Davis Love III gets some love at RBC Heritage: Here’s a 2-minute rundown of Thursday’s action

The first round of competitive play started Thursday at the 55th RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing at Harbour Town Golf Links, the PGA Tour golf tournament on Hilton Head that will conclude Sunday with the presentation of a plaid jacket.

Here’s a 2-minute rundown of Thursday’s action at midday and what lies ahead for Friday.

LOCALS START OFF HOT: Yes, it’s early, but Ben Martin, 35, of Greenville, S.C.. and Brian Harman, 36, of Savannah, started well and were at the top of the leaderboard. Through 17 holes, Harman was 6 under par, good for first place, and Martin was tied for second at 5 under through 12. Harman is the 34th ranked PGA Tour golfer. Martin is 85th.

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SOME LOVE FOR DAVIS LOVE III: Sea Island resident Davis Love III, 59, who lives on St. Simons Island, Georgia, teed off for the 33rd time at the RBC Heritage on Thursday, which is a record. Love has won the Heritage five times and was just 23 when he won for the first time in 1987. In fact, Love still holds the record for being the youngest champion. This year, Love was named honorary chairman of the 2023 Heritage — an honor usually reserved for the Heritage Classic Foundation.

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RAHM WANTS PLAID, TOO: The world No. 1 golfer, Jon Rahm, who was scheduled to tee off at 1:17 p.m. Thursday, isn’t satisfied with just green. He wants plaid in his wardrobe, too. On Sunday, he hopes to be the last man standing and slip into the Heritage plaid jacket awarded to RBC Heritage champions. Last week, Rahm won the Masters championship and its green jacket. “I still intend to hopefully do the jacket double and take this one home,” Rahm said.

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NO SHORTAGE OF DIFFICULTY: Harbour Town Golf Links is a par 71 course with yardage of 7,213, which is relatively short for a PGA Tour event. By comparison, Augusta National Golf Club, where many of the players at the RBC Heritage were competing last week, is 7,545 yards with a par 72. But don’t mistake short course for easy. Oaks, pines and magnolias dominate much of the course and, as the PGA Tour points out, most par 4s and par 5s provide little margin for error off the fairway, as trees stand in the way of the slightest wayward tee shot. By the way, many approach shots this week will be played from pine needles — not rough.

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SELECTED FRIDAY TEE TIMES: Jordan Speith, last year’s Heritage champion, 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm and 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott, 8:17 a.m., 10th tee.; Columbia native and University of South Carolina alum Wesley Bryan, a 2017 RBC Heritage winner, Jimmy Walker, ranked 143rd and No. 72 Justin Suh, 9:01 a.m., 1st tee.; World No. 40 S. Woo Kim of South Korea, Kevin Kisner of Aiken, who has four PGA Tour victories, and Davis Love III, 12:33 p.m., 1st tee.

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TICKETS TOUGH TO COME BY: Tickets to the 2023 RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, which has a $20 million purse, are sold out but may be available on the resale market. But note that the price may be higher than face value. If you have a ticket question, call 904-280-6892 or email nss@pgatourhq.com between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

WATCH ON TV:

▪ The Golf Channel: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.

▪ CBS Sports: Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.

▪ PGA TOUR Radio: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m.