BlogRBC Heritage Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

So what did you all think of the Masters?  Just wonder how many of you had Hideki Matsuyama?  I wasn’t one of them, frankly, I had given up on him during the west coast swing when he couldn’t find a way to get into the top-15.  It was the first time since joining the tour in 2014 that Matsuyama didn’t have a top ten on the West Coast swing.  We all know that he has never been a great putter, and he putted terribly during the west coast swing.  Since then, he has been working with a little drill in which he puts tees in between a ball to make sure his stroke is more pendulum, thus he gets a more solid impact.  Another thing that Matsuyama has been working on is to take the pause away from his swing, something he started doing when he came out on the PGA Tour in 2014.  Since Matsuyama started playing and joining the tour, he has worked on his own without a coach.  He has been winless since 2017. After he finished T-13th at the Masters in November, Matsuyama returned to Japan and enlisted Hidenori Mezawa, who helped him with the pause.  Mezawa has been traveling with Matsuyama, and it’s helped to have him out so that the two can talk about what he is working on.

But in asking Matsuyama, one thing that stuck with him was Jordan Spieth’s victory at the Valero Texas Open.  He felt that if Jordan could make a comeback, he could do the same, and that’s just what happened.  Now the win is remarkable because Matsuyama has been Japan’s best hope for winning a major for years.  We all know the zoo that follows around Tiger Woods in tournaments. Trust me when I say that it’s even more significant for Matsuyama.  In the pre-covid days, hundreds of media would travel from Japan to follow and tell Japan what Matsuyama had done.  After all those years, it’s a shame that now that he wins, there was a minimal amount of Japanese media at Augusta this year.

There are no words that anyone could write to tell the world how vital Matsuyama’s win is.  As the sun came up on Monday, the golf world was embraced with a new champion, one who is different and changes the face of golf.  455 majors have been played since 1860, and the world of major championship saw a new country join the list of winners.

List of countries and number of major victories for each country:

Now that Matsuyama has allowed Japan to be the 21st different country to win a golf major, the big question is which country could be next?  Guess that Norway will be rooting hard for Viktor Hovland.  Mexico has not won a major, with Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz could be next.  Talking about another country in this hemisphere, hard to believe that between North and South America, there are only three countries with wins, the USA, Argentina, and Canada.  For those in Chile, they will be rooting for Joaquin Niemann, and in Columbia, they will root for Sebastian Munoz.  Outside of this hemisphere is China and Russia, along with possibly Taiwan, and you have to think India would love to have a major champion.  Of these four I list, the only one with a chance is Taiwan with C.T. Pan.  Some other countries to think about Brazil are the 5th largest country globally, and it’s hard to name any famous Brazilian other than maybe Alexandre Rocha or Jaime Gonzalez. I have always wondered about Greece, which country that the Olympics came from, and with my pal Ian Barker, who runs the world rankings, he came up with just two players flying the Greek flag, and neither of them was born in Greece.  Peter Karmis, the world number 638, has a Greek father, and Alexander Tranacher, who comes in at 1,833 and has a Greek mother, is resolutely patriotic.  Just north of Greece is Austria, and they have a few, Markus Brier, Matthis Schwab, Sepp Straka, who plays on the PGA Tour, and the most famous being Bernd Wiesberger.

So we can see with Japan now on the list of countries that have a major winner, it could be a while before some other new country joins the list.

Now back to Japan, we got a bit sidetracked for years they have knocked on the door of winning a major. Isao Aoki came the closest when he was 2nd in the 1980 U.S. Open.  There have been others in the majors; Jumbo Ozaki was the most significant know player; he is in the World Golf Hall of Fame.  At the Masters, Chick Chin and Torchy Toda were the first to play in 1936, and after that year, it took 22 years before Pete Nakamura and Koichi Ono were the next to play at Augusta in 1958.  What makes Hideki Matsuyama win so amazing, he is only one of 28 Japanese players to compete in 85 Masters.  And for Matsuyama to win, it creates the most significant golfing moment for golf in Japan.

