HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Justin Thomas turned heads at the RBC Heritage on Thursday, carding a scintillating 10-under 61 to tie the Harbour Town Golf Links course record and seize a three-shot lead after the opening round.
The two-time major champion’s 11-birdie barrage matched the lowest 18-hole score in the tournament’s 57-year history, set previously by David Frost (1994) and Troy Merritt (2015).
Thomas, 31, narrowly missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him a historic 60, but his performance still etched his name deeper into PGA Tour lore.
The 61 marked his 14th career round of 62 or better, the most by any player in the last 40 years, surpassing Kevin Na (11) while outpacing Tiger Woods (9) and Zach Johnson (9) by five.
“I just played really solid,” Thomas said. “I drove the ball well, which is very important out here, and I had a lot of good numbers.” His round featured a blistering 6-under 30 on the front nine, a bogey on the 10th, and five birdies over the final seven holes, including a 38-footer at the par-3 17th.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley sit tied for second at 7-under 64, while Wyndham Clark is a shot further back at 65.
Brian Harman and Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2023 champion, are among a group at 5-under 66.
Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood headline a logjam at 4 under.
Fiery start in Harbour Town 🔥@JustinThomas34 ties the course record with a 61 @RBC_Heritage! pic.twitter.com/5644tQ2tlp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 17, 2025
Thomas’ latest low-round gem follows a course-record-tying 62 at TPC Sawgrass last month, underscoring his knack for going low. With 15 PGA Tour wins — but none since the 2022 PGA Championship, Thomas is in prime position to end his drought at Harbour Town, where he finished T5 last year.
RBC Heritage Leaderboard
Round 1: Top-10 Scores
Pos-Name-To Par (Rd 1 Score)
1. Justin Thomas -10 (61)
2. Russell Henley -7 (64)
2. Scottie Scheffler -7 (64)
4. Wyndham Clark -6 (65)
5. Brian Campbell -5 (66)
5. Matt Fitzpatrick -5 (66)
5. JJ Spaun -5 (66)
5. Gary Woodland -5 (66)
5. Brian Harman -5 (66)
10. 11 Players Tied -4 (67)
Full Leaderboard at PGATour.com
