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Simpson wins, Spieth struggles at the RBC Heritage

Simpson wins, Spieth struggles at the RBC Heritage

As the sun set in the Low Country late Sunday afternoon, the leaderboard was as tight as it had been all week.

Ultimately, it was Webb Simpson who maintained his 54-hole led while fighting off the various challenges who attempted to make a run at his crown.

Here are some highlights from the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town:

Simpson fights off challengers – sets tournament record

Webb Simpson, who won the U.S Open on Father’s Day in 2012, made five birdies in his final seven holes at Harbour Town to secure the tournaments famous plaid jacket.  Simpson carded a beautiful 7-under-64 – setting the tournament scoring record at a total 22-under-par.  He won by one shot over Abraham Ancer.  This is Simpson’s seventh PGA Tour victory which ties him with guys like three time major champion Brooks Koepka in total wins – he also moves to number 5 in the world.

 

Outside of Simpson, Ancer was the most consistent guy on the golf course all week.  He only missed seven greens in regulation ALL WEEK including zero missed greens on Sunday.  That’s an accomplishment on the most wide-open golf courses so to accomplish that at Harbour Town deserves a serious round of applause.  He finished at 21-under for the tournament.

 

Last week’s winner, Daniel Berger, proved that victory was no fluke accident.  He delivered an impressive bogey-free 65 that included 14/15 fairways hit and 14/18 greens in regulation.  He chipped in at the par-3 17th for a birdie that put some serious pressure on the top.  In the end, he was 20-under for the tournament, coming up just short of back-to-back wins.

 

Koepka and Thomas secure top-10 finishes

Last Fall, Brooks Koepka had surgery to repair a partially torn patella tendon in his knee.  You could argue that no one benefited from the layoff more than Brooks as his knee injury appears to be a thing of the past.  He took the course Sunday and carded a 6-under-65 that included a near ace on the 329-yard par-4 ninth hole.  He put it to 3-feet.  I wonder what that feels like.

My pick this week was Justin Thomas who finished round one sitting well outside of contention in 101st place.  He entered Sunday with different plans in mind – racing up the leaderboard en route to a brilliant round of 63.  Though it would be too little too late, Thomas showed us once again why he is a top talent on the PGA Tour.  Despite the hot weekend play, his most fiery moment of the week was when he called Hilton Head a “zoo” while expressing his dissatisfaction for the COVID-19 response from the island.  These comments come after Nick Watney withdrew before Friday’s round due to a positive test for COVID-19.

Spieth started hot before fizzling out

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan.  Spieth stole all the headlines Friday after making birdie on seven of his last eight holes to shoot up the leaderboard.  However, this would be the highlight of his tournament as each day was as inconsistent as the next.  After a gruesome three-over, 75 in round three he put together a mediocre Sunday on a course where players were going low.  With moments of greatness overshadowed by rounds on the struggle bus, Spieth still appears to have a long way to go if he wants to compete with the world’s best again.  He finished the tournament at six-under and tied for 68th place.  Yuck.

Well, thus concludes another wonderful week on the PGA Tour.  Next up is the Traveler’s Championship at TPC River Highlands.  It’s another stacked field that adds Phil Mickelson to the mix.

Hit ’em hard!

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