BlogRBC Heritage Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

So, what did you all think of the Masters?

Of course, it’s easy to play Monday quarterback and say, “Gosh, I knew Rory would win the Masters.”

Frankly, many people, including myself, thought it was as close to an impossibility as we have in golf. There were way too many things involved in all of this. Frankly, the pressure on Rory was as intense as ever. Sure, Rory has been one of the top ten best players in the game’s history, but with all of his talent, it’s hard to believe that it has been almost 11 years since his last major victory. Looking back at history, it’s hard to find a human being under more pressure than any other winner. Not taking away anything about Xander Schauffele’s victory at the PGA or British Open, not taking anything away from Bryson DeChambeau’s victory at Pinehurst or Scottie Scheffler winning the Masters last year.

What Rory did was completely astonishing with all the history that Rory had to endure. For Rory to become the best player in the world at Augusta, the noise surrounding him has to be blocked out. I have never watched Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, or Ben Hogan play. But I was able to watch Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods play and can block out that noise and find a way to win. Looking back historically, I can see only a number of major championship victories that stick out as truly spectacular. In 2021, Phil Mickelson, at the age of 52, was able to win the PGA Championship, and his final round was astonishing. The same happened with Dustin Johnson winning the 2016 U.S. Open; he could have won PGA Tour events, but he had this jinx playing in the majors. In the last round at Oakmont, Johnson took care of business even with a weird ruling that lingered on him for several holes. But Johnson made the key shots to win his first major championship. Of course, people will say that Tiger’s Masters win was one for the ages, but Tiger didn’t have any stress on him before and leading up to that Masters. With the final round having to be played early to avoid storms, Tiger played well, and nobody seemed to pressure him, so yes, it was a great victory, but nothing under the same circumstances as Rory.

It’s sad. Looking back at history, we are all glad that Rory won. It brings us to the 2009 British Open when 58-year-old Tom Watson came within a whisper of winning at Turnberry. Many will say that Stewart Cink ruined a great story, but at the end of the day, Watson couldn’t accomplish the feat by getting up and down at the 72nd hole. Yes, Watson losing cost sports one of the most significant victories in sports, and frankly, if Rory did blow this Masters, it would have had terrible repercussions.

Now Rory can do his own thing; nobody will bother him about winning another major or the Masters. A thousand-pound gorilla has now gotten off his back, and who knows, Rory could run the table. There are no two ways about it. Rory is playing the best of anyone else, and with one of his favorite courses, Quail Hollow, being the site of the next major, we could easily go to Oakmont with Grand Slam on everyone’s mind. Like last year, Scheffler ran the tables and won nine times, including the Olympics and Hero. Yes, I can see Rory doing the same thing; there is going to be no scenario that he won’t be able to handle. I want to see if Scheffler and Rory can go mano-o-mano against each other in some big tournament. They are the two best players in the world, and we know this matchup will happen sometime in the future.

What we learned at the Masters

How good Rory McIlroy is, and how dominant he has been. After licking his wounds from losing at Pinehurst, Rory has been great since September at the Irish Open. He finished 2nd, a shot back of Rasmus Hojgaard, and the following week was runner-up at the BMW PGA Championship, losing a playoff to Billy Horschel. At the end of the year, McIlroy was T-3rd at the Abu Dhabi Championship and won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. He took a couple of months off, returned to Dubai, and was T-4th.  Two weeks later, at Pebble Beach, he was able to win on a course he had never done well at. We thought how special his season would be then, but he was T-17th at the Genesis and T-15th at the Arnold Palmer. We all felt it wouldn’t be his year, but he got into a playoff and beat J.J. Spaun. In his run-up to the Masters, Rory finished T-5th at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and that was perfect because a victory would have added way too much attention. Still, Rory did what he needed to do: come into the Masters on the cusp of heating up his game and playing well enough to win. So, as we get deeper into the golf season, we have to expect even more incredible things out of Rory if he can juggle the rigors of professional golf. Rory will be as fantastic in the coming months and will continue producing more records and achievements.

