RBC Heritage updates: McDowell, Every share first-round lead at Harbour Town

Graeme McDowell, the 2013 champion, fired a 5-under-par 66 in Thursday's opening round of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, sharing the lead with two-time PGA Tour winner Matt Every.

Masters winner Jordan Spieth and defending tournament champion Matt Kuchar played in the same afternoon group in Hilton Head Island's annual PGA Tour event. Kuchar shot a 3-under-par 68, but Spieth struggled to a 3-over 74. When he left the course, Spieth was tied for 95th in a field of 131. If he is to match Bernhard Langer as the only golfer to win the Masters and Heritage in consecutive weeks, he'll first have to avoid missing the cut.

"My legs are a little tired, but all in all, that happens," said Spieth, who didn't play a practice round at Harbour Town this week, instead making a media blitz of New York following his record-setting triumph at Augusta National on Sunday. "I played a four-week stretch (and) I feel that, and it normally doesn't affect anything. So it was just an off day.

"Kuchar is older than me, and he's at the end of a four-week stretch. And he kicked my butt today, so I've got some work to do."

Kuchar is in a tie for fourth that also includes Morgan Hoffmann, a former student at Hilton Head Island's International Junior Golf Academy.

Alone in third after a 4-under-par 67 is South Korean Sang-Moon Bae, who vaulted to the lead in the morning on an uncharacteristic day at Harbour Town Golf Links. Typically, early rounds yield the lower scores, but no one in the morning wave matched Bae, although Aiken’s Kevin Kisner briefly joined him at 4-under before dropping back a stroke en route to a 3-under-par 68.

The afternoon was a different matter.

Cameron Smith and Johnson Wagner were among three golfers who got as low as 4-under, although each eventually fell back.

McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, zoomed past everyone despite a bogey on the first hole. He made birdies at Nos. 5, 7, 10, and 12 to claim a share of the lead, then took it for himself with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 13, with its heart-shaped green surrounded by sand and cypress planks.

Minutes later, Every’s birdie at the par-3 7th hole put him at 5-under, too. Both parred their way in, and no one was able to match them.

"God it was greasy today," Every said after a round in which he hit only seven of 18 greens. "It wasn't my best ball-striking. It wasn't playing that easy, either, but I got a lot out of my game, for sure."

Click here for a Harbour Town course guide.

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This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 10:12 AM with the headline "RBC Heritage updates: McDowell, Every share first-round lead at Harbour Town."