57th RBC Heritage
Harbour Town Golf Links
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
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Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)
Scottie Scheffler: The reigning champion already had wins at API, THE PLAYERS, and Masters in 2024. He will be pissed off enough after solo fourth last week and not show any mercy tee to green against another elite field. The greens at Harbour Town do not come with the penalty of Augusta National. His ball-striking (T31 Fairways, T31 GIR) last week will not return to those levels.
If Scheffler’s ball-striking is stuck in neutral, Collin Morikawa should be hot on his heels. Already a runner-up twice this season, navigating the smallest greens on TOUR outside of Pebble Beach will favor the man leading the field in SG: Approach.
Ludvig Aberg threw away over $500k with his bogey-triple finish last week and probably could not care less. The Swedish metronome sat 13-under and four back after 54 holes here last year before fading with 72. Save him for Philadelphia.
Xander Schauffele is on a run of T8 and T12 in his last two. The next step is popping onto the podium. Sign me up.
Patrick Cantlay would be the favorite here if he could have converted one or two of his FIVE podium finishes into tartan jackets. He’s never cashed worse than T7 in six weekends. Auto-play regardless of format.
Justin Thomas hit it all over the shop last week at ANGC to finish T36. I’ll point out he played his final nine in 33 and bogey-free.
Russell Henley had the weekend off in the first major of the season. I’d expect a retort in his part of the world.
Corey Conners has the most top-10 paydays on TOUR this season and played in the penultimate group on Sunday at the Masters (T8). Is he out of gas?
Shane Lowry must be fueled by the performance of his compatriot and partner next week at the Zurich Classic. In fact, that’s the next time I will be looking at him. The party from Sunday night probably isn’t over yet!
Viktor Hovland followed up his win in Tampa with T21 at the Masters. Too many wild swings to endorse at this price.
Tommy Fleetwood rarely threatens, and his best payday here is T10. Save him for Philadelphia and Oakmont, but he’s a safe roster play in other formats.
Daniel Berger cashed T30 or better in all eight events where he’s played the weekend in 2025. The super iron player earned his way into the Signature Event. We call that a clue.
Others for Top 10, Top 20 action
Jordan Spieth is not my favorite when water lurks on every hole on the property, but I will look at Sepp Straka and his T3-MC-T5 run here. Sungjae Im is in my lineup this week after becoming just one of two to post all four rounds in red figures at the Masters. Let’s eat! Denny McCarthy jumps off the board and should be contending. Who is hotter than Bud Cauley, minus a win? Tom Hoge? I wouldn’t talk you out of either one. JT Poston has four top-10 results from six tries. Sahith Theegala could use a break, and this layout (2nd-T5) and 30-under the last two years might provide the tonic. Max Homa! Fade or follow T12 from last week? At 90-1, I’d nibble, you know, just in case! Cameron Davis owns two top-10 results in the last three years.
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Harbour Town Golf Links |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,213 (third consecutive year). |
| Par: | 71 (36-35). |
| Greens: | Poa Trivialis overseed; 3,700 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 11.5 feet. |
| Second Cut: | Ryegrass Overseed at 1.5 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 51/18/18 |
| Architect(s): | Pete Dye (1969) |
| Defending Champion (event): | Scottie Scheffler (-19) |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. |
| Course Record (latest): | 61; Troy Merritt (not entered) 2015. |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (Spring): | 264 (-20); Brian Gay, 2009. |
| Fact of the Week: | The last five winners are all major champions. |
Harbour Town
Pete Dye is back! He’s on the ticket next week in New Orleans as well!
Small greens, big penalties, and plenty of distractions tee to green!
The more aggressive the line off the tees and into the greens provides the better scoring chances. If not executed, welcome to the land of bogeys and worse!
The keys are iron play, patience, and keeping big numbers off the card.