On the other end of the spectrum:

We can see the writing on the wall: no deal will be between the PGA Tour and LIV golf. The Saudis will have to make a big decision: do they continue throwing money into something that, after four years, is not financially feasible? Right now, they were able to utilize a loophole in the contracts of all their players to continue for the fourth year. Are the Saudis willing to invest another billion dollars on something that they have already lost two or three billion dollars? Even if they are willing to pay up, will players like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, and Brooks Koepka be willing to play any more on LIV golf? They have not come out and say they are finished, but Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka have said quietly that they are ready to return to the PGA Tour. I have to credit the LIV golf product; it’s a first-class tour with first-class players, the mystic of playing around the world, and a good product that shows team golf has a place. But at the end of the day, watching LIV golf is like watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles every Sunday afternoon. Yes, it was great in the Super Bowl, but nobody wants to watch the Chiefs and Eagles play Sunday after Sunday; that is what is happening with LIV golf.

Things you need to know about the RBC Heritage

This will be the 57th edition of the Heritage, which is now well-established thanks to the sponsorship deal with RBC ten years ago. It was a long haul with many anxious moments and rumors of its demise, but the tournament is now very healthy.

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, played during Thanksgiving weekend. Initially, it would be a regular tournament on Hilton Head Island, giving away $45,000. However, 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 on 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 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 in 2020, it was played in June, but for all the years after, it’s returned to its usual place after the Masters.

This year, it’s a designated event for a third year in a row, meaning the purse went from $8 million to $20 million in 2023 and $20 million this year, a drastic climb. Many will question if it’s fair to ask players to attend a big event the week before or after a major. The WGC-Bridgestone was always played before the PGA Championship and worked, but times are changing, and some may not want to play before or after a major. Still, they have a good field, even though Masters champions Rory McIlory and Hideki Matsuyama are not playing.

Course information:

• Harbour Town Golf Links
• Sea Pines Resort, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
• 7,191 yards     Par 36-35–71

Harbour Town Golf Links has a course rating of 75.6 and a slope rating from the back tees of 147. The tees, fairway, and rough are Celebration Bermuda Grass, and the greens are Poa Annua. The course is a resort course and can be played by the public. Last year, Harbour Town was the 35th hardest course on the PGA Tour, with a 69.35 average.

The course was designed and built by Pete Dye in 1969. Jack Nicklaus started in golf course architecture by assisting Dye in designing and building 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. 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 is true with 18, 20 yards added to a hole that will play to 472 yards.

Some of the bunkers were also changed to be more in play, and the area around the second green got some work. Also, some trees that played havoc on those who hit them just off some of the fairways were removed, improving the sightlines.

In the summer of 2015, every blade of grass on the layout—tees, greens, rough, and practice facility—had been replaced. The irrigation system was also replaced with the latest technology, so it may take the players a bit to get the course’s feel and to 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 saw how heavy rains washed away the Greenbrier course, and they couldn’t play the Greenbrier Classic. The same thing happened in Houston; rain from a hurricane put the Golf Club of Houston underwater, but it was back to normal when the Houston Open was played. Hilton Head, they were lucky. Even today, players will notice a lack of trees nine years later, 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 Harbour Town’s most important stats, data from last year’s RBC Heritage, and data from all the field players with stats from 2025. We take their rank for each stat and then add the four categories.
The field’s scoring average at Harbour Town last year was 69.35, making it the 35th hardest course of the year out of 50 courses. This average seems low, but the main reason for the low numbers is the combination of great weather with low winds and the change to a signature event in which only 69 players are in the field. After four days of perfect weather at the Masters, the news is good with the forecast being great all four days with sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-70s with winds under 11 mph

Here is a look at the scoring average at Harbour Town for the last few years:
*2023 – Average was 70.22, was the 29th hardest of the 58 courses that year
*2022 – Average was 70.74, was the 19th hardest of the 50 courses that year
*2021 – Average was 70.33, the year’s T-26th hardest of the 51 courses.
*2020 – Average was 69.14, the 37th hardest of the 41 courses that year. It’s the lowest-scoring average for Harbour Town since records were kept in 1997. The reason was that the tournament was put back in June, and conditions were much different.
*2019 – Average was 71.17, was 11th hardest of 49 courses that year. It was half a shot easier than in 2018 when he played to a 70.85 average. Weather is always a factor. Winds off the Atlantic made 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 on Saturday, 30 mph.

