DATES: April 12-15
SITE: Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina
PRIZE MONEY: $6,700,000

Round 4 - Satoshi Kodaira wins RBC Heritage in playoff

April 15, 2018

Japan's Satoshi Kodaira birdied the third playoff hole to defeat South Korea's Kim Si-woo and win the Heritage tournament on Sunday for his first US PGA Tour victory.

The 28-year-old from Tokyo had won six times on the Japan Tour, most recently at last November's Taiheiyo Masters, but captured the biggest title of his career with a birdie at the par-3 17th at Harbor Town in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

World number 46 Kodaira was coming off his best major showing, and what had been his top US result, with a share of 28th at last week's Masters.

Kim and Kodaira both finished 72 holes at 12-under-par 272, one stroke ahead of Americans Luke List and Bryson DeChambeau with Billy Horschel and Webb Simpson on 274.

Kodaira and 51st-ranked Kim began the playoff by replaying the 18th hole. Both parred twice more as they had in the final round, forcing the showdown to a third extra hole, the par-3 17th.

Both had made bogeys at 17 in the final round but Kodaira solved the tricky hole for the victory.

Kim, 22, was denied his third US PGA title after wins in 2016 at Greensboro and last May at the Players Championship.

Kodaira, who shot 63 Friday, fired a final-round five-under-par 66 to charge into the hunt. He opened with three birdies, began the back nine with another then sank birdie putts of 28 feet at the par-3 14th and 10 feet at the par-5 15th but missed the 17th green and made bogey.

He still needed the leaders in the final group to back up and that's what they did, Kim firing a par 71 while List shot 72 and 54-hole leader Ian Poulter of Britain closed on 75 -- threesomes being used in a bid to finish before predicted storms arrived.

Kim blasted out of greenside bunkers to within five feet to birdie the par-5 second and fifth holes, then holed out from 22 feet at the ninth to make the turn on 15 under.

But Kim stumbled with bogeys at the par-4 12th, missing an 11-foot par putt, and par-5 15th, where he never found the fairway and missed a 4-footer for par, leaving him only one stroke ahead of List and Kodaira.

Kim missed a 5-foot par putt at the par-3 17th for a bogey that dropped him level with Kodaira as he reached the 18th green.

List had bogeys on three of his prior four holes but blasted out of a bunker at 17 and made a 4-foot par putt to stand one back entering 18.

List dropped his approach 10 feet from the cup but missed his birdie putt to miss the playoffs.

Kim placed his approach six feet from the cup but missed his birdie putt, setting up the playoff.

Poulter saw his title hopes collapse with five bogeys on the back nine, fading at the end of his sixth consecutive week of playing to a final-round 75.

The 42-year-old Englishman missed the 10th green on his approach to set up a bogey, then missed an 8-footer for par at 13 and found water off the tee at the par-3 14th for back-to-back bogeys, which he also had at 16 and 17.

Poulter, who won the Houston Open two weeks ago to earn a Masters berth, shared seventh with Americans Bill Haas, Kevin Streelman, Patrick Cantlay, Chesson Hadley and Kevin Kisner and South Korea's An Byeong-hun on 275.

Scores

Round 3 - Ian Poulter takes lead in South Carolina

April 14, 2018

Britain's Ian Poulter, seeking his second title in three weeks, fired a four-under-par 64 to seize a one-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the US PGA Heritage Classic.

The 42-year-old Englishman, who won the Houston Open two weeks ago to earn a berth in last week's Masters, fired his second consecutive bogey-free round to stand on 13-under par 200 after 54 holes at Harbor Town in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

"Clean card. That's what's keeping me up there," Poulter said. "I'm driving it well. I feel comfortable with my irons."

South Korea's Kim Si-woo and American Luke List shared second on 201 and will play alongside Poulter in Sunday's final round, when threesomes will be used with early tee times in a bid to finish before expected storms arrive.

Taiwan's C.T. Pan and American Billy Horschel were another stroke back on 202.

Poulter, playing for the sixth week in a row as a result of his last-chance qualifying for the Masters, has gone 45 holes without a bogey since his ninth hole in Thursday's opening round.

"Still standing," Poulter said. "It's unusual I play six weeks in a row. I can muster up another day's hard graft and see if we can pull it out of the bag again."

Poulter, who shared 44th last week at Augusta National in the year's first major tournament, blasted out of a bunker to three feet and birdied the par-5 fifth, then sank a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-4 sixth.

While Poulter birdied the 12th and 13th as well, he said he key back-nine holes were par saves at the par-3 14th and 17th. At 14 he missed the green but dropped his second shot three feet from the cup and at 17 he blasted from a bunker and sank a testy 6-footer for par.

"The par-3 pars on the back nine were key," Poulter said. "Those two saves were the key to my round."

The only Englishman to win the Heritage was Nick Faldo, who in 1984 made it his first US triumph. Poulter's first US victory was at Houston.