It only makes sense that Matsuyama would win, he is the best golfer to come out of Japan.  Sure, Jumbo Ozaki won 114 times, with 94 of those victories in Japan.  He was also inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011, but many felt that move was more about having someone from Asia representing golf.  Ozaki only played in 94 PGA Tour events, and his best finish was T-4th at the 1993 Memorial.  In the majors, he was in the top-ten three times, his best finish was T-6th at the 1989 U.S. Open.

Jumbo may be in Golf’s hall of fame, but the actual best Japanese player was Isao Aoki. He played in 517 PGA Tour events and won the 1984 Hawaiian Open.  He won 80 times around the world, and this included 51 Japan Golf Tour wins.  After that, we had Shigeki Maruyama, who won three times on the PGA Tour.  Despite all of that, Shigeki Matsuyama had the most wins on the PGA Tour with 3, before Hideki Matsuyama, second-best on the PGA Tour behind Matsuyama, now has won six victories.

I wanted to do some more stuff on other players but ran out of time.  Since next week is a team event and we won’t have either a performance chart or preview, I will do a little write-up on the surprises and bummers of 2021.

We have worked hard in coming up with new tools and ways to be better informed.  They are found in our new GOLFstats Edge section, please check it out.  For those that play in DraftKings, you now can see which players do the most for you for their cost.  Give you an example, in the Heritage field, Chase Seiffert’s cost is $6,700 this week.  But did you know that for every $1,000, he earns the most points with 7.63.  Now last week, Will Zalatoris was $7,300 and came in second at the Masters.  I can’t get him that cheap now, he is $9,700 this week, but in points earned for every $1,000, he is at 7.28. Next on the list, Tyler McCumber, followed by Michael Thompson, so try out the Edge to get some fresh and new insights.

Things you need to know about the RBC Heritage

This will be the 53rd edition of the Heritage, which is now well-established thanks to the sponsorship deal with RBC eight years ago.  It was a long haul with many anxious moments and rumors of its demise, but the tournament is now healthy again.

Harbour Town has been the site of the tournament every year.   In 1989 the Tour Championship was held at Hilton Head.

The first Heritage Classic was played to great fanfare in 1969 even though it was a “turkey” of an event.  Originally it was going to be a regular tournament on Hilton Head Island, giving away $45,000.  But Charles Price, founding editor of Golf Magazine, talked to a few people, including Charles Fraser, who owned the new course Harbour Town and suggested that he should apply for PGA Tour sanction instead of a small tournament.  They scrambled around and raised the purse to $100,000, then got a date for the tournament, which was Thanksgiving weekend.  Jack Nicklaus, who helped Pete Dye design the course, played and brought some friends, including Arnold Palmer, who went out and won the first Heritage Classic.  Thanks to Palmer winning, they say that it put the tournament on the map and helped create a beautiful tradition for a championship after its first year.

The Heritage Classic was played over Thanksgiving weekend in its first four years.  It was moved in 1974 to September and then the next year to March.  Between 1983 and 2019, it’s been played the week after the Masters, except for 2012 when it was two weeks after the Masters.  Because of COVID-19, it was played in June, but for this year, it’s returned to its usual place after the Masters.

Course information:

• Harbour Town Golf Links
• Sea Pines Resort, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
• 7,121 yards     Par 36-35–71

Harbour Town Golf Links features a course rating of 75.6 and a slope rating from the back tees of 147. The tees, fairway, and rough are Celebration BermudaGrass as the greens are Tif-Eagle Bermuda.  The course is a resort course and can be played by the public.  Last year Harbour Town was the 37th hardest course on the PGA Tour with a 69.14 average.  One of the reasons it played so easily was the time of year it was played, and the weather was perfect with no wind.

