McIlroy five back at Harbour Town; Hatton seeks back to back US wins
Tyrrell Hatton of England reacts to his birdie on the 18th green during the third round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy is one of 35 players within five shots of the lead heading into the final round of the RBC Heritage.
The Holywood star is five strokes behind Tyrrell Hatton, Abraham Ancer, Ryan Palmer and Webb Simpson on 10-under par after he continued his comeback from Thursday's lacklustre 72 by following Friday's second round 65 with a five-under 66.
As one of Sergio Garcia's Ryder Cup teammates, it's unlikely he’s one of the players who the Spaniard jokingly (one hopes) believes were more deserving of positive COVID-19 test result than his friend Nick Watney.
"I felt terrible for Nick because he's probably one of the nicest guys on tour," said Garcia, who gave Watney a lift to the event on his private jet. "Unfortunately, it had to happen to him. So there's a lot of other people that probably deserved it a lot more than him, and he's the one that got it."
McIlroy spoke to Watney on the putting green on Friday but wasn't one of 11 close contacts who tested negative overnight.
"I didn't feel like I was in close enough proximity, and I wasn't feeling any symptoms," McIlroy said. "I feel totally fine. No, I saw him on the putting green, and we kept our distance, and that was it."
As it turned out, Watney suspected he might be ill when his Whoop band — a fitness tracking device — indicated that his respiratory rate had increased on Thursday night.
"A lot of us, we wear these Whoop straps on the wrist or on the biceps. One of the big telltale signs that they've found over the last few weeks, they've done studies where, if your respiratory rate goes up during the night by more than two breaths per minute, that's sort of a telltale sign that you might have something. So it was actually his Whoop that told him his respiratory rate went up, and that's why he thought maybe I could have it.
Screenshot of a Whoop report respiratory rate
"There's a lot of guys on tour now wearing the Whoop. I looked at mine this morning just to see what my respiratory rate was and make sure it was okay, and you go from there." As for his game, McIlroy has made 14 birdies and just one bogey since he covered his first nine holes in three-over-par on Thursday.
"I think on Thursday there was a few tee shots where I was caught in two minds about what I wanted to do, where I've been a little more decisive and a little more committed off the tee the last two days, and I've been able to hit the ball on the fairway much more," McIlroy said. "From there, whatever, I'm 11 under par the last two days by doing that.
"My irons have been feeling pretty good. My wedges have felt pretty good. So just keep hitting it in the fairways, and I'll be able to give myself birdie chances from there."
Hatton, who is bidding to become the first Englishman to win back to back PGA Tour events, albeit three months apart, shot an eight-under 63 to set the target at 15-under before being joined by Ancer (65) Palmer (66) and Simpson (68).
The Englishman (28), who won back to back on the European Tour when he captured the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Italian Open in 2017, claimed the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March but has not played since the cancelled Players Championship.
“We rented a house in Lake Nona,” said Hatton, who decided not play in last week’s opening event in Forth Worth and drove to South Carolina from Orlando..” So we spent the 13 weeks just hanging around there. It was a nice spot to be.”
His decision to spend the lockdown in the US proved a wise one.
“Me and Emily, my fiancee, we talked about it. It was all depending on how long we're going to be off from playing tournaments. We kind of said that, although when we went into a bit of a lockdown here, it was really bad in the UK, and we felt like, when it got worse in the States, then we might look at going home.
”But when the schedule came out and with the quarantine rules back in the UK and coming back out to the States, it just didn't make much sense to try and go home.”
The leading quartet has a one-stroke advantage over Carlos Ortiz, Joel Dahmen and last week's winner Daniel Berger with Garcia and fellow Europans Ian Poulter and Matthew Fitzpatrick in an eight-man tie for eighth, just two strokes behind.
McIlroy is tied for 28th which means he may have to produce a round in the low sixties to challenge for his 19th PGA Tour win.
Things to Know
With a win, Webb Simpson could take the No. 1 position in the FedExCup for the fourth time in his career
Tyrrell Hatton tied his career-low round with a 63 and leads the field in cumulative Strokes Gained: Putting
Abraham Ancer looks to become the fifth consecutive player to earn their first PGA TOUR win at RBC Heritage
35 players at 10-under or better through 54 holes (previous best at RBC Heritage: Seven players in 2015 and 2018)
Field was a combined 223-under par in the third round, the most of any round in tournament history
Third-Round Lead Notes
Through 23 stroke-play events this season, 14 third-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win (most recent: Tyrrell Hatton/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
The last 54-hole leader/co-leader to win the RBC Heritage was Carl Pettersson in 2012
The last seven winners of the RBC Heritage trailed by at least two shots after 54 holes
Webb Simpson (-15/T1)
With a win this week, could take the No. 1 position in the FedExCup standings for the fourth time in his career and first since the 2013-14 season
Has converted three of nine 54-hole leads/co-leads into victory (2011 Wyndham Championship, 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, 2018 PLAYERS Championship)
Most top-25 finishes in an event without a victory (7 – Sony Open in Hawaii, TOUR Championship, 6 – RBC Heritage)
Abraham Ancer (-15/T1)
Holds third-round lead/co-lead for third time in his PGA TOUR career (2018 Quicken Loans National/T4, 2018 Dell Technologies Championship/T7)
Seeks to become the sixth international winner of the RBC Heritage in last nine years and the fifth consecutive player to earn their first PGA TOUR event at RBC Heritage.
Leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (8.567) and hit 47 of 54 greens in regulation
Ryan Palmer (-15/T1)
Has converted one of three 54-hole lead/co-leads into victory (2010 Sony Open in Hawaii)
Best finish at the RBC Heritage in 10 previous starts: T11/2017
Final round scoring average at RBC Heritage is 73.67, nearly two strokes higher than any other round
Tyrrell Hatton (-15/T1)
Tied his career-low round with an 8-under 63 (previous: 63/R2/2018 Dell Technologies Championship)
Only needed 75 putts through 54 holes and leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (8.039)
In four previous starts this season, owns three top-10s, highlighted by a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Additional Player Notes
Daniel Berger (T5) in contention to become the first player to win consecutive TOUR events since Brendon Todd
last November (2019 Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic)
Carlos Ortiz (T5) recorded multiple eagles in a single round for the fourth time in his career (Nos. 2 and 5); one of
14 players that have had four or more rounds with multiple eagles since 2015
Joaquin Niemann (T8) recorded his 16th bogey-free round and fifth round of 63 or better on TOUR
8-under 63 marks the best score for Chris Stroud (T8) in 28 total rounds at this event; owns one top-10 at Harbour Town Golf Links (T6/2013)
