Garrett Willis leads early at Hilton Head
Garrett Willis may have regained his putting touch at The Heritage. He’ll need it with some of the world’s best trying to chase him down.
Willis used a run of six straight birdies to shoot a 7-under 64 and grab a one-shot lead after completion of the first-round at Harbour Town Golf Links on Friday. The tournament featured seven of the world’s top 20 golfers — many within striking distance of the top.
Third-ranked Luke Donald was three shots behind after a 67. The group at 68 included U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell (No. 5 in the world), Matt Kuchar (No. 10) and defending Heritage champ Jim Furyk (No. 13).
Willis, whose only PGA Tour victory came in his first event at Tucson 10 years ago, is confident he can rise to the challenge.
“I just want to be able to play the golf that I know I’m capable of playing,” he said.
He’ll need it this week with 24 golfers within four strokes of the lead. Arjun Atwal, Matt Bettencourt, Chad Campbell and Tim Herron were at 65, while Mark Wilson, Camilo Villegas and 2009 Heritage winner Brian Gay were another shot back.
The round was slowed by a rain delay of 2 hours, 16 minutes that forced 18 players to return Friday before starting their second rounds. Ben Martin made the most of his morning finish with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes for a 67.
Donald could move to No. 1 with a win. The Match Play Championship winner, the highest-ranked player in the field, rallied from a sluggish start with three birdies in his final six holes. He’d rather not think about what a victory could mean.
But “a lot of people are telling me about” No. 1, Donald said. “So it’s hard to put out of your brain. But that would be awesome.”
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