Niemann and Pereira open for a look at Hilton Head

The first round of the RBC Heritage was an unprecedented achievement for Chilean golf. The two players from that country who participate in Harbor Town Golf Links, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, are Joaquín Niemann and Mito Pereira, both of whom make up the top three in the table. Positions after the first 18 holes.

Niemann is second, after round 65 (-6), while Mito Pereira scored 66 (-5). Both are chasing US leader Cameron Young, who opened with 63 (-8).

Along with Pereira, in third place are Patrick Cantlie, Shane Lowry, Cory Conners, Sepp Straca and Graeme McDowell.

Niemann, this season’s Genesis Invitational winner, made eight birds and two ghosts And he put himself in the race for the third title of his career.

“I was very focused at the beginning of my run, I made some adjustments to the swing and wanted to see what it looked like and it started well, although then I did three runs which were not good, but then the racquet started to work well.‘, were the 23-year-old’s first words, then he mentioned those small changes.

“After the Masters, I didn’t feel like I was hitting well and I worked a bit with my coach and I think it put me in a place where I’m comfortable with a swing and a great feel,” Niemann said.

“It’s a very interesting course, where you have to move the ball a lot, hit fade, hit pull, hit high or low depending on the hole. So, since these are the fields where I grew up playing, so I feel very good this week,” he explained. .

For Pereira, it was also a great start. “I played very strong, no ghost, very happy with the way I started this week. I hit very well from a tee and on a tight track like this it is essential to be in good shape. Then the bat played really well, so it was a good combination,” said the Chilean, who opened with birds at 10 and 16, on his first nine holes.

On his way back, Pereira hit 4, 7 and 9. “It’s a stadium where you have to move the ball in both directions and I love it. The past few weeks I’ve always been missing some parts of my neat game, and I hope to have them this week.”

This great start comes just days after the two announced that they will play together for the Zurich Classic next week.

“We have been looking forward to this event since I got my PGA TOUR card. It will be a very fun week, and it will be a little more relaxing than usual, but playing with my friend,” Mito said.

Jose Coceres was the only Latin American to win this event. The Argentine won it in 2001.