Four golfers are tied for the lead with three more a shot back at the halfway point of the 56th RBC Heritage presented by Boeing, and although they all have the game to leave Harbour Town Golf Links with a tartan jacket on Sunday, one of the quartet of leaders profiles as the most plausible champion of the bunch.
Collin Morikawa surged into contention at the Heritage again Friday, carding a clean 66 to put himself in a four-way tie for the lead at 11 under — and indicating his return to form last week at The Masters might be sustainable.
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Morikawa has struggled this season, managing only one top-five finish prior to an encouraging tie for third at Augusta, where he revealed he and caddie J.J. Jakovac “found something” the Monday before The Masters. It worked there, and it’s working here at Harbour Town, where Morikawa has put himself in position to earn just his second PGA Tour win since claiming The Open Championship in 2021.
“Just scrambling, finding ways to make birdie and not getting ahead of myself,” Morikawa said. “Days like this where you don’t hit it as well, sometimes you think ahead and sometimes you kind of wait for the next hole and you wait for the next shot. But still have a lot of trust in the swing, so every shot I had that opportunity, whether it went right or wrong, I was able to kind of accept the fact and move on.”
RBC HERITAGE
Round 2 Leaders
J.T. Poston -11
Tom Hoge -11
Sepp Straka -11
Collin Morikawa -11
Patrick Rodgers -10
Ludvig Åberg -10
Mackenzie Hughes -10
Patrick Cantlay -9
Sahith Theegala -9
Scottie Scheffler -8
Byeong Hun An -8
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Pair the recent return to form with a healthy track record at the Heritage — Morikawa made the cut here each of the past four years, including a tie for seventh in 2021, and has now carded 12 rounds in the 60s among his 18 trips around Harbour Town — and you could have the recipe for a redemption story on Sunday.
But J.T. Poston has enjoyed his trips to Hilton Head Island, too, and has three top-10s in five starts at the Heritage with another brewing. Poston’s putter didn’t stay quite as hot as it was Thursday, but he still scraped out a 3-under-par 68 and just missed a 6-foot birdie try at 18 that would have kept him alone in the lead.
Tom Hoge inserted himself into the fray, finishing a scorching 7-under 64 with an 8-foot birdie putt at the 18th after posted 5-under 31 on the front nine, and Sepp Straka also grabbed a share of the lead with a 65, making eight birdies after opening with a double-bogey at No. 1.
But leading the tournament at the halfway point isn’t always a harbinger of good fortune. Last year’s 36-hole leader was Jimmy Walker at 12 under — he finished tied for 25th at 9 under. Two years ago, Patrick Cantlay led by three after two rounds, only to lose a playoff to Jordan Spieth on Sunday, and Cantlay is among those lurking within arm’s reach.
Ludvig Åberg, Patrick Rodgers, and Mackenzie Hughes are all one shot back and tied for fifth, while Cantlay and Sahith Theegala sit two back, and Byeong Hun An and reigning Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler are within three.
Scheffler ensured his flat start on Thursday was a fluke. He hasn’t made worse than par since a double-bogey at No. 3 in the first round and carded a bogey-free 65 on Friday to slide into the top 10 going into the weekend.
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick is five shots back at 6-under, the same score he posted through two rounds a year ago before shooting 11 under over the weekend and winning a playoff against Spieth. He was six shots out of the lead at this point last April.
They call Saturday “moving day” for a reason, and the course should be set up for plenty of risk-reward opportunities. Harbour Town has yielded at least one round of 64 or better on Saturday each of the last three years, and we saw six in the third round in 2020 (though that was in June, not April).
A shift in the weather appears imminent on Saturday, as well, with storms possible in the afternoon and showers likely on Sunday, so expect a fight to the finish.
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