Despite the course being one of the best on the PGA Tour, the winners were top-notch when Webb Simpson won it in 2020, Stewart Cink in 2021, Jordan Spieth in 2022, Matt Fitzpatrick in 2023, and Scottie Scheffler last year.
In 2019, C.T. Pan won, and since that victory, in 128 events, he has only finished in the top three five times. He finished T-3rd at the Charles Schwab, a month after winning at Hilton Head. Pan also finished T-3rd at the 2021 Honda Classic. He was T-3rd at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, T-3rd at the Mexico Open, and T-2nd in last year’s John Deere Classic.
2018, Satoshi Kodaira won and has also struggled in 136 PGA Tour events. He has not finished in the top ten other than his Heritage win, with a best finish of T-11th in the 2021 Wells Fargo. For 2022, his best finish is T-12th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, his only top-14 in the season. In 2023, Kodaira had two top-15 finishes, a T-12th at the Zozo Championship, and a T-13th in Bermuda. Since the start of 2024, Kodaira has only played twice, missing the cut in Puerto Rico and finishing 64th at the Zozo Championship. Since then, he has played full-time on the Japan PGA Tour, where he finished as runner-up in the 2024 Shigeo Nagashima Invitational.
2017 winner Wesley Bryan has also struggled. Since winning, he has played in 116 events and has only had eight top-25 finishes, 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 2019, he had surgery, which took a year to get better. Since coming back, he has played a limited schedule and struggled. In 2023, Bryan played in 19 events, with a 6th at Puerto Rico as his only top-20 finish, along with missing eleven cuts. In 2024 only played in 18 events, with a runner-up in the Corales Puntacan and T-6th at World Wide Technology. He is just about gone from the PGA Tour. In 2025has played three times, only making one cut, T-25th at the Farmers Insurance Open. Things have gotten so bad that he won’t play in Corales this week.

So, winning the RBC Heritage was not a launching pad to stardom on the PGA Tour until 2020. Not only have Pan, Kodaira, and Bryan yet to return to the winner’s circle, but it was also the last time that 2015 champion Jim Furyk won on the PGA Tour. The same happened with 2020 winner Webb Simpson and 2021 champion Stewart Cink. Also, the 2023 winner, Jordan Spieth, and the 2024 winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, haven’t won. Now, last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, has won again, and he is the only Heritage champion to win again since Matt Kuchar, who won the 2015 Heritage.
Since 2015, many inexperienced champions have been crowned, but that narrative changed with Webb Simpson winning in 2020, and we have had many marquee champions. Now that this is a signature event, they are getting better fields and, like last year, looking for a marquee winner.

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 paramount. Masters champion Rory McIlroy isn’t playing, which is a shame, but he made this decision a while ago. He played in this event thrice; last year, his best finish was in the T-33rd. So he made the decision months ago, based on his record, that the course is not right for him in the game. That is because hitting it hard and far doesn’t work at this venue, so look for a precision player to win. Looking at all drives in 2024 of the 69 players in the field, the course averaged 282.5 yards, meaning it was the 7th shortest of all the courses on Tour (the shortest is Pebble Beach at 277.4). Since it’s so low (The highest on Tour last year was Castle Pines, 325.5 yards), players not only throttle it down on many holes but also 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. Driving is essential when looking at Harbour Town’s stats from last year. The course ranked 7th on the PGA Tour in driving distance (all holes) and 34th in driving accuracy (out of 50 courses). Winner Scottie Scheffler ranked 29th in driving distance (all holes) and 3rd (45 of 54) in accuracy.

