HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The feel-good story of the year in golf keeps getting better as Gary Woodland continued his resurgence at the first round of the RBC Heritage.
“I think my game is as complete as it’s ever been,” he said. “I’m not fighting the golf game, I’m fighting my head.”
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Woodland, who won last month at the Texas Children’s Houston Open just weeks after speaking out about suffering from PTSD following brain surgery, opened with a bogey-free 6-under 65 at Harbour Town Golf Links. Woodland’s smile after his round was as warm and welcoming as the sunshine over the Calibogue Sound.
Gary Woodland of the United States looks on from the fifth green during the first round of the RBC Heritage 2026 at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 16, 2026 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
“The love and support I’ve had, not only the last six weeks since all this, but for the last three years, has been amazing,” said Woodland who underwent brain surgery in September 2023 to remove a benign lesion that was causing seizures and, later, severe PTSD. “I’ve needed that energy. Last week took a lot out of me. I had a lot of love and support here today, and I needed every ounce of it.”
Woodland, 41, shot a final-round 66 at the Masters to finish T-33. He called it one of the harder weeks because the patrons are very close to players on many of the tee boxes.
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“I’m in a tough spot, but we’ll keep learning and we’ll keep getting better,” he said.
Woodland trails Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who fired an 8-under 63, by two strokes. When a reporter asked Aberg’s caddie, Joe Skovron, what his boss had done well on Thursday, he said simply, “Everything.”
Aberg didn’t disagree as his iron game was on point and his putter heated up on the back nine as he came home with five birdies, including two of the last three holes. The stats back up Skovron’s assertion: Aberg ranked second in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, third in SG: Around the Green and fourth in SG: Putting.
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden walks the 15th hole alongside caddie Joe Skovron during the first round of the RBC Heritage 2026 at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 16, 2026 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
He sank a 10-foot double breaker on No. 10, made two good swings to make birdie at the par-5 12th and dropped a 22-foot putt at 14, the longest putt he made all day.
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Aberg wasn’t the only pouring in putts. Nobody made more than Harris English, who totaled 124 feet of putts made en route to 64. He ranked first in SG: Putting.
“The putter just started feeling good, and when you have the speed out here, I feel like you can hit your lines very well,” he said. “I was seeing it pretty well today.”
Viktor Hovland canned 112 feet of putts and ranked second on SG: Putting to tie English for second with 64.
“I had to make up for not making any birdies on the par-5s,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Gary Woodland comeback continues at RBC Heritage, where Ludvig Aberg leads
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