Kim, last year's Players Championship winner who took his first US PGA title at Greensboro in 2016, fired a 68 with five birdies, including all three par-5 holes.

List, who blasted 41 feet out of a rear greenside bunker to birdie the ninth, fired a 67 to seize second. He seeks his first PGA title after losing a Honda Classic playoff to Justin Thomas in February.

"It didn't feel like I lost it. It felt like he beat me," List said. "That's definitely one of those sitiuations I'll draw on tomorrow."

Pan, who also seeks his first US PGA crown, capped a run of four birdies in five holes by sinking a 27-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th but found a bunker on his approach and took bogey at 18, still worth a spot in Sunday's penultimate trio.

"This is not my first time being in this position. I feel comfortable having experienced it before," Pan said. "I want to play well tomorrow and hopefully win the title for sure."

Round 2 - Bryson DeChambeau edges ahead of Kim & Poulter

April 13, 2018

American Bryson DeChambeau fired a seven-under-par 64 Friday to seize a one-stroke lead over Britain's Ian Poulter and South Korean Kim Si-woo at the US PGA Heritage tournament.

DeChambeau, who won his first PGA title at last year's John Deere Classic, stood on 10-under 132 after 36 holes at Hilton Head, South Carolina, in the traditional return to tour golf after last week's Masters.

After sharing 38th last week at Augusta National, DeChambeau opened on 68 and followed with another low-scoring round, making birdies on four of the last six holes.

DeChambeau reached the green in two at the par-5 second and holed a 10-foot eagle putt, but never found the fairway in making bogey at the third. He answered with back-to-back birdies on 3-foot putts at the par-5 fifth and par-4 sixth, then added another at the eighth before a lost ball off the ninth tee led to another bogey.

Closing with a flourish, DeChambeau birdied 13, the par-5 15th, 16 and the par-3 17th on a 12-foot putt to grab the lead. After finding a bunker at 18, he sank a testy 12-footer for par to keep the second-round lead.

Kim began on the back nine and birdied 13 from 18 feet, then suffered a triple-bogey at the par-3 14th. He was imposed a two-shot penalty for touching sand with his hand in a bunker while thinking he was on the greenside fringe.

"This might be the first time I played so well with a triple bogey," Kim said through a translator. "I think that made me play more aggressively so I'm very happy with my round."

Kim answered with birdies on his next three holes, an eight-footer at 15, a four-footer at 16 and a tap-in at the par-3 17th.

He then opened the front nine, his second nine of the round, with three consecutive birdies -- a 25-foot putt at one, a four-footer at two and a bomb from 43 feet at the third.

Kim then birdied the par-5 fifth from three feet and closed on birdie at the ninth, blasting from a greenside bunker off the tee to six feet and making the putt for a 65.

"I had a really good run," Kim said. "I was happy with how I played."

Poulter felt much the same after shooting a bogey-free 64 in his sixth consecutive week of golf after winning the Houston Open two weeks ago to qualify for the Masters.

"It's nice. If you keep bogeys off your card you're generally going to have a good round. You have to be on your game," Poulter said.

The Englishman, who will take next week off, began with a birdie at the 10th, added another at 15 and closed his outward nine with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18. After short birdie putts at the first and fifth he drained a 17-footer for birdie at the par-3 seventh. to join Kim on 133.

"My form has been pretty consistent," Poulter said. "Confidence is definitely there. I feel like I can be more aggressive. That helps a lot. I can free myself up and start attacking pins."

Sharing fourth on 134 were South Africa's Rory Sabbatini and Americans Chesson Hadley, Brandt Snedeker and Luke List.

Round 1 - Rory Sabbatini takes 2-stroke lead in RBC Heritage

April 12, 2018

Rory Sabbatini has taken a two-stroke lead in the RBC Heritage, having shot a 7-under 64, his lowest round ever at Harbour Town Golf Links. Sabbatini made the most of the perfect, windless conditions on a typically wind-swept course.

He birdied four holes on his front nine having started on the 10th, made a 52-foot putt on the par-3 14th and his approach on the signature 18th set up another birdie.

''I think anytime you can birdie 18 on this golf course, it's key because 18 is not a very forgiving hole,'' he said.

Sabbatini, who last won on Tour in 2011, closed with consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th for a 64 beating his previous best round of 66 in the 2009 final round when he finished T8.

''All things considered, the course is probably as easy as I've ever seen it play,'' he said.

All this from a player who hurt his back on Sunday working on his stance.

Matt Kuchar, Billy Horschel, Chesson Hadley and John Huh shot 66s and are tied in second place.

''Once you get on these greens, you feel like you have a chance to make putts,'' Kuchar said. ''To come from last week where getting on the green doesn't mean much, you still have a lot of work to go.''

Dustin Johnson made a run of four birdies, but closed with a 69 and is tied for 20th.

''I haven't played here in a while, so it's definitely a little bit different being here,'' Johnson said.

Scores