Here is a look at the driving average at the RBC Heritage for the last few years:
*2023 – Harbour Town ranked 2nd on the PGA Tour in driving distance (all holes) and 45th in driving accuracy (out of 58 courses).
Winner Matt Fitzpatrick ranked 12th in driving distance (all holes) and T-56th (34 of 54) in accuracy
*2022 – Harbour Town ranked 6th in driving distance (all holes) and 35th in driving accuracy.
Winner Jordan Spieth was 2nd in driving distance (all holes) and T-31st (34 of 54) in accuracy.
*2021 – Harbour Town ranked 4th in driving distance and 29th in driving accuracy.
Winner Stewart Cink was 5th in driving distance (all holes) and T-57th (31 of 54) in accuracy.
*2020 – Harbour Town ranked 2nd in driving distance and 33rd in driving accuracy.
Winner Webb Simpson was T-33rd in driving distance (all holes) and T-33rd (38 of 54) in accuracy.
*2019 – Harbour Town ranked 3rd in driving distance and 21st in driving accuracy.
Winner C.T. Pan was T-50th in driving distance (all holes) and T-59th (29 of 54) in accuracy.
The year before, Satoshi Kodaira hit 42 of 56 and ranked T-4th.
So, driving it far is not as important as hitting it straight.

For our following categories, one thing is evident in the stats for Harbour Town: the course caters to those who hit lots of greens, so we are using Greens in Regulation. Last year, Harbour Town ranked 13th as 63.71% of the players hit the greens. Last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, hit 55 of 72 greens (76.39%) and ranked T-2nd.

Here is a look at the Greens in Regulation of the RBC Heritage for the last few years:
*2023 – For Harbour Town, Greens in Regulation was 63.14% and was the 17th hardest of the 58 courses that year
Winner Matt Fitzpatrick hit 48 of 72 greens (66.66%) and ranked T-23rd.
*2022 – For Harbour Town, Greens in Regulation was 60.12% and was the 10th hardest of the 50 courses that year
Winner Jordan Spieth hit 50 of 72 greens (69.44%) and ranked T-9th.
*2021 – For Harbour Town, Greens in Regulation was 62.12% and was the 19th hardest of the 51 courses that year
Winner Stewart Cink hit 56 of 72 greens ( 73.61%) and ranked T-12th.
*2020 – For Harbour Town, Greens in Regulation was 65.82% and was the 17th hardest of the 41 courses that year
Winner Webb Simpson hit 53 of 72 greens (73.61%) and ranked T-1st.
*2019 – For Harbour Town, Greens in Regulation was 57.67% and was the 6th hardest of the 49 courses that year
Winner C.T. Pan hit 42 of 72 greens (58.33%) and ranked T-37th.
In 2018, it ranked 6th on Tour.
2017 was a misnomer as it ranked 16th,
In 2016, it ranked 2nd on the Tour and has been in the top 10 in seven of the last 12 years. In the previous 27 years, 14 champions ranked in the top ten, with six leading the category.
Again, I can’t stress how important it is to hit many greens.

The next important category is around and on the greens. What makes Harbour Town tough is the greens. At 4,500 square feet, they are the smallest greens on the PGA Tour to hit, so it makes sense that scramblers do well since it’s tough to hit the greens.
So, our third category is scrambling, and you can see why. Since the course is a shot-maker delight, you can see that if you miss a lot of greens, you better get it up and down to play well. Last year, Harbour Town ranked 45th in scrambling out of 50 courses, getting it up and down 68.66% of the time. It shows that players can get it up and down, so to play well, scrambling is essential. Last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, was ranked 1st, getting it up and down in 15 of the 17 greens (88,24%) he missed.

