HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Cameron Young showed it doesn’t always take years of practice to go low at Harbour Town Golf Links, shooting an 8-under 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in his RBC Heritage debut.

The 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie had eight birdies in a bogey-free round, his first in the 60s in 11 rounds going back to a closing 65 at the Honda Classic more than six weeks ago.

Young was two shots in front of Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and three ahead of seven others, including reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, Ireland’s Shane Lowry – who tied for third at the Masters last week – and Canada’s Corey Conners – who was sixth at Augusta National.

Mito Pereira, also of Chile, past RBC Heritage winner Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, Adam Svensson of Canada and Sepp Straka of Austria also shot 66. There were 10 players at 67, including 48-year-old defending champion Stewart Cink.

Young had only heard of Harbour Town’s treacherous gauntlet of tight, tree-lined fairways and small greens that demand accuracy. Yet, the former Wake Forest player from New York quickly took to the layout with five birdies on the front nine.

Young closed his first Harbour tour with a birdie on the iconic 18th hole – the one with the red-and-white striped lighthouse as backdrop – with an 8-foot putt to finish a shot off his lowest career round in his young PGA Tour career.

“You have to really pick your spots where you think you can be a little aggressive and places where you just can’t” Young said.

A bit of advice: Stay aggressive, particularly with a loaded RBC Heritage field in pursuit. The tournament features five of the world’s top 10 players.