Low country living looked best on Ludvig Åberg Thursday at the 2026 RBC Heritage as the Swedish superstar strolled around Harbour Town Golf Links in a stress-free fashion. Carding eight birdies and 10 pars, Åberg signed for an opening 63 to open up a one-stroke lead over Viktor Hovland and Harris English at 8 under.
“Obviously scoring-wise it was a really good day,” Åberg said. “Anytime you are bogey free and you make eight birdies, it’s a good day. I felt like the highlight for me was definitely my irons and my approach play. I felt like that was really positive. Felt like I was hitting the flights I was trying to do. I was on the correct side of the flags, those kind of things that I really like to see. Then a few putts went in on the back nine that I didn’t really do on the front.”
The 26-year-old credited his approach play for the positive start (he ranked third in the field on Thursday), but the round would not have been complete without his putter. His first five birdie bids all came from inside 10 feet while his last three came from 24, 15 and 17 feet, respectively.
Åberg connected from long distance on three of his final five holes to surge past Hovland and English who were among the early finishers on Thursday. For the robotic right hander, this start represents another chance to play himself into weekend contention, which he has made a habit of the last few weeks on the PGA Tour, even if a trophy in 2026 has yet to fall into his hands.
“I think obviously coming off last week, I felt like I was playing well but made some silly mistakes that prevented me from having a real chance” Åberg said. “But I also felt like in the grand scheme of things, I was swinging it nice, I was moving it nice, so I didn’t have to prepare that much in terms of my golf swing on Monday through Wednesday, and I felt like good golf was in there.”
Michael Brennan was among 10 players to earn his spot in this field due to a win in 2025. With the RBC Heritage welcoming those players who qualified for The Sentry (which never took place), the 24-year-old took full advantage of the opportunity early with a stellar 65.
Former tournament winner Matt Fitzpatrick matched that number late thanks to birdies on three of his final four holes and only 20 official putts alongside the world No. 1. Scottie Scheffler did not fare as well as his playing partner, but the 2024 champion was still able to sign for a 68 even after losing his opening tee shot of the tournament out of bounds.
The leader
1. Ludvig Åberg (-8): Another week and another sighting of Åberg’s name on the first page of the leaderboard. Coming off a scratchy performance at the Masters, Åberg picked up where he left off in PGA Tour competition. He arrived in Hilton Head having had great chances to win in his last three non-major starts — Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship and Texas Open.
While it was a flawless performance, Åberg did have a handful of big misses off the tee. He was able to escape trouble today, but if he is to escape from this week with a trophy he will need to tighten things up in that department as he connected on just seven of 14 fairways.
Other contenders
T2. Viktor Hovland, Harris English (-7)
T4. Matt Fitzpatrick, Michael Brennan, Gary Woodland, Ryan Fox, Rickie Fowler, Andrew Novak (-6)
T10. Robert MacIntyre, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka, Daniel Berger, Si Woo Kim (-5)
You can see the gears turning and the pieces coming together in Hovland’s game. The Norwegian has become the ultimate tinkerer as of late, but positive signs began to materialize at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and he has since stuck to his guns.
The iron play was fantastic in Round 1 as he ranked second in greens in regulation and near the top of the field in strokes gained approach while the putter was more than cooperative. The kicker for Hovland the last couple of seasons has been his struggles off the tee, but even he admitted he only hit driver on four or so holes on Thursday, allowing the rest of his game to shine.
“A couple weeks ago, like leading up to the Masters. I saw a lot of good stuff,” Hovland said. “I wouldn’t say it was exactly where I want it to yet, but just seeing progress and less and less of those big misses that I’ve been struggling with. It’s kind of just been a slow and steady progress since then.”
Gary keeps going
Another week and another Gary Woodland sighting on the first page of the leaderboard. Playing well the first couple of days at Augusta National before back tracking over the weekend, the 2019 U.S. Open champion was once again sensational Thursday with a first-round 65. Woodland’s performance was well-rounded, but it was his short game that kept momentum on his side in the middle of his round.
“I think my game is as complete as it’s ever been, which is nice,” Woodland said. “I’m not fighting the golf game, I’m fighting my head. But very confident where the game is. I’m comfortable hitting multiple shots, again, which is nice. I feel very comfortable with the putter, which makes everything a little bit easier. Very happy with where everything is.”
Koepka kept on the sidelines
Early Thursday morning at Harbour Town, all the attention was on a player not in the field. Brooks Koepka was listed as the first alternate and waited around for every tee time to come through before officially giving up his hopes of playing in his first signature event of the season.
Some pointed to Collin Morikawa and the two-time major champion’s recent back injury and struggles to swing at the Masters as a likely candidate to pull out, but Morikawa trucked along. While he ranked near the bottom of the field in driving distance, Morikawa put together a clean round of 4 under and looked primed to factor in yet another tournament.
“I’m not in pain. I know it looked painful, but I’m just very scared, and I’ve never been this scared in my life to go out and play,” Morikawa said. “But I think it’s because it happened on the golf course. I’ve never had any back stuff happen on the golf course. Every time in the gym. Then I’d go out and swing, I’m just saying, do I feel good enough to swing.
“I’ve just been so timid and so shy in a way because the buildup was going okay, kind of had a minor setback, and then at the end of the day it was like, I need to tee it up at the Masters. There was a point where it was like, okay, let’s stop pushing to see how far we can get and let’s see what I can just work with. I’ve had back issues over the past three years. We’ve seen it. I’ve just got to find a way to kind of protect it a little bit more.”
As for Koepka, he now looks to next week’s Zurich Classic where he is paired with fellow Srixon staffer Shane Lowry. A good start from the two of them could be enough to push Koepka’s name into the field for the next two signature events ahead of the PGA Championship.
2026 RBC Heritage updated odds and picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Ludvig Åberg: 4-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 13/2
- Scottie Scheffler: 7-1
- Viktor Hovland: 8-1
- Harris English: 12-1
- Si Woo Kim: 18-1
- Robert MacIntyre: 18-1
- Rickie Fowler: 20-1
Still love Hovland after his first-round 64, but it is hard not to look at what Fitzpatrick accomplished on Thursday without his best stuff. A player who has played Harbour Town well year after year, the Valspar Championship winner looks destined to contend this weekend. If his price is too short for you this early in the tournament, (1) I get it and (2) perhaps look in the direction of Daniel Berger at 40-1 after a round of 5 under.
