S.C. native Kisner feeling at home on Harbour Town’s Bermuda

Kevin Kisner’s best finish this season came all the way back in October. His best finish this year was when he completed the Valero Texas Open tied for 26th.

So his place near the top of the leaderboard after Thursday morning was a nice change. The Aiken native closed his first round with a 3-under-par 68, good enough for second after the early wave of tee times at the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

“It was a good morning, different weather conditions, but it’s still attainable if you played solid, just because it wasn’t blowing hard enough to be like it was last year,” Kisner said.

Kisner isn’t quite a local, but he is playing in his home state with an entourage of family and friends in tow. It was the course’s Bermuda grass, though, that made him feel even more at home.

“I always struggle on the West Coast,” Kisner said. “A good ol' Southern boy doesn’t putt on the poa annua too well. I’m getting back to some grass that I like.”

Aside from concerns about the grass, there were some questions as to how the course would hold up under Wednesday night’s heavy rain. Kisner was “shocked” by the fairways’ quality.

“Man, those grounds crew, they must have been up all night working on this place. I don’t think I got one mud ball,” Kisner said.

The conditions were better than this time last year, when the wind was howling and everything was cold and damp. A few holes, including 16, played into the wind, but Kisner came away with a three-birdie stretch starting on the par-5 15th.

“I wish we played more courses like it,” Kisner said of Harbour Town. “You get out of position, you’re not going to make par. There’s no way around it.”

It’s too early to start thinking about being among the leaders on Sunday, especially when Thursday is a traditionally volatile time for the leaderboard. Case in point: When Kisner entered the media tent for his post-round interview, his 3-under led the field. By the time he walked out, he had already been dropped to second.

But he’s fine with keeping himself in contention for as long as possible. Kisner noted that there were still 54 holes to be played, and he was going to continue to focus on keeping his shots as free from trouble as possible. Hitting every green is difficult, meaning the focus has to be on getting up and down.

“And I got it up and down today, so that was really the strength of the game,” Kisner said.

As a South Carolina resident, he knows there’s only one opportunity to claim a PGA Tour victory in his home state. What would winning it feel like for a Palmetto State native?

“It’d be sweet,” Kisner said. “We only get one shot at this.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 7:42 PM with the headline "S.C. native Kisner feeling at home on Harbour Town’s Bermuda."