Former world number one Luke Donald, who considered quitting professional golf last May after a form slump, gave himself a welcome boost by charging into a tie for the first-round lead at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina on Thursday.
Englishman Donald, whose most recent tournament victory came at the 2013 Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, birdied three of his last eight holes to fire a five-under-par 66 at the picturesque Harbour Town course on Hilton Head Island.
That’s a step in the right direction for a player who said attempts to rebuild his swing had ultimately hurt his game, costing him sharpness in his short game and putting. Harbour Town might be just the place for Donald to reverse his fortunes. He owns five runner-up finishes in the Heritage, the most heart-breaking a defeat to Matt Kuchar’s chip-in from a bunker two years ago.
Donald racked up six birdies and a lone bogey in cool, blustery conditions to end the day level with South African Branden Grace, a seven-time winner on the European Tour who is still seeking his first PGA Tour title.
Australian world number one Jason Day was also at five-under with just one hole to play but got an unfortunate break at the par-four 18th when his second shot ended up in a plugged lie under the lip of a bunker guarding the front left of the green.
After taking an unplayable, Day did well to splash out to six feet and sink the putt for a bogey and an opening 67, finishing level with Americans Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau, and Swede David Lingmerth.
“It was a little bit unlucky but I shouldn’t have been in that bunker in the first place,” Day, who has won twice in his last three PGA Tour starts, said. “I’m just glad I got a bogey out of it. I had played good up until that point so I’m not too disappointed ... not the way I wanted to finish but I played very nicely throughout the whole day to shoot 67.”
Donald, who has not triumphed on the PGA Tour since the 2012 Transitions Championship while his world ranking has plummeted to 95th, was delighted to make a good start at a venue where he has been a runner-up on three occasions.
“This year, and even last year, I’ve been looking for a tournament where I can get in contention and hopefully pick up a win,” said the 38-year-old. “It’s always nice to come back to familiar places where you’ve been very successful. You feel a little bit more of a comfort level and even though they did a little restoration to this place (on the greens), it’s pretty much the same golf course. It was nice to get off to a solid start.”
American Bryson DeChambeau, making his professional debut this week after ending his amateur career with a tie for 21st at last week’s Masters, opened with a 70.
Grace, playing the Heritage for the second time, also fired six birdies and a bogey to grab his share of the lead in tricky, windy conditions.
“It was not the best ball-striking day, but nothing’s easy on a day like today with the wind blowing all over the show,” Grace said.
Day is coming off a respectable finish where he contended in The Masters, the first of four major championships in 2016. “It is always tough to play the week after a major championship,” he said. “I wasn’t pleased with how I hit it on Sunday (at Masters). So I came in here on Monday to get in a good hitting session.”

Lee keeps Hawaii lead
Australian Minjee Lee fired a bogey-free six-under-par 66 on Oahu’s Ko Olina course on Thursday to take a two-shot lead after two rounds at the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii.
Lee, who finished in a tie for 13th last year, took advantage of calm afternoon conditions and rode a strong mid-round stretch to seize control. The 19-year-old birdied three successive holes from the par-four 11th before parring the last five to finish at 10-under, two better than American Katie Burnett.
“I holed a couple of nice putts (today) and just got my momentum going on the front nine,” Lee told reporters. “I birdied eight and nine, so I think the momentum carried on through the back nine.”
Burnett is at eight-under-par after matching Lee’s 66 also in the afternoon. South Korea’s Su-Yeon Jang is third at seven-under-par. World number one Lydia Ko stalled with an even-par 72 and is one-under-par for the tournament. Michelle Wie improved on her opening round 80 with a one-over-par 73 but failed to make the cut at her hometown event.