Ludvig Aberg carded a 63 to take a one-stroke advantage at RBC Heritage.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Ludvig Åberg replaced some careless errors from the Masters with precise iron play at Harbour Town, achieving an 8-under 63 for a one-shot advantage on Thursday in the RBC Heritage.

Aberg took the lead over Harris English and Viktor Hovland with an 8-iron that landed approximately 15 feet from the back corner of the green on the par-3 17th, converting the birdie. He finished with a par, which he found satisfying as it affirmed his solid swing with the club.

Houston Open champion Gary Woodland, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Rickie Fowler all recorded scores of 65.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy opted out of this $20 million marquee event for the second consecutive year, stating that Harbour Town does not fit his game.

Scottie Scheffler, who finished as the runner-up at Augusta last week with rounds of 65-68, experienced a surprising start. His initial tee shot went out-of-bounds to the right, a situation he was unaware of.

“It looked like it was going to hit those trees, and I guess it flew right through them and then hit the path and went out-of-bounds,” Scheffler remarked. “Thumbs up for the start. It was a good bogey.”

Indeed, it was a 12-foot putt to mitigate the damage, followed by a par save on the subsequent hole, after which he returned to form in the tougher afternoon conditions to finish with a 68.

Aberg had a subpar week at Augusta National by his standards, tying for 21st, marking his first time outside the top 10 in three appearances at the Masters.

“I felt like I was playing well but made some silly mistakes that kept me from having a real chance,” Aberg stated. “However, I also felt that in the grand scheme of things, I was swinging it well, so I didn’t need to focus much on my golf swing from Monday through Wednesday, and I believed good golf was within reach.”

The challenge for Aberg and the other 52 players who participated in the Masters was to maintain sharpness within the ropes on an island that gives this tournament a vacation-like atmosphere.

Hovland is feeling less pressure, primarily due to his swing, rather than the week at the Masters when he made a significant move up the leaderboard on Sunday, only to be affected by an unfortunate gust that led to a double bogey on the 15th hole. He still managed to shoot 67.

Hovland does not believe he has fully regained his swing, but he has noticed enough signs of improvement to feel he is nearing his goal. He played without a bogey for a 64, despite not making birdies on any of the three par 5s.

“Throughout the year, I’ve been working diligently, and now that I’m observing my game advancing and getting closer to where I want it to be, I can start to relax a bit more and concentrate on the recovery aspect,” Hovland explained.

English also played without a bogey for his 64, concluding with a birdie to a front pin over the bunker.

Davis Love III renovated the renowned course to restore the greens to their original design, but players felt it appeared unchanged. It played similarly—opportunities from the fairway, with trouble lurking otherwise, as Scheffler and others discovered.

Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood both began with a score of 76.

The most challenging day belonged to someone who did not compete. Brooks Koepka was the first alternate and arrived at Hilton Head in case of a withdrawal. This typically involves a two-hour wait in the morning, taking a break, and waiting another two hours during the afternoon wave.

Unfortunately for Brooks, this marquee event has players in twosomes off the first tee, one immediately after the other. He arrived at the course around 6:45 a.m. (with the first tee time at 7 a.m.) and could not leave until the last group teed off at 2:10 p.m.

There were three alternates present—Keith Mitchell and Denny McCarthy—because if Koepka entered, the stipulation for his return from LIV Golf required two additional players to be added to the field.

Morikawa appeared to be the best candidate with his back issues that first arose at The Players Championship. However, he played the Masters with some caution, tying for seventh, and managed to play bogey-free at Harbour Town for a 66.