The course was designed and built by Pete Dye in 1969.  Jack Nicklaus got his start in golf course architecture as he assisted Dye in the design and building of Harbour Town.   The average green size at Harbour Town is 4,500 square feet, which means it has some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour.  The course has 145 bunkers, and water comes into play on nine of the 18 holes.

Over the years, the course has changed very little change, in 2011, seven new teeing grounds were put in with an added yardage of 127 yards for the 2012 event, taking the course over the 7,000 mark to 7,099.  The holes that yardage was added to were the 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 16 & 18.  In most cases, players didn’t use a driver, but holes like 16 with an additional 36 yards will force players to hit a driver.  The same with 18, 20 yards has been added to a hole that will play to 472 yards.

There were also some changes in some of the bunkers so that they are more in play, and the area around the second green got some work.  Also, some trees that played havoc to those who hit it just off some of the fairways were removed, improving the sightlines.

Two last things, in the summer of 2015, every blade of grass on the layout had been replaced – tees, greens, rough, practice facility. The irrigation system was also replaced with the latest technology, so it may be a bit for the players to get the course’s feel and get to know all of the rolls and breaks on the greens.

Lastly, in 2016 Hurricane Matthew hit Hilton Head Island, and despite the power, other than debris and loss of trees, there was no long-range damage.  We saw what mother nature could do to a golf course when we see how heavy rains washed away the Greenbrier course, and they couldn’t play the Greenbrier Classic.  The same at Houston, rain from a Hurricane put the Golf Club of Houston underwater, but it was back to normal when the Houston Open was played.  For Hilton Head, they were lucky, yes even today, six years later, players will notice a lack of trees, especially on holes near the bay like 16, 17, and 18.

Let’s take a look at vital stats that are important for those playing in Harbour Town.

This is based on the most important stats for Harbour Town, based on data from last year’s RBC Heritage, and using data from all the field players with stats from 2021. What we do is take their rank for each stat and then add up the four categories.
The scoring average of the field at Harbour Town last year was 69.14, making it the 37th hardest course on Tour. Now it’s the lowest scoring average the course has ever had since records were kept back in 1997. The reason probably is because the tournament was put back in June, conditions were much different. In 2019 the scoring average was 71.17, which ranked the 11th hardest course of the year. It was a half a shot tougher than in 2018 when he played to a 70.85 average. Weather is always a factor, winds off the Atlantic make the course hard like it was in 2019, each day had winds over 10 mph, and on Friday, they had gusts up to 40 mph and Saturday 30 mph. The good news for this week, in looking at the early weather reports, it will be warm and dry and winds each day under 10 mph

Looking through the event’s history every year, the course average has always been over par except for 2018 and 2017. In the last 23 years, the hardest it’s played was in 2005 at a 73.25 average. The easiest was the previous year when it played under 70 for the first time at a 69.14 average.
Despite the course being one of the best on the PGA Tour, the winners haven’t been top-notch until Webb Simpson won it last year. In 2019 C.T. Pan won, and since the victory, he has only finished in the top ten twice, a T-3rd at the Charles Schwab, a month after winning at Hilton Head. Pan also finished T-3rd last month at the Honda Classic. In 2018 Satoshi Kodaira won, and he also has struggled in 61 PGA Tour events since he has only had one top-20 finish coming a month after his Heritage win, T-20th at the Charles Schwab. Kodaira comes into this week with no momentum missing the cut in his last five events. The same with 2017 winner Wesley Bryan, since winning, he has played in 54 events and has only had four top-25 finished, the best a T-3rd in the 2017 John Deere Classic. To be fair to Bryan, at the end of 2018, he hurt himself and found out he had a torn labrum in his left shoulder, and at the end of January of 2019 had surgery which took a year to get better. Since coming back has played a limited schedule and struggled.

