Graham DeLaet shares lead after 2nd round at RBC Heritage
Canadian tied with Luke Donald, can enjoy a little extra sleep
Graham DeLaet always loved playing at Harbour Town Golf Links, but rarely got the results he thought he should — until this week.
DeLaet followed up his career-best 6-under 65 in the first round with a 67 on Friday to share the lead with Luke Donald midway through the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Donald also shot 67 to reach 10-under 132, two in front of Ian Poulter and Webb Simpson.
Poulter and Simpson each shot 68.
Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin both shot 66. Taylor sits at 7 under in a tie for 5th, while Hadwin is at 5 under for the tournament and tied for 16th.
DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., was 1 over on his first seven holes of the second round until a birdie on the difficult par-4 eighth hole and an eagle on No. 9, also a par 4 where he bounced his approach shot into the cup.
I'm looking forward to not getting up at 4:45 a.m. again like I did this morning.Graham DeLaet on benefits of first-place tie
DeLaet had never finished better than 14th in six previous trips here and had only twice broken 70 in his last 10 rounds before this week. DeLaet said his top-15 finish a year ago — his first and only one — continued to fan his flame for Harbour Town. "And my love and enjoyment of playing this golf course turned into, `Maybe I could play well here,"' he said.
DeLaet plodded through the first part of his round until dropping his approach on the 461-yard eighth hole within 15 feet and made the putt. On the next hole, DeLaet sent a wedge from 109 yards out into the green, simply hoping to spin it back left toward the pin. Instead, it hopped in the cup to put DeLaet out front.
"We couldn't see the bottom of the pin, but there was reaction from the crowd so we figured it was in," DeLaet said.
The 35-year-old has won four times worldwide (three in his home nation and once in South Africa), but has never done better than three second places (the last in the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open) on the PGA Tour. DeLaet doesn't plan to change his approach with a big weekend ahead.
"I'm looking forward to not getting up at 4:45 a.m. again like I did this morning," he said with a laugh.