Scottie Scheffler, targeting a return to top spot in the world rankings, set himself up for a weekend push at the RBC Heritage shooting a six-under-par round of 65 to move within three strokes of leader Jimmy Walker.
Victory would see Scheffler overtake freshly crowned Masters champion Jon Rahm and become world No 1 again.
But the Spaniard, who made a slow start with a one-over 72 opening round, moved up the leaderboard with the best score of the day, a bogey-free seven-under 64.
After starting on the 10th tee, Scheffler chipped in for an eagle on the par-five 2nd hole and ended his round with a bogey and a birdie.
Scheffler is one of three players on nine-under overall, alongside England’s Justin Rose and American Xander Schauffele.
It is Scheffler’s first appearance at Hilton Head and he said that lack of knowledge has been a factor in his play so far.
“There’s a lot of nuances to this golf course, and I’m still kind of learning on the fly,” he said. “It’s just those nuances kind of help when you’re not really playing your best.
“I feel like I put myself in a few spots this week that haven’t been great. But outside of that, I’ve played a lot of solid golf,” he added.
Rahm had been weary in his first round, after all his exertions at Augusta, but he was back into his groove after making four successive birdies on his front nine.
The Spaniard had to make a 10-footer for par on his last hole, the 9th, to keep his round bogey-free but said he was still battling with the after-effects of his Masters win.
“We did play 30 holes on Sunday on one of the hilliest walks all year. So adrenaline keeps you going so far, and then it’s going to take a little bit for the body and mind to recover,” he said.
“I wish I would have been able to take the week off, but it wasn’t the case. I took Monday and Tuesday off. I’ve been getting slightly better each day.
“So hopefully on the weekend I feel like I do normally on a weekend,” he said.
Walker is a surprise leader but one whose return to form will hearten many of his colleagues on the tour.
The 44-year-old has had to cope with the impact of Lyme disease which emerged in 2016 and a series of complications badly affected his form.
Walker, who has six wins on the PGA Tour but none since his Major win at the PGA Championship in 2016, shot back-to-back rounds of 65 to lead on 12-under overall.
“When you haven’t been playing well, there’s even more pressure … to take advantage of what’s happening because it hasn’t been happening very often,” he said.
While it has been seven years since he was winning titles, Walker certainly isn’t of the mindset to simply enjoy being back among the frontrunners.
“I’ve won golf tournaments in all sorts of fashions, big events. Played in the biggest stages. Nothing this weekend is any different than anything I’ve ever done honestly. I’ll just go do it again because it’s fun if you win,” he said.
Rose was bogey-free in his 67 while Schauffele eagled the par-five 5th and reached the turn four-under but bogeys on the 11th and 12th hampered his progress before he sank an 11-foot birdie putt on the 18th to earn a share of second place.
English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai were both four shots off Walker along with Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Americans Mark Hubbard and Patrick Cantlay.
Cantlay, criticized for slow play during the final round of the Masters, had a hole-in-one on the par-three 7th and tweeted a video of his ace with the message ‘Playing Faster!’
Playing faster! @RBC_Heritage @PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/mDxo2yarAB
— Patrick Cantlay (@patrick_cantlay) April 14, 2023
Ernie Els is the best-placed South African in the field heading into the weekend – on four under (T34) – after following his first-round 68 with a second-round 70 that included an eagle, two birdies and three bogies.
.@TheBig_Easy making it look easy 💯
Ernie Els chips in for eagle and moves to 4-under @RBC_Heritage. pic.twitter.com/HZ9HHHxNgF
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 14, 2023
Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Garrick Higgo are both on three under having carded 68 and 66 respectively on Friday.
Eric van Rooyen (one under) missed the weekend cut, while Dylan Frittelli withdrew during the second round when on 20 over.
© Agence France-Presse
