Harbour Town Golf Links has hosted the PGA TOUR since 1969. In Thursday’s opening round at the RBC Heritage, Justin Thomas matched a piece of Harbour Town history.

Thomas made 11 birdies in a 10-under 61 at Harbour Town, setting a new course record at the seaside South Carolinian venue. Thomas started fast with four birdies in his first five holes, and he added birdies at Nos. 7 and 9 to turn in 6-under 30. After a bogey at No. 10, Thomas rebounded with birdies on Nos. 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17 – the first four came from inside 15 feet, and he drained a 37-foot birdie at the par-3 17th. Thomas had a 5-foot birdie try at the last for the course record alone, but he couldn’t convert.

"I just played really solid," Thomas said. "I feel like I didn't do anything crazy. I just drove the ball well, which is very, very important out here, and I felt like it was just one of those days I put the ball in a spot that I had a lot of good numbers."

Thomas matched David Frost (Round 2, 1994) and Troy Merritt (Round 2, 2015) for the lowest 18-hole score in the 57-year history of the RBC Heritage.

Thomas hasn’t won on TOUR since the 2022 PGA Championship, but his recent form indicates that a breakthrough couldn’t be far off. He entered the RBC Heritage, the season’s fifth of eight Signature Events, at No. 11 on the FedExCup standings. He came agonizingly close to the winner’s circle at last month’s Valspar Championship, leading with three holes remaining before being surpassed by Viktor Hovland in the closing stretch.

That left Thomas confident entering the Masters, but the great golf never materialized. After making the cut, Thomas shot 76 in the third round, dashing any hope of a special week. He finished T36.

"Yeah, extremely different," Thomas said of how he felt Thursday compared to last week. "It's a totally different style of golf. I've been playing really well, really solid. Felt good about things. I just didn't play well last week. Put some really good work in I felt like the couple days leading into the start today, and I felt prepared. It was just about going out and doing it, and it was nice to do so."

Thomas has another golden opportunity to end his winless drought at the RBC Heritage, set up by a history-matching opening round on Hilton Head Island.