So the fact is winning the RBC Heritage has not been any kind of a launching pad to stardom on the PGA Tour. Not only has Pan, Kodaira, or Bryan not return to the winner’s circle, 2015 Jim Furyk has not won on the PGA Tour. One thing that is a fact for this event, with better scoring conditions, the course tends to get an inexperienced winner, as we have seen. Another factor we are seeing, since the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the schedule has been loaded with significant events week in and week out. Between now and the PGA Championship, there are only two powerhouse events, this and Wells Fargo, in three weeks. So a lot of players will be taking the next few weeks off. The field is suitable for this week but watches for a decrease in the weeks to come.

So what will it take to win this week? Harbour Town is one of the best courses in America, it’s a different experience in which ball placement is utmost overpowering. Hitting it hard and far doesn’t work at this venue, so look for a precision player to win. Looking at all drives in 2020, the course averaged 278.8 yards, meaning it was the 2nd shortest of all the courses on Tour. Since it’s so low (The highest on Tour last year was Club de Golf Chapultepec, 326.4 yards), players not only throttle it down, on many holes, they lay up with three woods or long irons. So our first important stat is driving accuracy, you have to drive it well and straight at Harbour Town. Last year the course ranked 33rd (65.98%) in this stat compared to the others on Tour. In looking at past champions, seven of the last 12 were in the top-ten inaccuracy for the week. Last year’s champion Webb Simpson hit 33 of 54 fairways which ranked T-33rd. In 2019 C.T. Pan was terrible in this stat, as he hit just 29 of the 54 fairways and ranked T-59th, the worst of any champion since 1997. The year before, Satoshi Kodaira hit 42 of 56 and ranked T-4th.

For our next categories in looking at the stats for Harbour Town, one thing is obvious, the course caters to those that hit lots of greens; last year it ranked 17th, in 2019, and in 2018, it ranked 6th on Tour. 2017 was a misnomer as it ranked 16th, while in 2016 it ranked 2nd on the Tour and it was in the top-6 in five of the last seven years. In the previous 24 years, 12 of the champions ranked in the top ten, with five leading the category, the last being Matt Kuchar in 2014. Last year’s winner, Webb Simpson, ranked T-12th and hit 53 of 72 greens. In 2019, C.T. Pan ranked 37th hitting 42 of 72 greens, while in 2018, Satoshi Kodaira ranked T-7th, so on the whole hitting greens is essential to winning at Harbour Town.

The next important is around and on the greens. What makes Harbour Town tough is the greens, at 4,500 square feet, they are some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour to hit, so it makes sense that scramblers do well since the course ranked 40th last year (67.14, 2nd best on Tour). In 2019 it ranked 42nd (62.99, 8th best on Tour) and 45th in 2018. It was 46th in 2017, 26th in 2016, and 49th best in 2015, which meant that the average player got it up and down 64.68% of the time, only three courses saw averages higher you have to scramble well to exist. Last year’s winner, Webb Simpson, ranked T-27th while 2019 winner C.T. Pan ranked T-16th. 2018 champion Satoshi Kodaira was T-13th mostly because he hit a lot of greens.
Last we pick a stat rarely used, strokes gained putting. That’s because at Hilton Head putting well doesn’t mean much, but you still have to make those nasty 4 to 8 footers. Last year in this stat, Simpson ranked 2nd, in 2019 Pan ranked 5th, while in 2018 Kodaira ranked T-13th. So maybe it’s best to pick those putters that make putts in that range.

So as you can see, the secret for Harbour Town is not brute force but finesse and total control over your game. When you look at the champions at this course, every one of them is ranked at the bottom of driving distance, and the longest is Davis Love III, who won last in 2003. So think of it, every champion since has not hit it long, something that you won’t see at any other event on the PGA Tour. So the thought for the week is to hit it short and straight.

*Driving Accuracy: Percentage of fairways hit, last year Heritage finished 33rd in this stat, in 2019 it ranked 21st, 24th in 2018, 21st in 2017, 18th in 2016 and was 36th in 2015.

