Low-lying life was at its best for Ludwig Oberg as the Swedish superstar took a stress-free stroll through Harbor Town Golf Links in the 2026 RBC Heritage on Thursday. With eight birdies and 10 pars, Oberg signed an opening 63 to move to eight under par and one stroke ahead of Viktor Hovland and Harris English.
“It was a really good day in terms of scoring,” Oberg said. “If you can get eight birdies and no bogeys, it’s a good day. I felt like the highlights for me were definitely the irons and my approach play. I felt like that was very positive. I felt like I was hitting the flights that I was trying to make. I was on the right side of the flag. That’s something you really want to see. Then I made some putts on the back nine that I didn’t really hit on the front.”
The 26-year-old believes his approach play got him off to a strong start (he ranked third in the field on Thursday), but the round wouldn’t have been complete without his putter. The first five birdies all came from within 10 feet, and the last three came from 24, 15, and 17 feet, respectively.
Oberg connected from long range on three of the final five holes to move past Hovland and English, who finished early Thursday. For the robotic right-hander, this start means another chance to challenge himself to the weekend battles he’s become accustomed to in recent weeks on the PGA Tour, even if the 2026 trophy isn’t yet in his hands.
“I think we obviously had a bad day last week. We felt like we were playing well, but we made some stupid mistakes and missed some real opportunities,” Oberg said. “But in the grand scheme of things, I felt like I had a good swing and had good movement. So I didn’t have to prepare as much as far as my golf swing from Monday to Wednesday, and I felt like the good golf was there.”
Michael Brennan was one of 10 athletes to qualify for the field as he won in 2025. The 24-year-old made the most of the opportunity with an impressive 65 early on as RBC Heritage welcomed players who qualified for the Sentry (which did not take place).
Former tournament winner Matt Fitzpatrick matched that number late, thanks to birdies on three of his final four holes and making just 20 official putts to tie with the world No. 1. Scottie Scheffler didn’t do as well as his playing partner, but the 2024 champion still managed to shoot a 68 even after hitting his first tee shot of the tournament wide.
leader
1. Ludwig Oberg (-8): Another week passed and Oberg’s name appeared again on the first page of the leaderboard. After a shaky performance at the Masters, Oberg picked up where he left off in PGA Tour competition. He arrived at Hilton Head with a strong chance to win his last three non-major matches, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship and the Texas Open.
Although it was a perfect performance, Oberg made several big mistakes off the tee. He was able to stay out of trouble today, but will need to get better in that department as he only connected on 7 of 14 fairways if he is to escape this week with a trophy.
other candidates
T2. Viktor Hovland, Harris English (-7)
T4. Matt Fitzpatrick, Michael Brennan, Gary Woodland, Ryan Fox, Rickie Fowler, Andrew Novak (-6)
T10. Robert McIntyre, Sung Jae Im, Sepp Straka, Daniel Berger, Si Woo Kim (-5)
In Hovland’s games, you see gears turning and pieces coming together. The Norwegian has become the ultimate tinkerer these days, but he started to show some bright spots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has stuck to his guns ever since.
His iron play in the first round was excellent, ranking second in regulation on the greens and near the top in strokes gained approach, and his putter more than cooperated. Hovland’s struggles off the tee have been a big deal for him over the past few seasons, but even he admitted Thursday that he only hit driver on about four holes and was brilliant the rest of the game.
“A few weeks ago, it was kind of like leading up to the Masters. I saw a lot of good things,” Hovland said. “I wouldn’t say I’m where I wanted to be yet, but I just saw progress and fewer and fewer major failures that I was struggling with. I feel like I’ve been making slow and steady progress ever since.”
Gary continues
Another week sees Gary Woodland once again on the first page of the leaderboard. After playing well for the first few days at Augusta National before picking up steam over the weekend, the 2019 U.S. Open champion was sensational again Thursday with a first-round 65. Woodland’s performance was balanced, but it was his short game that allowed him to maintain momentum in the middle of the round.
“I think my game is as complete as it’s ever been, which is great,” Woodland said. “I’m not fighting the golf game, I’m fighting my head. But I’m very confident in the game situation. I’m comfortable hitting shots over and over again, which is great. I’m also very comfortable with the putter, which makes everything a little bit easier. I’m very happy with the whole situation.”
Koepka remained on the sidelines.
Early Thursday morning in Havertown, all eyes were on the players not on the field. Brooks Koepka was listed as the first alternate and waited for his tee time until he officially gave up his hopes of playing in the season’s first varsity tournament.
Some pointed to Collin Morikawa and the two-time major champion’s recent back injury and his struggle to play in the Masters as possible candidates to withdraw, but Morikawa pulled through. Although he ranked near the bottom in driving distance, Morikawa put together a clean round of 4 under and looked ready to play in more tournaments.
“It doesn’t hurt. I know it looked like it hurt, but I’m just so scared. I’ve never been so scared to go outside and play in my life,” Morikawa said. “But I think it’s because it happened on the golf course. I’ve never had anything bad happen on the golf course. In the gym every time. Then I go out and swing. I’m just saying if I feel good enough to swing.”
“The build-up was going well, so in some ways I was very timid and shy. I had some setbacks and at the end of the day, I was like, we’ve got to pull together at the Masters. There was a period where I was like, OK, let’s stop pushing to see how far we can go, let’s see what we can do. I’ve been carrying back issues for the past three years. We’ve seen it. We’ve got to find a way to protect it a little bit more. ”
As for Koepka, he has his sights set on next week’s Zurich Classic, where he will be paired with Srixon staffer Shane Lowry. A strong start by the two could be enough to push Koepka’s name into the field for the next two marquee events leading up to the PGA Championship.
2026 RBC Heritage odds and picks updated
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
- Ludwig Oberg: 4-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 13/2
- Scotty Scheffler: 7-1
- Viktor Hovland: 8-1
- Harris English: 12-1
- Kim Si Woo: 18-1
- Robert McIntyre: 18-1
- Rickie Fowler: 20 wins and 1 loss
As much as I love Hovland after the first-round loss of 64, I can’t help but see what Fitzpatrick accomplished without his best on Thursday. The winner of the Valspar Championship, a player who has performed well in Harbor Town year after year, appears destined to compete again this weekend. If his price is too short for you early in the tournament, (1) we get it, and (2) you’ll probably look in the direction of 40-1 Daniel Berger after a 5-under round.
