By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – Reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick defeated defending champion Jordan Spieth in a multi-hole playoff to win the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town.

The playoff between Fitzpatrick and Spieth was the first on Tour featuring multiple players that had previously won a major championship since the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions (Justin Thomas* def. Patrick Reed* and Xander Schauffele). Spieth became the first defending champion to lose in a playoff since Schauffele at that same tournament.

Spieth now has 18 runner-up finishes on Tour since the start of the 2013 season, four more than any other player in that span.

Fitzpatrick is the third player from England to win on Tour this season, tying the most in a single season on record (1983-present).

RBC Heritage | Final Leaderboard

P-1 Matt Fitzpatrick 66 70 63 68 267 (-17) 1-0

P-2 Jordan Spieth 68 67 66 66 267 (-17) 5-4

3 Patrick Cantlay 69 65 66 68 268 (-16)

4 Xander Schauffele 67 66 70 66 269 (-15)

T-5 Sahith Theegala 70 68 67 65 270 (-14)

T-5 Hayden Buckley 69 68 66 67 270 (-14)

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By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – As the final round begins today, 15 players, including four major championship winners, are within four strokes of the lead. The 2022 U.S. Open champion – Matt Fitzpatrick – holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour for the third time while seeking his second win on the circuit.

The RBC’s 2022 runner-up Patrick Cantlay is seeking to become the first player to win a tournament one year after losing it in a playoff since 2008 while defending champion Jordan Spieth trails by two in bid to successfully defend on the Tour for the first time in 12 attempts.

Six-time PGA Tour winner and 36-hole leader Jimmy Walker sits three back in search of his first pro title since the 2016 PGA Championship.

Mark Hubbard, Tommy Fleetwood and Hayden Buckley are players among the Top 15 on the leaderboard without a PGA Tour victory.

Currently T-4 in his RBC tournament debut, World No. 2 Scottie Schefflerwould move into the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with a victory this week regardless of where current No. 1 Jon Rahm finishes today.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Matt Fitzpatrick 66-70-63—199 (-14)

Patrick Cantlay 69-65-66—200 (-13)

Jordan Spieth 68-67-66—201 (-12)

Five players 202 (-11)

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By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – The RBC Heritage tees-it-up this morning and features a strong field including seven of the Top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 38 of the Top 50). As the Tour turns towards the warmer weather months, 28 of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings and 19 of the 20 players that have won on Tour this season are playing the old school Harbor Town golf course.

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HARBOUR TOWN – Jordan Spieth defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage, earning his 13th PGA Tour title and first since the 2021 Valero Texas Open. Spieth became the 82nd player to reach 13 wins on the tour and moves to T-72 on the all-time wins list.

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With the victory, Spieth moved to No. 11 in the FedEx Cup standings, his highest position of the season. The playoff was the first in the FedEx Cup era (est. 2007) between two FedEx Cup Champions.

Patrick Cantlay (P2) earns his third top-three finish and fourth top-10 in five starts at the event (T-3/2017, T-7/2018, T-3/2019, MC/2021, P2/2022) while 54-hole leader Harold Varner III (T3) now has three Top-3 results on the PGA Tour, with two coming at the RBC Heritage (T-3/2019 FedEx St. Jude Championship, T-2/2021 RBC Heritage, T-3/2022 RBC Heritage)

Shane Lowry (T-3) has finished in the Top 15 in each of his last five stroke-play events, including a runner-up at The Honda Classic and back-to-back T-3s (Masters Tournament and the RBC).

Cam Davis (T-3) ties his career-low score on the PGA TOUR with a 63, his second instance with the first coming at the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship.

Defending champion Stewart Cink finished 68th.

RBC Heritage | Final Leaderboard

*Jordan Spieth 69-68-68-66—271 (-13) 5-3

Patrick Cantlay 66-67-70-68—271 (-13) 3-3

Cam Davis 69-73-67-63—272 (-12)

J.T. Poston 68-72-68-64—272 (-12)

Matt Kuchar 68-69-67-68—272 (-12)

Shane Lowry 66-72-65-69—272 (-12)

Sepp Straka 66-71-67-68—272 (-12)

Harold Varner III 67-72-63-70—272 (-12)

Cameron Young 63-73-70-66—272 (-12)

*defeated Patrick Cantlay with a par-4 on the first extra hole (No. 18)

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HILTON HEAD – Following a bogey-free (63) at the RBC Heritage, Harold Varner III holds the 54-hole lead for the second time of his PGA Tour career, but he is 0-for-1 to date in converting it to a win. Varner will attempt to become the eighth Black player to win on Tour.