*Greens in Regulation: Stat is a great barometer on how good players manage their games around Harbour Town, last year Harbour Town ranked 17th in this stat but was 6th in 2019 and in 2018. Every year the players that hit lots of greens do well.

*Scrambling: So which course is tough to get it up and down on holes players miss the greens. Since all of the areas around the greens are mowed short and are left with really hard shots to get it close, scrambling is important. You are not going to be perfect so you have to make sure you can make pars from some tough places

*Strokes Gained putting: Who gains the most strokes with their putter, since Harbour Town’s greens are so small you will see fewer putts as you won’t have as many three-putts but you still need to make those putts under ten feet.

Players from this year’s field with stats from 2021 with 128 of the 135 players having stats:

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

For a look at stats of all 128 players, hit this link

DraftKings tips

Of the 153 in the field, 118 have played at least once at Harbour Town in the RBC Heritage since 2015:

• Matt Kuchar is 53 under in 24 rounds, playing 6 years
• Ian Poulter is 42 under in 24 rounds, playing 6 years
• Webb Simpson is 40 under in 24 rounds, playing 6 years
• Branden Grace is 32 under in 20 rounds, playing 5 years
• Patrick Cantlay is 30 under in 12 rounds, playing 3 years
• C.T. Pan is 29 under in 16 rounds, playing 4 years
• Luke Donald is 29 under in 20 rounds, playing 6 years
• Kevin Kisner is 28 under in 22 rounds, playing 6 years
• J.T. Poston is 26 under in 8 rounds, playing 2 years
• Dustin Johnson is 26 under in 12 rounds, playing 3 years
• Russell Knox is 26 under in 20 rounds, playing 6 years
• Brice Garnett is 25 under in 14 rounds, playing 4 years
• Lucas Glover is 25 under in 22 rounds, playing 6 years
• Troy Merritt is 23 under in 14 rounds, playing 4 years
• Michael Thompson is 23 under in 16 rounds, playing 5 years
• Dylan Frittelli is 22 under in 8 rounds, playing 2 years
• Kevin Streelman is 22 under in 14 rounds, playing 4 years
• Brian Harman is 22 under in 20 rounds, playing 6 years
• Tyrrell Hatton is 21 under in 10 rounds, playing 3 years
• Daniel Berger is 20 under in 12 rounds, playing 3 years
• Wesley Bryan is 20 under in 12 rounds, playing 3 years
• Matthew Fitzpatrick is 20 under in 16 rounds, playing 5 years
• Rory Sabbatini is 20 under in 16 rounds, playing 5 years
• Bill Haas is 20 under in 19 rounds, playing 6 years
• Sergio Garcia is 19 under in 4 rounds, playing 1 year

*Here are the ones with the best under par totals averaging it per years played (2 or more starts)

• J.T. Poston is 26 under, playing 2 years (-13.0)
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout is 13 under, playing 1 years (-13.0)
• Dylan Frittelli is 22 under, playing 2 years (-11.0)
• Patrick Cantlay is 30 under, playing 3 years (-10.0)
• Alex Noren is 18 under, playing 2 years (-9.0)
• Matt Kuchar is 53 under, playing 6 years (-8.8)
• Dustin Johnson is 26 under, playing 3 years (-8.7)
• Abraham Ancer is 17 under, playing 2 years (-8.5)
• Doc Redman is 15 under, playing 2 years (-7.5)
• C.T. Pan is 29 under, playing 4 years (-7.3)
• Ian Poulter is 42 under, playing 6 years (-7.0)
• Tyrrell Hatton is 21 under, playing 3 years (-7.0)
• Webb Simpson is 40 under, playing 6 years (-6.7)
• Daniel Berger is 20 under, playing 3 years (-6.7)
• Wesley Bryan is 20 under, playing 3 years (-6.7)
• Branden Grace is 32 under, playing 5 years (-6.4)
• Brice Garnett is 25 under, playing 4 years (-6.3)
• Andrew Landry is 18 under, playing 3 years (-6.0)
• Troy Merritt is 23 under, playing 4 years (-5.8)
• Kevin Streelman is 22 under, playing 4 years (-5.5)

