McGirt hopes to continue Heritage success

Apr. 14—HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Fairmont native William McGirt has had some success at the RBC Heritage through his career, the PGA Tour's traditional week-after-the-Masters stop.

This week McGirt hopes that success continues as he tees it up at Harbour Town Golf Links. He will tee off in the first round Thursday at 7:44 a.m., paired with Austin Cook and Kevin Streelman.

"I feel like I am playing pretty well," McGirt told The Robesonian. "I feel like my ballstriking is very solid right now. The putter has been hot and cold lately. I'm hoping it's warm all week."

McGirt has three top-10 finishes in the event, including a tie for third in 2017 behind winner Wesley Bryan and former world No. 1 Luke Donald. He also finished ninth in 2014 and 2016. He has made six straight cuts in the event, and six out of eight overall.

"I've played well here in the past," McGirt said. "It's a golf course that has to be dissected and not overpowered. I know it's supposed to be cooler with wind starting Thursday; I'm hoping to guess right on the wind. It's borderline impossible to figure it out at Harbour Town sometimes. I love the golf course and I'm looking forward to it this week."

On the par-71 Harbour Town, a renowned Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus design, McGirt's scoring average in his eight starts is 70.67; in his last five starts there, it has improved to 69.85.

This is McGirt's first start at the RBC Heritage since 2018 due to the hip injuries that kept him off the Tour for nearly two years.

The RBC Heritage is an invitational event on the Tour; McGirt is in the field on a sponsor's exemption.

McGirt is in the seventh Tour start of a 29-event major medical extension after returning from his injuries. He had earned 11 FedExCup points over the first six starts; 364 more points are required to reach the 375-point total he needs by the end of the extension to maintain his Tour membership status.

McGirt finished tied for 60th in his last PGA Tour start at the Honda Classic, his best finish since returning from injury last summer. He had missed the cut in his previous three Tour starts dating back to last fall.

In a strong field, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, defending champion Webb Simpson, fellow top-10 players Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa and Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris are among the favorites.