Here is a look at the scrambling of the RBC Heritage winners over the last few years:
*2023 – Harbour Town finished 51st in scrambling of the 58 courses that tracked scrambling for the year, getting it up and down 64.44% of the time
Winner Matt Fitzpatrick was ranked T-4th, getting it up and down in 20 of the 24 greens he missed.
*2022 – Harbour Town finished 43rd in scrambling of the 50 courses that tracked scrambling for the year, getting it up and down 64.78% of the time
Winner Jordan Spieth was ranked 6th, getting it up and down in 18 of the 22 greens he missed.
*2021 – Harbour Town finished 44th in scrambling of the 51 courses that tracked scrambling for the year, getting it up and down 63.80% of the time
Winner Stewart Cink was ranked T-50th, getting it up and down in 13 of the 16 greens he missed.
*2020 – Harbour Town finished 40th in scrambling of the 41 courses that tracked scrambling for the year, getting it up and down 67.14% of the time
Winner Webb Simpson was ranked T-27th, getting it up and down in 14 of the 19 greens he missed.
*2019 – Harbour Town finished 42nd in scrambling of the 49 courses that tracked scrambling for the year, getting it up and down 62.99% of the time. Winner C.T. Pan was ranked T-16th. He got it up and down on 22 of the 30 greens he missed.
2018 champion Satoshi Kodaira was T-13th because he hit a lot of greens.
So, the winner must do a great job getting it up and down on the greens he missed.

Last, we pick a stat rarely used: Strokes Gained Putting. That’s because at Hilton Head, putting well doesn’t mean much because of the small size of the greens, but you still have to make those nasty 4 to 8-footers. The winners of the Heritage are notoriously good putters. Last year, Harbour Town ranked 46th in putting average, 46th in One-Putt Percentage, T-46th in 3-putt Avoidance, and 29th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 88.81% of the putts in this range were made.
Last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, ranked T-34th in Putting Average, T-57th in One-Putt Percentage, T-25th in 3-Putt Avoidance, and T-27th in Putting Inside Ten Feet as he made 63 out of 70 putts in this range. With all these stats, he was 37th in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining .025 shots for the week.

Here is a look at the putting stats of Harbour Town and RBC Heritage winners in the last few years:
*2023 – Harbour Town ranked 53rd in putting average, 53rd in One-Putt Percentage, 58th in 3-putt Avoidance, and 33rd in Putting Inside ten feet, as 88.55% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked 20th in Putting Average, T-8th in One-Putt Percentage, T-1st in 3-Putt Avoidance, and 5th in Putting Inside ten feet as he made 66 out of 70 putts in this range. With all these stats, he was 20th in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 2.732 shots for the week.
*2022 – Harbour Town ranked 37th in Putting Average, 50th in One-Putt Percentage, T-43rd in 3-putt Avoidance, and 16th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 87.77% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Jordan Spieth, who is one of the best putters in golf, ranked 40th in Putting Average, T-43rd in One-Putt Percentage, T-65th in 3-Putt Avoidance, and T-17th in Putting Inside Ten Feet as he made 63 out of 73 of the putts in this range. With all of these stats, he was 60th in Strokes Gained Putting, as he lost a whopping -2.545 shots for the week.
*2021 – Harbour Town ranked T-47th in Putting Average, 48th in One-Putt Percentage, 48th in 3-Putt Avoidance, and 25th in Putting Inside Ten Feet as 88.16% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Stewart Cink ranked T-7th in Putting Average, T-29th in One-Putt Percentage, T-1st in 3-Putt Avoidance, and 19th in Putting Inside Ten Feet, making 67 out of 74 of the putts in this range. With all of these stats, he was 42nd in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 1.632 shots.
*2020 – Harbour Town ranked 38th in Putting Average, 39th in One-Putt Percentage, 41st in Three-Putt Avoidance, and 22nd in Putting Inside Ten Feet, as 88.57% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Webb Simpson ranked 3rd in Putting Average, T-15th in One-Putt Percentage, T-1st in 3-putt Avoidance, and 44th in Putting Inside ten feet, making 57 out of 64 of the putts in this range. With all of these stats, he was 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 6.605 shots for the week.
*2019 – Harbour Town ranked T-38th in Putting Average, 49th in One-Putt Percentage, 47th in 3-putt Avoidance, and 15th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 87.50% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner C.T. Pan ranked 2nd in Putting Average, T-3rd in One-Putt Percentage, T-1st in 3-putt Avoidance, and 11th in Putting Inside ten feet, making 64 out of 69 putts in this range. With these stats, he was 5th in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 6.271 shots for the week.
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, remember that most are ranked at the bottom of driving distance and high in driving accuracy.