Historical ParBreakers

Here is a look at those playing this week and who has made the most eagles and birdies:

So it makes sense that the top players on this list are guys that will make lot’s of points this week

*Here are the guys that cost the most on DraftKings this week:

• Dustin Johnson – $11,600
• Patrick Cantlay – $10,900
• Webb Simpson – $10,700
• Collin Morikawa – $10,500
• Cameron Smith – $10,200
• Daniel Berger – $10,000
• Will Zalatoris – $9,700
• Tyrrell Hatton – $9,500
• Corey Conners – $9,300
• Paul Casey – $9,200
• Matthew Fitzpatrick -$9,100
• Sungjae Im – $9,000

Right off the bat, I have to wonder how many people will be taking Dustin Johnson at $11,600.  He is playing the course for the sixth time and frankly, the course is not very good for his game.  The only reason he is here, he is sponsored by RBC the same company that sponsors this tournament, so that is why he is here.  Now Johnson is in a bit of a funk, as we saw him miss the cut at the Masters.  Kind of surprising how all of a sudden things went bad, first we thought maybe he was injured but that isn’t the case.  He didn’t tell anyone but his grandfather Art, who he was close to and help raise him as a child died last month at about the time of him starting to struggle with golf.  As we saw with Justin Thomas, who also lost his grandfather, it takes a bit for the pain to subside, so we have to give Johnson some room to get over the pain.  So it’s probably not smart to wager anything on Johnson and give him a few weeks so he can bounce back, hopefully by the PGA Championship next month.  On the other end of the spectrum, Patrick Cantlay is worth the cost of $10,900.  He has finished T-3rd, T-7th, and T-3rd in this event, and in those 12 rounds is 30 under par.  So he is a very good pick.  Webb Simpson at $10,700 is not as good of a pick, yes he is the defending champion but his game has been good, but nothing to write home for a medal. He was T-12th at the Masters last week.  Collin Morikawa is $10,500 and many will swear by him this week, I say no this isn’t going to be his week.  Cameron Smith is $10,200 and probably best to pass on him, he has struggled with this course after finishing T-15th in his first year in 2015 it’s been downhill ever since, he has missed the cut the last two years.  Now Daniel Berger at $10,000 is one to think about, he was T-3rd and we think his back is ok, even with him missing the cut at the Masters.  After being under $8,000 each week, Will Zalatoris is now $9,700 and I have to say is now overpriced.  Yes, he was runner-up at the Masters, but have to think he will be running on fumes this week.  Tyrrell Hatton at $9,500 is worth the price, he was T-3rd last week and I think his game is getting better, this is a good course for him.  Corey Conners is worth the $9,300, he has been on a nice streak in which he has been in the top-14 in four of his last five starts.  Was T-8th at the Masters, even with a final round 74.  Paul Casey is $9,200 and his record in this event surprises me.  Feel that the course is good for him, his best finish was T-11th 12 years ago.  A bit weird how he has missed his last two cuts at Hilton Head.  His play has been good all year, since the American Express in January in eight events his worst finish was T-28th at the Match Play and T-26th at the Masters.  I say he is a go for this week and can surprise a few folks.  Matthew Fitzpatrick is $9,100 and he kind of teases us.  Will play really well and then lapse into a funk.  Had to be disappointed with his T-34th at the Masters, many thought he could content.  Sungjae Im is $9,000 and I have to say he is not a great choice this week, he hasn’t played well and has missed the cut in both his Harbour Town starts.

