he said, “and excited about it.�  MORNING WAVE HAS ADVANTAGE. Players in the morning wave made up the bulk of the names on the leaderboard. Then there was Chesson Hadley (66, T2), who teed off in the afternoon and wound up only two shots behind the leader. Hadley made just over 112 feet of putts and only one bogey in shooting the best round of the second wave. He was also fourth in strokes gained: putting. “I looked this morning and saw there were some birdies being made,� Hadley said. “I figured there would be. Hopefully we’ll have some soft conditions in the morning [Friday].� Cam Smith, who is coming off consecutive T5 finishes, Xander Schauffele and Si Woo Kim were among the afternoon players who shot 68. Schauffele led the field in strokes gained: putting.  NOTABLES WESLEY BRYAN – The defending champion bogeyed two of his last three holes but still came in with a 69. Better yet, after working on his driving during a five-week break he hit 14 of 14 fairways. DAVIS LOVE III – Five-time winner at Harbour Town, who will turn 54 on Friday, double-bogeyed the third hole on the way to a 73. Son Dru, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, shot 77. LUKE DONALD – Former world No. 1 and five-time runner-up here struggled to a 76. BRANDT SNEDEKER – The 2011 RBC champion opened with a solid 70 as he attempts to find his old form in the wake of a 2017 rib injury. BEAU HOSSLER – Making his first start since a playoff runner-up at the Houston Open, Hossler made a watery double-bogey at the par-3 14th but still shot 1-under 70. JIM FURYK – The two-time RBC champion (2010, 2015) and 17-time PGA TOUR winner got off to yet another solid start at Harbour Town with a 1-under 70. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU – Was six of seven in scrambling to shoot 68. JOHN HUH – Went out in 6-under 30, but shot 1-over on the back for 66, two off the lead. He was third in the field in strokes gained: putting. QUOTABLES I just show up and play golf, so not too much.Pete Dye and I have gotten along awfully well.I better hit some balls and … try to figure out exactly what is going on. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 64 by Rory Sabbatini. Longest drive: 355 yds (Paul Casey/No. 16) Longest putt: 51’ 10� (Rory Sabbatini/No. 14) Toughest hole: The par-3 7th and par-3 14th (3.235) tied for toughest of the day. CALL OF THE DAY
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jason Day is determined. He’s proved it throughout his career, starting with his hardscrabble upbringing in Australia. That focus may have flagged last year as he dealt with his mother’s cancer diagnosis and the symptoms of burn-out, but Day has gone to great lengths to prove that he has regained his fire. When asked for an illustration of this renewed vigor, he pointed to his preseason training sessions in the California desert. “I remember getting there early in the morning and leaving at 7 at night,â€� Day said Sunday evening after winning the Wells Fargo Championship. “After a good long day of practice, I hit the gym, then I’m doing my exercises, making sure I’m really doing everything I possibly can to rededicate myself to getting back to No. 1.â€� Day’s hard work is paying off. His win at the Wells Fargo Championship moved him to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings. The victory didn’t come without trials that tested his determination, though. He built a three-shot advantage after birdies at Nos. 7, 8 and 10. His lead was gone after back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14, though. His drive into the water at the short par-4 14th was indicative of his ball-striking struggles throughout Sunday. “I was battling demons there inside my head,â€� he said. “Your subconscious takes over. You’re saying, ‘You can’t do it. You can’t do it. You’re going to fail. You’re going to fail.’ You somehow have to just get rid of those thoughts and just push forward.â€� He did, with birdies at 16 and 17. The 223-yard, par-3 17th was Sunday’s hardest hole, playing more than a half-stroke over par, but he hit the flagstick with his tee shot and made just the third birdie of the day there. Day is known for his ability to launch golf balls into orbit, but it is his superior short-game that allows him to grind out pars on difficult courses like Quail Hollow. He returned to the Wells Fargo Championship for the first time since 2012 because of how hard the renovated course was at last year’s PGA Championship. This week, Day scrambled well enough to lead the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. He made just seven bogeys despite hitting only 41 of 72 greens in regulation. He hit into 16 greenside bunkers this week but got up-and-down 15 times. He was second in Strokes Gained: Putting this week, as well. “It gives you all the confidence in the world sometimes,â€� Day said about his short game. “It doesn’t matter how bad you hit it, you know that in the back of your mind you’re going to walk off with par. “That’s the biggest equalizer of all time is the putting and chipping.â€� He’s proved that this season. He’s won twice, and finished no worse than T22 in seven individual stroke-play events, despite ranking 169th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. He said his short game may be even better than when he won at TPC Sawgrass two years ago. He leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting, just as he did in his three-win season of 2016. When asked how he got his putting touch back, he said, “To be honest, I just bust my tail. I think the biggest thing is actually my desire’s back and I really want to hole a lot of putts.â€� Day called last season “a kick in the butt.â€� He watched his peers have success while he was struggling through his first winless season since 2013. He had won nine times in the previous three seasons, including a major (2015 PGA Championship), THE PLAYERS, two World Golf Championships and two FedExCup Playoffs events. He wasn’t envious of others’ victories. He was disappointed in himself for not maximizing his talent during the years when most players are in their prime. “For me to not work as hard as I should be … that really bugged me,â€� he said. Now he arrives at THE PLAYERS with two wins under his belt, just as he did in 2016. His iron play may be cause for concern at the penal PLAYERS Stadium Course, though. Ten of the past 14 PLAYERS champions have ranked inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach for the week, and only one ranked outside the top 20. Day was 50th in that statistic at Quail Hollow. This was just his third event with a new set of irons, which he put in the bag at Augusta National. Even though he won with the prior set, he felt that he was hitting them too high and with too much spin. “Once I get a little bit more practice with them, get a little bit more confidence with them, I think it’s right there,â€� he said. “I definitely think it’s just around the corner, it’s not too far.â€� There’s no reason to doubt a determined Day. Â
Jordan Spieth started the day in a four-way tie for the lead at The Northern Trust, but he took control with a 6-under 64 in the third round.
