Robert TheodorsonLudvig Aberg scored an opening round 63 by way of an impressive 8-under par finish to take the early lead at The RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Behind Aberg, several challengers lurk, including 2025 Ryder Cup stars Viktor Hovland and Harris English, both just one stroke behind Aberg at 7-under par.
Aberg’s 63 was achieved by way of a perfect day and perhaps benefitted from some more favorable greens than the ones his late-start-time colleagues fared against. Regardless, the world has been waiting for Aberg to win again since his coming-out party at the 2025 Genesis Invitational.
The twenty-six-year-old Swede will get his chance on Friday to put more distance between himself and a hungry field who is right behind him every step of the way.
Big Names Move Up the Leaderboard
As one of the PGA Tour’s premier signature events, The RBC Heritage is famous for fielding the best the Tour has to offer in a highly competitive post-Masters environment.
Climbing up the leaderboard are some familiar names and recent champions, including Gary Woodland (T4; 6-under par), Rickie Fowler (T4; 6-under par), and Collin Morikawa (T15;4-under par).
Each looking to put another lost attempt at capturing the green jacket behind them, win now, earn points, return to form, and gear up for The PGA Championship.
Featured Group: Scheffler & Fitzpatrick
Former RBC Heritage champions Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick fared well as the round’s feature group. Fitzpatrick (T4; 6-under par) ended the round on a high note by birdieing 15, 16, and 17 in a row.
Scottie Scheffler (T20; 3-under par) was hitting the ball well but not sticking his approach shots as close to the pin as he would have liked due to some very firm greens not unlike the ones from Augusta last week. Scheffler set himself up for several difficult birdie putts, the majority of which did not go in. Scottie came an inch away from ending the day with the ultimate exclamation point by way of a chip on 18 that by all accounts, should have gone in, but did not.
Possible Comeback for JT?
Reigning RBC Heritage champion Justin Thomas by far and away suffered the worst day out of the field.
Despite being tied with Tommy Fleetwood (T80; 5-over par) and one better than Jhonattan Vegas, JT came in with big expectations and failed to live up to them.
The site of his first professional win in three years, JT was a popular pick to be in the running for Top 5/10 golfers most likely to win the Heritage.
While he does have another chance to make the cut, Thomas has plenty of work ahead of him and will ultimately be reliant on the field to suffer a high number of casualties by way of unthinkably horrible rounds. Indeed, if JT has any chance of leapfrogging his competition he will need help, and a lot of it.
With the Top 60 plus at even par or better, Thomas will need to duplicate his First-Round effort from his championship year in 2025 when he shot a 10-under par 61.
Good luck to the field and enjoy the second round!