Think of it: Most champions do not hit it long, something 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, hit lots of greens, and make most of those putts inside ten feet.

*Driving Accuracy: Percentage of fairways hit, so keeping it in the fairway is very important.

*Greens in Regulation: This stat is a great barometer of how well players manage their games around Harbour Town. Every year, the players who hit lots of greens do well.

*Scrambling: 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 par 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 2025, with 72 of the 72 players having stats:

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

DraftKings tips

We have compiled a database covering the last 50 events on the PGA Tour, beginning at the start of the 2024 season and ending with the 2025 Masters. The database includes the number of points a player won during each event and its cost. From the database, we can determine the total DraftKing points earned, the players’ average points earned per event, and the average points based on the number of rounds played.

Of the players in the field, here are the top 60 playing in at least eight events:

DraftKings Picks

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

• Scottie Scheffler – $13,100
• Ludvig Aberg – $11,000
• Collin Morikawa – $10,900
• Xander Schauffele – $10,400
• Justin Thomas – $10,200
• Patrick Cantlay – $10,000
• Corey Conners – $9,800
• Russell Henley – $9,700
• Shane Lowry – $9,600
• Tommy Fleetwood – $9,400
• Jordan Spieth – $9,200
• Jason Day – $9,100
• Viktor Hovland – $9,000

This is an easy event to judge, looking for those that hit it straight, greens, and putts well. So, right off the bat, how many people will be taking Scottie Scheffler at $13,100? Last year, I was dead set against Scheffler, and look what happened: he won.  We all think Scottie is close; he was T-2nd in Houston and 4th at the Masters.  Still, at the end of the day, it’s down to putting for Scottie. Will he find that Midas touch this week?  I am not going against him this week.  Ludvig Aberg is $11,000, and I don’t get his play this year.  It’s a bit Jekyll and Hyde; he withdraws at Pebble and wins in his next start at the Genesis.  Then he goes to Florida, misses two of three cuts, and finishes 7th at the Masters.  The position is a bit of a misnomer when you consider that Aberg was five back of McIlory and Rose and could have been in the playoff but finished bogey-triple, which cost him about $700,000.  Could this be Aberg’s week?  Have to watch him. Last year, in his first Heritage start, he was in contention going into the final round but shot 72 to finish T-10th.  Aberg’s game is close, and I have to think he will play well this week. Watch him.  Collin Morikawa is $10,900 and over the weekend thought that Morikawa will be a force this week.  He is playing well. He has had two runner-ups in six starts and hasn’t been worse than T-17th.  But Collin struggles at Harbour Town, the problem is his putter he just has not putted well on this course, best to skip on him.  Same with Justin Thomas at $10,200. He is a no for me due to him not playing well at Harbour Town (he did finish T-5th last year), but I don’t like his up-and-down play this year.  Yes, he was 2nd at the Valspar but was T-36th at Augusta.  Patrick Cantlay at $10,000 is my main choice this week, despite not playing well since finishing T-5th at Genesis.  I look at his record at Harbour Town, and he seems to contend every year.  Not many players can claim five top-three finishes in seven starts; he is destined to win this event.  Corey Conners at $9,800 has played well since the tour came east last month.  But he is hard to gauge. In 8 starts, he hasn’t played well in 7 of them, but he was T-4th in 2021.  His game is close; he shot 74 in the final round at Valero to finish T-18th and shot 75 at the Masters to finish T-8th, so he could be close.  The same goes for Russell Henley at $9,700. he didn’t play great at the Heritage and, after winning at the Palmer, was T-30th at the Players and missed the cut at Augusta. It’s best to say no to Russell.  Shane Lowry at $9,600 is a no for me. He has struggled at Harbour Town the last two starts and played terribly on Sunday at the Masters, shooting 81.  I think he played too much in 2025.  Tommy Fleetwood at $9,400 is another no, he is not playing well and has also struggled at Harbour Town.  Jordan Spieth, at $9,200, has had a disappointing 2025, but his last two starts show some promise.  He is expensive but still has played well at the Heritage, and he may surprise us this week.  Jason Day at $9,100 is a no for me. yes playing better of late, but he has never played well at Harbour Town.  Viktor Hovland at $9,000 is also a no, hasn’t played well at Harbour Town, he also struggled on the weekend at Augusta.

