The RBC Heritage at Harbour Town in Hilton Head, S.C. was supposed to act as something of a salve to the Irish in attendance after the prior week’s Masters sadness. The operative words there are “supposed to” as events hardly played out in a favorable manner.
Rory McIlroy blew off this event, thus forfeiting a reported $3 million from the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program.
Shane Lowry made the cut with a stroke to spare, having shot 70 and 69. Weekend rounds of 74 and 72 each included a double bogey and a paucity of birdies (only one on Saturday). At a stroke over par for the event, he tied for 67th place, 18 strokes off the low number shared by Jordan Spieth and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who won the playoff on the third extra hole.
Seamus Power lasted just 36 holes. He posted rounds of 77 and 72, leaving just three names below his on the leaderboard. He managed only two birdies in each of those rounds and suffered a triple-bogey 7 at 18 on Thursday.
LPGA TOUR
Stephanie Meadow appeared as if she would have a short stint at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii after an opening 75 that featured a triple bogey and a double. But she managed to squeeze a little lemonade out of the lemons that she brought upon herself.
A second-round 70 enabled Meadow to clear the cut line by two strokes. She then played well enough over the final two rounds to climb into a tie for 31st place. A third-round 72 was marred by a four-hole sequence in which she took three bogeys, while her final-round 70 included a hiccup in which she bogeyed two holes in a span of three.
Meadow finished 11 strokes off the low number that yielded a three-woman playoff, which was won by Grace Kim.
The action moves to The Woodlands, Tex. for this week’s Chevron Championship.
Read also about University of Louisville's Max Kennedy's win at the Aggie Invitational in John Manley's College Roundup here.
