Harry Higgs carded a bogey-free 63 on the Seaside course (SS) on Friday to take a share of the lead at 12-under in the RSM Classic. His 130 total is his lowest opening 36-hole score in 88 starts on the PGA Tour.
Higgs, who lost his full PGA Tour card last season, holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the second time in his career on tour following the 2019 Butterfield Bermuda Championship where he finished second.
"I did a very good job of being patient. I didn't do an awesome job throughout the weekend on every shot, which you're never probably going to do it on every shot of getting comfortable and basically just telling myself this is what I want to have happen.
"So in that, that would be the goal for the next two days. Stay patient, for sure, which always gets harder and harder and harder. The better you do, the harder it is.
"I felt like I was getting a little impatient to finish out the back nine today even, but stay patient and then just go ahead and take - I don't want to take too long, but take just another little half second. OK, this is what I'm going to make this golf ball do."
@HarryHiggs1991 answers.
He is now T1 @TheRSMClassic 👏 pic.twitter.com/LThWQfRGC3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 18, 2022
Andrew Putnam, playing the Pantation course (PL) shot 65 to move to the top of the leaderboard. He holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the second time this season following the Zozo Championship where he finished second, and the fourth time in his career in individual stroke-play events. He is the only player with multiple 36-hole leads/co-leads on Tour this season
He makes the cut for the eighth time in as many starts, his longest streak to start a season on Tour.
"My driving accuracy's been probably the best in my career this last year, so that's really helped. The putting's back to pretty good like it normally is and my irons this week have been pretty sharp. Pretty much every part of my game has been pretty good right now, so it's a fun time to play golf."
Grit 💪@Cole_Hammer6765 fights for a share of the lead @TheRSMClassic. pic.twitter.com/mbFZjxfrmF
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 18, 2022
Overnight leader Cole Hammer, playing on a sponsor exemption, carded a 66 (SS) to retain a share of the lead.
"I was a little bit depressed after 7 and 8. I put myself in great position to make birdies and I walked out with two bogeys, and that's almost inexcusable, especially when there are birdies to be made out there. But coming back firing on 9 and then making a birdie on 10 kind of erasing those bogeys on two of the tougher holes right away was huge for momentum and for confidence. Then I rolled one in on 12 and then just kind of played steady golf in from there.
"It was obviously very much a rollercoaster round, but sometimes that's the way it is."
Joel Dahmen (PL, 64), Beau Hossler (PL, 67) abd Sahith Theegala (SS, 63) round-out the all-American top-5 with a shared fourth place at 11-under.
