Savannah native Brian Harman fires a 66 in second round of RBC Heritage

Savannah native Brian Harman shot an even par 71 in his first round at the 58th annual RBC Heritage but left Harbour Town Golf Links with a bad taste in his mouth after missing a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.

The 39-year old Savannah Christian and University of Georgia alum put that disappointment behind him early in Friday's second round as he sank a birdie putt of 9 feet on the first hole to start is day in style.

The 5-foot-7 lefty putt together a stellar round of 5-under par 66, highlighted by five birdies without a bogey on his card. He sits in a tie for 28th, nine strokes behind the leader, Matt Fitzpatrick, who shot 63 to reach 14-under par.

"I hit it pretty good yesterday after a bad start, but I just didn't really putt well," said Harman, the winner of four PGA Tour titles, including the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. "So I think making that putt on No. 1 was the key today ― just getting off to a good start. That was really frustrating yesterday to hit a lot of good shots and not make any putts, so to see one go in early was nice."

This is the 18th appearance at Harbour Town Golf Links for Harman, who made his debut in 2004 as a high school junior at Savannah Christian after winning the U.S. Junior Amateur title at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the summer before. He had his best finish at the RBC Heritage last year, when he finished in a tie for third at 14-under par.

The Sea Island resident knows the nuances of the course well.

Brian Harman hits his tee shot on the 16th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links Friday.

"It doesn't take much wind to really change this place around," said Harman, who teed off at 1:55 Saturday after a morning tee time on Thursday. "I'd be curious to see what the splits are between the scores from this morning and this afternoon, when it was a good bit harder. Hopefully it will be similar tomorrow, when I'll get out early with the wind down and then it picks up in the afternoon ― that's probably my only chance."