HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina: Graeme McDowell and Matt Every posted matching 66s for a share of the lead while Masters champ Jordan Spieth struggled to a 74 in the first round of the PGA Tour’s Heritage event Thursday.

McDowell, the 2013 champion, has made three cuts in his last six worldwide starts and his best finish was a share of 36th in Malaysia.

Every collected his second-straight Arnold Palmer Invitational crown in his only top-25 finish this season at Bay Hill.

Newly-crowned Masters winner Spieth struggled throughout his opening round and posted a three-over 74, which left him tied for 93rd place.

Spieth posted a double-bogey, two bogeys and a birdie in his round at the Harbor Town Golf Links course.

“I didn’t drive the ball well, I didn’t particularly strike my irons well, and chipping and putting wasn’t there. Just was an off day,” Spieth said.

South Korea’s Bae Sang-Moon kicked off his week with a four-under 67 and is alone in third place.

Defending champion Matt Kuchar shot a three-under 68. He was joined in fourth place by Kevin Kisner, Morgan Hoffmann, Scott Langley and Cameron Smith.

Northern Ireland’s McDowell quickly moved atop the leaderboard early on the back nine.

He drained a 16-foot birdie putt at the 10th. After a par on 11, McDowell moved into the lead thanks to back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13. He parred the last five holes to grab the co-lead at five under.

Johnson Wagner shot two-under 69 and shares ninth with a large group that also includes, Pat Perez, Ian Poulter and former Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen. Wagner recently lost in a playoff at the Houston Open.

Uihlein shoots 68 in gusty conditions to lead in Shenzhen

In Shenzhen, China, Peter Uihlein made five birdies in gusty conditions and shot a 4-under 68 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Shenzhen International.

The American started his round on the 10th hole and was 1 under on the back nine, where the strong wind made play more difficult. He then added three birdies on the front nine to finish at 9-under 135 total.

“It was tricky today. The wind was swirling quite a bit,” said Uihlein, whose only previous win on the European Tour came at the 2013 Madeira Islands Open. “I got the back nine out of the way pretty quickly. I played very solid. I felt like getting anything under par on the back nine was nice, and I played a pretty stress free front nine, which is always good.”

Kiradech Aphibarnrat matched Uihlein’s five birdies, but added two bogeys to shoot a 69 and finish one shot behind.

“Again, the wind was getting up on a few holes before I finished, but the way I was striking the ball is still very good,” the Thai player said.

Emiliano Grillo matched the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for third with Gregory Havret, Darren Fichardt and Matt Ford. They were three shots behind Uihlein at 6-under 138.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson shot a 2-over 74 to slip into a tie for 42nd. He made the cut, but was unimpressed by his form.

“It’s tough,” Watson said. “I haven’t played very well. I haven’t putted very well. But it’s a beautiful golf course.”

Watson was at 144 overall, nine shots behind Uihlein.