Reigning FedEx Cup Champion and 36-hole leader Patrick Cantlay trails by one following a 1-under (70) while Shane Lowry and Erik van Rooyen, both T-2, could become the sixth international winner of the RBC Heritage since 2012.

Of 12 players at 8-under or better, Varner III (1st) and Tommy Fleetwood (T-9) are seeking their first Tour victory.

The last two RBC Heritage champions (Webb Simpson in 2020, Stewart Cink in 2021) each held the 54-hole lead/co-lead but prior to 2020, the event featured seven consecutive come-from-behind winners, with all trailing by at least two strokes going into the final round.

One week following a T-3 at The Masters Tournament, Shane Lowry (T-2) at (-10) is in search of his third Tour victory (2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2019 Open Championship). He has two Top-10 finishes in four starts at the RBC Heritage.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard | After 54 Holes

Harold Varner III 67-72-63—202 (-11)

Shane Lowry 66-72-65—203 (-10)

Erik van Rooyen 69-67-67—203 (-10)

Patrick Cantlay 66-67-70—203 (-10

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The RBC Heritage | Third Round 

HILTON HEAD – Reigning FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay holds 36-hole lead/co-lead at the RBC Heritage and for the eighth time on Tour. He’s 1-for-7 in cashing in for the win to date.

Of 13 players at 5-under or better, Cameron Tringale, Cameron Young, and Mito Pereira are seeking their first PGA Tour win.

Following 15 bogey-free rounds Thursday, the most in any single round at Harbour Town Golf Links since 2003, only two were recorded in Round-2 on Friday, as Matthew NeSmith, and Cameron Tringale accomplished the task.

Defending champion and three-time RBC Heritage winner Stewart Cinkadvanced to the weekend for the 18th time in his 23rd appearance

Competing on a Major Medical Extension in his first PGA TOUR start since the 2019 Shriners Children’s Open, Morgan Hoffmann missed the cut by one stroke. Other notables to also miss by a stroke: Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Kevin Kisner.

Brandon Hagy WD during the second round with a back injury.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

Patrick Cantlay 66-67—133 (-9)

Robert Streb 68-67—135 (-7)

Cameron Tringale 69-67—136 (-6)

Aaron Wise 68-68—136 (-6)

Erik van Rooyen 69-67—136 (-6)

Cameron Young 63-73—136 (-6)

Joel Dahmen 69-67—136 (-6)

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The RBC Heritage | Second Round | April 15

HILTON HEAD – PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young opened with a bogey-free (63), the lowest first-round score of his Tour career and one stroke shy of his low in any round. Young holds a two-stroke lead, the first lead/co-lead of his PGA Tour career after any round.

Joaquin Niemann has now been T-3 or better after 18 holes five times this season, the most of any player while defending champion and three-time RBC Heritage winner Stewart Cink is T-10. The last player to successfully defend title at the event was Boo Weekley in 2008. Both PGA Tour members from Chile are T-3 or better with Niemann in 2nd at (-6) and rookie Mito Pereira among a group of seven players T-3 at (-5).

Competing on a Major Medical Extension in his first PGA Tour start since the 2019 Shriners Children’s Open, Morgan Hoffmann carded an even-par (71), and is T-71.

Corey Conners is T-3 after posting a (-5) including a hole-in-one (No. 7, 187 yards), his fourth on Tour since the start of the 2019-20 season. He has the most aces on Tour in that stretch with second-most honors going to Martin Laird.

Conners’ holes-in-one have come at the 2020 BMW Championship, 2021 Masters Tournament, 2021 Wells Fargo Championship and 2022 RBC Heritage.

Shane Lowry (T-3) at (-5) has finished in the Top 15 in each of his last four stroke-play starts on TOUR (2nd/The Honda Classic, T-13/The PLAYERS, T-12/Valspar Championship, and T-3/Masters Tournament).

Webb Simpson finished his round with five straight birdies but is six shots off the lead – at a T-32 logjam at (69) after 18 holes.

Reigning FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay (T-3) at (-5) opened with a (66), snapping a streak of seven consecutive scores in the 70s. Cantlay opened the season with four consecutive Top-10s but has not finished T-10 or better in four starts since losing to Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the WM Phoenix Open.

Zach Johnson WD during the first round due to illness.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

Cameron Young 63 (-8)

Joaquin Niemann 65 (-6)

Seven players 66 (-5)

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The RBC Heritage | First Round Preview – April 14

HILTON HEAD – Will we see yet another first-time winner at this week’s RBC Heritage join a growing list of PGA Tour players securing their first wins on the circuit?