Here is our feature in which we help you decide which guys make the cut the most in a tournament.  The importance of picking six players that play 72 holes is vital in playing well in Draftkings, and this list will help.  It’s a look going back to the 2010 Heritage on who has made the most cuts.  Of course, those who make a lot of cuts and are priced low are very helpful.  To get on this list, you have to make at least three Heritage starts:

• Matt Kuchar made 11 cuts in 11 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 8,000.
• Webb Simpson made 10 cuts in 10 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 10,700.
• Ian Poulter made 7 cuts in 7 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,600.
• Andrew Landry made 3 cuts in 3 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,400.
• Branden Grace made 5 cuts in 5 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,600.
• C.T. Pan made 4 cuts in 4 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,100.
• Daniel Berger made 3 cuts in 3 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 10,000.
• Dustin Johnson made 3 cuts in 3 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 11,600.
• Patrick Cantlay made 3 cuts in 3 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 10,900.
• Ryan Armour made 3 cuts in 3 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,200.
• Wesley Bryan made 3 cuts in 3 starts for a 100.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,300.
• Jason Dufner made 9 cuts in 10 starts for a 90.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,300.
• Kevin Streelman made 7 cuts in 8 starts for a 87.5%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,300.
• Ben Martin made 5 cuts in 6 starts for a 83.3%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,400.
• Pat Perez made 5 cuts in 6 starts for a 83.3%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,400.
• Luke Donald made 9 cuts in 11 starts for a 81.8%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,000.
• Adam Hadwin made 4 cuts in 5 starts for a 80.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,100.
• Brice Garnett made 4 cuts in 5 starts for a 80.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,400.
• Nick Taylor made 4 cuts in 5 starts for a 80.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,600.
• Peter Malnati made 4 cuts in 5 starts for a 80.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,400.
• Ted Potter, Jr. made 4 cuts in 5 starts for a 80.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,100.
• Brian Harman made 7 cuts in 9 starts for a 77.8%.  His DraftKings cost is 8,700.
• Charley Hoffman made 7 cuts in 9 starts for a 77.8%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,800.
• Graeme McDowell made 7 cuts in 9 starts for a 77.8%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,600.
• Rory Sabbatini made 7 cuts in 9 starts for a 77.8%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,800.
• Billy Horschel made 6 cuts in 8 starts for a 75.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 8,200.
• Brian Stuard made 6 cuts in 8 starts for a 75.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,300.
• Kevin Kisner made 6 cuts in 8 starts for a 75.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 7,700.
• Kevin Na made 6 cuts in 8 starts for a 75.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 8,100.
• William McGirt made 6 cuts in 8 starts for a 75.0%.  His DraftKings cost is 6,100.

(Those that I like are in bold)

*Players in that $7,500 to $8,900 price range, which ones are worth the money?:

Lot’s of players at great prices in this range.  Off the bat, we have Abraham Ancer at $8,900.  He was 2nd last year and is game is close, think he is ready to bust on out and it could be this week.  One person that has busted out in the last month is Brian Harman who is $8,700 this week and worth the cost.  Has two top-tens in 11 starts, think he will be good this week.  Still watching Billy Horschel who this week is $8,200.  Was ok at the Masters, think he can be good this week.  I really like Matt Kuchar who is $8,000.  He is a past winner in this event and feels he could win this week.  Robert MacIntyre is $7,800 and after the last couple of weeks, feel he can do very well very soon.  Playing this event for the first time, think he will be fine.  Charley Hoffman at $7,800 is worth the price, yes hasn’t played well in years at Harbour Town, but he did finish T-6th in 2013 and T-8th in 2012.  Kevin Kisner is worth the $7,700 was runner-up in 2015 and knows how to play here.  Ian Poulter is the bargain of this field at $7,600.  His record is good in this event.  Been in the top-20 in his last four starts, could continue the good pace.

*Are there any “Bargains” out there?

