Hilton Head Island, South Carolina – Justin Thomas made a crusty, refreshing nine birdies in Harbortown, saving a 2-under 69 with a two-shot lead at RBC Heritage, his first 36-hole lead in over four years.
Thomas won the 2022 PGA Championship and is wary of this topic. He also knows there is a long way to go to a course that requires accurate requests while allowing low scores.
Si Woo Kim had one of these low scores. This had a fierce start that had him on 12 holes at 8 under until he settled on 64.
Six players were within four shots of the lead. This is a group that includes defending champion Scotty Schaeffler and didn’t go very well in the 70 rounds. On the scoring pin, he lost his position. He was on the fairway for a hidden pin. There wasn’t much birdie opportunity, but he’s still in the mix.
Andrew Novak (65) and Tommy Fleetwood (66) were three people behind.
It’s been a wide-open weekend at tournaments, and it seems no one has emphasized much after a week of masters. Of course, not everyone. On mystery Friday, outside the scoring trailer, there were four golf grips with shafts snapped in half.
Thomas felt much better, especially at the end of the round. One of these tough pins was on the right side of a steep bunker surrounded by rail ties on the 13th. He played the wedge beautifully in the wide green facade, drilling holes in a 15-foot putt.
Much more impressive was the par 5 in 15th place, with Thomas having 287 yards and one towering tree that always seemed to get in the way. He prefers to hit 5 woods at a little more altitude. He set up a two-putt birdie by hitting three trees over the green, finishing with three pars.
The No. 15 shot showed the adjustments he is making with fill-in caddy Joe Greiner as his regular Minister of Looper Matt recovered from a back injury.
“He’s still as used to everything as I do,” Thomas said. “We were talking about the shot, and we were trying to hit it with green. The tree got in the way a bit, and he was like, ‘Yeah.’
“Then after I hit it, he says, “I’m so glad you said it because you thought it was a perfect cut 3-wood, but I didn’t want to say it.” That’s part of the funny adjustments and things we work for. ”
This doesn’t feel like a work holiday for Kim, as he missed Master for the first time since 2016, the newcomer year on the PGA Tour.
“I was very frustrated watching the Masters last week, but somehow I was able to move on, so I’m trying to concentrate this week,” Kim said.
He caught everyone’s attention with his start.
The signature moment was his 3-wood from 275 yards, rolling five feet for the Eagle on the par 5 fifth hole. He then ran off four straight birdies during his turn, with a short par 4 ninth and three putts running through 15 feet, 11 feet, within 8 feet.
He couldn’t keep up the momentum, but he joins the final group with Thomas over the weekend.
Schaeffler took him out of position and gave him a bogey, slowing him down on the fifth mudball. He also hit the tree in the eighth that led to another bogey. He finished with a 9-par and a bit of a point of view.
“It’s just such a small thing that can turn your day in the wrong direction,” he said. “I fought quite hard today and was hanging there to get back to the four of us over the weekend.”
Schaeffler’s season was a month behind due to a hand injury and he is still looking for his first victory. Thomas last won the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, but his game has shifted well enough for the right direction, being eighth in the world rankings.
“The majority of that is just trying hard,” he said of the drought. “Fortunately, it feels like it’s past the point where you stopped asking me – that’s good – but I want to start over.
“What I think I’ve done well there for a few years is that the tournament just came to me and I trust my abilities,” he said. “This week was really my key, I’m really trying to trust my game and commit to what I’m doing.”