Nine players have earned their first PGA Tour victory this season, including seven in the last 11 weeks. Most recently, J.J. Spaun won the Valero Texas Open, winning on Tour for the first time in his 147th career start.

Over the years, 14 players have earned their maiden PGA Tour victory at RBC Heritage, including: Hale Irwin (1971), Graham Marsh (1977), Doug Tewell (1980), Nick Faldo (1984), Davis Love III (1987), Glen Day (1999), Jose Coceres (2001), Peter Lonard (2005), Aaron Baddeley (2006), Boo Weekley (2007), Branden Grace (2016), Wesley Bryan (2017), Satoshi Kodaira (2018), and C.T. Pan (2019).

There are 97 PGA Tour past winners scheduled to compete this week at Harbor Town, tied for second-most in an event this season (109/The PLAYERS). highlighted by six players with double-digit wins on Tour: Dustin Johnson (24), Davis Love III (21), Jim Furyk (17), Justin Thomas (14), Zach Johnson (12) and Jordan Spieth (12).

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Stewart Cink is back in Hilton Head to defend his RBC Heritage title. With his win in 2021, Cink earned his third title at the RBC Heritage, 21 years and 2 days since his first victory in the event (2000).

Multiple Wins at RBC Heritage (* in the field this week):

Win, Player, Years won

5 Davis Love III* 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2003

3 Stewart Cink* 2000, 2004, 2021

3 Hale Irwin 1971, 1973, 1994

From The Masters to the RBC is always an easy trip that stacks the talent pool at Harbor Town. This year, 42 of the 90 players in the Masters Tournament field made the trip from Augusta to Hilton Head, including seven players who finished in the Top-10 last week: Shane Lowry (T-3), Cameron Smith (T-3), Collin Morikawa (5th), Corey Conners (T-6), Justin Thomas(T-8), Sungjae Im (T-8), Charl Schwartzel (T-10).

RBC Heritage | Tournament Facts;

COURSE: Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina

ARCHITECT: Pete Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,191 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $8,000,000/$1,440,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Stewart Cink

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @RBC_Heritage

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD – PGA Tour vet Stewart Cink leads RBC Heritage and now holds the 54-hole scoring record by two strokes. Today, Cink will attempt to join Davis Love III (5) and Hale Irwin (3) with three or more victories at the RBC.

Cink holds largest 54-hole lead on the Tour since Dustin Johnson held the same margin (five strokes) at the 2020 TOUR Championship

That said, the RBC Heritage has had a come-from-behind winner seven out of the last eight years.

Collin Morikawa has three Top-10s in his 12 prior starts this season but finished T-64 in his only other RBC Heritage start (2020).

Following a third-round 6-under (65), Matt Wallace (T-4) now has four rounds of 65 or better in 125 rounds on Tour. Two of those came this week (rounds one and three). He is seeking his first win in 39 PGA Tour starts, with a third place finish at the 2021 Valero Texas Open and T-3 at the 2019 PGA Championship his best outings to date.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard After Three Rounds:

Stewart Cink 63-63-69—195 (-18)

Collin Morikawa 65-68-67—200 (-13)

Emiliano Grillo 68-64-69—201 (-12)

Matt Wallace 65-72-65—202 (-11)

Sungjae Im 68-65-69—202 (-11)

Four players at (-10) and a total of nine players under par with double-digits

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD – PGA Tour vet Stewart Cink broke the previous RBC Heritage 36-hole record by three strokes with his pair of (63s). At 47 years old, Cink became the oldest player to hold the 36-hole lead at RBC.

Cink joined Loren Roberts as the only players with multiple 63s or better in tournament history. Cink leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (6.556) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (9.626).

RBC Ambassador Corey Conners (67-64 -11) is seeking to become the first Canadian to win the RBC Heritage. He could be the sixth international winner at Harbour Town since 2012.

Emiliano Grillo (68-64 -10) is the only player bogey-free through 36 holes.

After posting a career-low and bogey-free 9-under (62), first-round leader Cameron Smith (T-4 at (-9), followed with an even par (71) in R-2..

Defending champion Webb Simpson enters the weekend T-40.

Leaderboard After Second Round

Stewart Cink 63-63—126 (-16)

Corey Conners 67-64—131 (-11)

Emiliano Grillo 68-64—132 (-10)

Four players tied at (-9)

Tournament Tee Times begin today at 8:45am (EDT) through 2:10pm (EDT) when Stewart Cink and Corey Connors tee it up.

Weather: Forecast calls for showers and a 70% chance of rain as a weak low-pressure system developed along the stalled front pushing showers northward into region. Temperatures in the 59-68-degree range with winds 5-10 mph. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with chance of AM showers (50%).

See PGA Tour Brunch online for more information

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