Rain postponed the normal opening ceremonies for the 50th annual RBC Heritage presented by Boeing.
Instead of firing a ceremonial tee shot into Calibogue Sound with the sound of an accompanying cannon, Bryan was a part of a scaled-down presentation. Bryan hit a quite tee shot into the Sound with former champions on hand. As the first South Carolina native to ever win the Palmetto State's lone PGA Tour stop, Bryan is back at the Harbour Town Golf Links looking for a repeat performance.
"There's some expectations that I have and it's a golf course I feel comfortable with," Bryan said.
"I feel like even though the scores haven't shown it, especially this past week over at the Masters, the game feels like it's moving in the right direction. I wouldn't be surprised come Sunday if I don't have a chance to win this tournament again given it kind of fits my game. Obviously I have a lot of good memories around this place I'll be able to draw on as well. So, I'm looking forward to another fun week and yeah, defending the jacket."
Bryan missed the cut in his first appearance at the Masters. But he says in spite of his two-day total of 8-over-par, he sees his game trending in the right direction.
"The putting kind of let me down a little but, but then again, the greens down here are no way, shape or form the same level of brutality Augusta has to offer.
"This is one of those golf courses that if you just hit the green, you've got a good look at birdie from anywhere. They're not as large. I feel like I'm hitting the ball pretty well, driving it pretty well and hopefully, can put it all together come Thursday."