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

Sungjae Im at $8,700 is someone to watch. He has improved at Harbour Town with some good finishes in his last four starts (T-12th last year, T-7th in 2023).  His game was good at the Masters as he finished with a 69 to finish T-5th.  Wyndham Clark at $8,400 is a gamble, but you take it because his game should be good for Harbour Town; he was T-3rd last year.  Daniel Berger at $8,300 is a good buy considering that he has not been worse in his last four starts than T-33rd.  Maverick McNealy at $8,100 could be a good pick; he won down the road at the RSM on another course on the Atlantic.  After missing the cut at the Palmer, the Players have done okay.  Denny McCarthy at $7,900 gives you consistently at a good price.  Hasn’t missed a cut since the British Open and seems to find a way to get 70 to 75 DraftKings points.  Brian Harman at $7,700 is a pick you have to take. He is playing well and has been consistent at Harbour Town, including finishing T-12th last year and T-7th in 2023.  Also, have to take Bud Cauley at $7,500; he has played well for the last month and hasn’t been bad at the Heritage. Hard to believe he hasn’t played this event since missing the cut in 2020.

Are there any Bargains out there?

Sahith Theegala at $7,300 is the best buy of the week, has been consistent on tour in 2025, but has done well at Harbour Town, including 2nd last year, T-5th in 2023, and T-70th in 2022.  Matt Fitzpatrick at $7,200 is a good choice due to his record at the Heritage, in which he won in 2023 and was T-4th in 2021.  Tony Finau at $7,100 is worth the price; he will make the cut this week and help make us some money.  Billy Horschel at $7,100 is an up-and-down proposal for us.  We don’t know what he will give us.  hasn’t been great in this event but sees something in it to come back.  Ryan Gerard at $6,600 is a steal. He always makes cuts and has finished 9th at Houston and 2nd at the Valero Texas Open.  Patrick Rodgers at $6,500 is well worth the buy. He has played well at Harbour Town, including T-5th last year.

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

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 more important than power. 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?
• The course’s challenge is the greens. At 4,500 square feet, they are some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour. Over the last 18 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-foot range.
• With greens as small as those, Hilton Head scrambling is essential in winning. Remember this: Harbour Town is a course on which you must scramble well. Last year, two courses were more challenging to get up and down as the field got up and down 68.66%. However, in 2020, only one course scrambled better than Harbour Town, as the field got up and down 67.14% of the time. Look at the recent winners to see how important this stat is. Last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, was 1st.  The year before, Matt Fitzpatrick ranked T-4th in getting it up and down. In 2023, Jordan Spieth ranked 6th in getting it up and down. In 2021, Stewart Cink ranked T-4th, getting it up and down 13 of 16 greens missed. In 2020, Webb Simpson ranked T-27th, getting it up and down 14 of 19 times. In 2019, C.T. Pan missed 30 greens but got up and down on 22 of them 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. 2016 Branden Grace was 22 of 28 greens missed and 3rd in scrambling. In 2015, Jim Furyk led the stat, getting 21 of the 22 greens he missed up and down, which is 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 in 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. 2009 Brian Gay was first in this category, getting it up and down 22 of 24 times. 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 26 Heritage’s, ten have had playoffs, seven have had a one-shot margin of victory, while the other was two, four, and five. Last year, Scottie Scheffler won by three shots.  In 2023, Matt Fitzpatrick beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff, while in 2022, Spieth beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. In 2021, Stewart Cink won by four shots. In 2020, 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 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. It 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 things will be close this week..
• After four days of perfect weather at the Masters, the news is good with the forecast being great all four days with sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-70s with winds under 11 mph