I like Dylan Frittelli at $7,400.  He was T-8th last year at Harbour Town, yes he missed the cut at the Masters and Honda, but in between that was T-9th at the Match Play.  Like J.T. Poston at $7,100, he was T-8th last year and T-6th in 2019.  Please pick Stewart Cink at $6,700, that price is stupid.  A past champion in this event, he has struggled the last few years but think he’s going to be great.  Now Chase Seiffert at $6,700 is good because our new EDGE program tells us he makes a lot of money for those that pick him

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the RBC Heritage:

The key stat for the winner:

• Harbour Town is one of the best courses in America; it’s a different experience in which ball placement is of utmost overpower.  Hitting it hard and far doesn’t work at this venue so look for a precision player to win. So what will it take to win this week’s Heritage Classic?
• What makes the course tough is the greens, at 4,500 square feet they are some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour.  Over the last 15 years, they have been difficult to hit, of all the tournaments the U.S. Open is the only one that ranks harder to hit than the greens of Hilton Head.
• Over the years putting and hitting greens have been vital to winning at Harbour Town.  If you look at the list of Heritage champions all of them are good putters, especially from the ten to twenty feet range.
• With greens as small as those at Hilton Head, scrambling is an essential element in being able to win.  Remember this, HHarbour Town is a course in which you have to scramble well on it.  Last year only one course scrambled better than Harbour Town as the field got it up and down 67.14% of the time. Look at the recent winners to see how important this stat is.  Last year Webb Simpson got up and down 14 of 19 times.  In 2019 C.T. Pan missed 30 greens but got it up and down on 22 of these greens in his winning effort.  The year before Satoshi Kodaira missed 23 greens but got it up and down 17 times and was T-13th in scrambling.  In 2017, Wesley Bryan missed 32 greens but got it up and down 27 times to lead the field in scrambling.  In 2016 Branden Grace was 22 of 28 greens missed, he was 3rd in scrambling, 2015 Jim Furyk led the stat getting it up and down 21 of the 22 greens he missed, the best in championship history.  The year before Matt Kuchar was 12th in that stat on the PGA Tour in 2014. The 2013 winner Graeme McDowell led the scrambling list at Harbour Town getting it up and down 79.2% of the time.  In 2012 Carl Pettersson was 21st, and Brandt Snedeker did an excellent job at 20th. But in the years before it was even better as in 2010, Jim Furyk was 4th in this category, getting it up and down 23 of 28 times.  In 2009 Brian Gay was first in this category, getting it up and down 22 of 24 tries.  In 2007 Boo Weekley only took 97 putts and won the category, Aaron Baddeley was 7th in his win in 2006, Davis Love III was 3rd in his 2003 victory, Justin Leonard was 7th in his 2002 win, Jose Coceres was 5th in 2001, and Nick Price was 3rd in 1997.
• Heritage always seems to have dramatic finishes.  In the last 17 of the 22 Heritage’s, eight of them have had playoffs, seven have had a one-stroke margin of victory while the other was two and five.  Last year Webb Simpson beat Abraham Ancer by a shot.  In 2019 C.T. Pan won by a shot over Matt Kuchar.  In 2018 Satoshi Kodaira beat SiWoo Kim in a playoff, in 2017 Wesley Bryan beat Luke Donald by a shot while the year before Branden Grace was the exception to the rule beating Luke Donald and Russell Knox by two shots.  The previous year Jim Furyk beat Kevin Kisner in a playoff while in 2014 Matt Kuchar defeated Luke Donald by a shot, thanks to a Kuchar birdie on the 72nd hole. In 2013 Graeme McDowell won in a playoff with Webb Simpson while in 2012 Carl Pettersson had an easy time winning by five.  In 2011 Snedeker went three extra holes before beating Luke Donald.   Can’t get any more exciting than in 2007 when Boo Weekley beat Ernie Els by a shot, but he chipped in on 17 and 18 for the win.  In 2010 Jim Furyk beat Brian Davis in a playoff.  So you just have to think things will be close at the end on Sunday.
• Just like last week with some weather that came into Augusta on Saturday, the weather will be a factor on Thursday with Thundershowers and Saturday with rain.