On Thursday, Stewart Cink shot 63 – his lowest score ever at the Heritage, a tournament he’d previously won twice. On Friday he shattered the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record with another 63 to sit 16-under par.
Cink’s 126 is three shots better than the 129 set by Phil Mickelson (2002) and Jack Nicklaus (1975).
“It doesn’t feel like anything all that special to be honest. We just kind of worked our game plan,” said Cink when asked to assess. “I don’t know. We haven’t had too much wind, and so this course without a lot of wind, there’s just not that many surprises when you have a lot of experience around here.
“And I think we’ve kind of gotten what we expected out of most of our shots, and we’ve put it in the right place a lot, and really the key is we haven’t put it in the wrong place very often.
Following a second-day 64, Corey Conners was alone in second-place on 11-udner par. The Canadian offset a double-bogey on No. 14 with nine birdies to post 64.
“Yeah, a lot of positives. Feel really good about my game. Hit a lot of really nice iron shots the past few days,” said Conners, who has missed just five greens through two rounds (31/36).
“And felt really good with the putter as well. Giving myself lots of chances and was really nice to see some go in. Hopefully can keep that up going into the weekend.”
At 10 under was Emiliano Grillo, who posted his second consecutive bogey-free round at Harbour Town, and was the only player in the field without a dropped shot over 36 holes.
“Well, I know that I’m not going to be able to — I hope so, but it’s a tricky golf course,” said Grillo, the 2016 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
“If I avoid the bogeys on the weekend, it’s going to be a solid week. It’s going to be complicated catching Stewart Cink. He’s playing some great golf, and he’s six shots ahead.
“You know, I know there’s still a lot of golf to be played, so we’ll see.”
Sungjae Im (65), Billy Horschel (67), Collin Morikawa (68), and Cameron Smith (71) were T4 on 9 under.
2021 RBC Heritage
Top-5 Leaders: Round Two
Pos-Player-To Par-(Rd 2)
1. Stewart Cink -16 (-8)
2. Corey Conners -11 (-7)
3. Emiliano Grillo -10 (-7)
4. Sungjae Im -9 (-6)
4. Billy Horschel -9 (-5)
4. Collin Morikawa -9 (-3)
4. Cameron Smith -9 (E)