Recent Winners
- 2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (first time) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at VidantaWorld | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 89th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (3) |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace) |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre (2) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Xander Schauffele (2) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | Scottie Scheffler (7) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Wyndham Championship | Aaron Rai (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Hideki Matsuyama (2) |
| BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| The TOUR Championship | Scottie Scheffler (8) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Patton Kizzire |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Kevin Yu (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Matt McCarty (first time) |
| Shriners Children’s Open | JT Poston |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Nico Echavarria |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Austin Eckroat (2) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Rafa Campos (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Maverick McNealy (first time) |
Notables
- The field of 72 players includes 43 of the top 50 from the Official World Golf Rankings.
- Seven of the last eight winners in April were 27 or 28 years old.
- The winners from 2024 and 2023 both posted 63 in Round 3.
- The Par-71 will play 7,213 yards for the third straight season.
- The previous five winners are major champions.
- In 2024, Scottie Scheffler joined Bernhard Langer as the only two players to win this event after donning the green jacket the week prior.
- Boo Weekley (2007-2008) was the last player to win back-to-back events.
- Wesley Bryan (2017) is the only native South Carolinian to win the event.
- None of the last four champions ranked inside the top 20 in SG: Putting.
- The scoring average of 69.351 in 2024 is the lowest April number since replacing the putting surfaces in 2016.
- Two of the last three winners required a playoff.
- The tournament scoring record is 20-under-par 267 set by Brian Gay (not entered) in 2009.
- The course record, 61, was last accomplished by Troy Merritt (not entered) in 2015.
- There is not a 36-hole cut this week.
Recent Winners – RBC Heritage
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2024 | Scottie Scheffler (-19) | Shot 63 in Round 3 to lead after 54 holes by one. Won by three. |
| 2023 | Matt Fitzpatrick (-17) | Shot 63 in Round 3 to lead after 54 holes by one. Defeated Jordan Spieth in a playoff. |
| 2022 | Jordan Spieth (-13) | The last winner to not lead after 54 holes, he rallied from three shots back to force and win a playoff over Patrick Cantlay. |
| 2021 | Stewart Cink (-19) | The veteran smoked the field by four shots to win for the third time at Sea Pines. |
| 2020 | Webb Simpson (-22) | The return to golf in the pandemic saw the former U.S. Open champion win the only June event in recent memory. |
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Sungjae Im | 3rd | $1,360,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Russell Henley | T10 | 195,025 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | MC | |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T32 | 52,080 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Ludvig Aberg | WD | |
| WM Phoenix Open | Rasmus Hojgaard | T12 | 195,500 |
| Genesis Invitational | Will Zalatoris | T24 | 168,857 |
| Mexico Open | Patrick Rodgers | T25 | 59,350 |
| Cognizant Classic | Daniel Berger | T25 | 73,721 |
| Arnold Palmer | Keegan Bradley | T5 | 800,000 |
| THE PLAYERS | Collin Morikawa | T10 | 656,250 |
| Valspar Championship | Sepp Straka | T28 | 55,844 |
| Houston Open | Aaron Rai | MC | |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners | T18 | 113,050 |
| 89th Masters | Rory McIlroy | WIN | 4,200,000 |
LAST WEEK – 89th Masters tournament
For the second year in a row, I’m playing Rory McIlroy.
This year, he fits the profile of past champions. He’s playing, winning, and he’s in a great spot off the course. It’s time to add another page of history.
See? Easy game. Like McIlroy, I feel I haven’t won an event in this format since 2014.
Never a dull moment throughout the event, the price of the grand slam was well worth the wait. No sports fan will never forget the final nine and the playoff last Sunday.
THE CHOICE: Rory McIlroy – WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
Others to consider:
Patrick Reed is an auto-play here and showed why again. Even if he doesn’t hole out on 17, he’s in the top five.
Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka
THIS Week – RBC Heritage
It’s time to unleash Scheffler.
He didn’t’ look like he was having any fun last Sunday. I’m positive he’s not thrilled with his final five holes or his solo fourth-place result. Saving him for Quail Hollow or Oakmont is a fine strategy. I’ll remind you that Oakmont has the most devious greens on the planet. I’m saving the X-Man for such an occasion. Quail Hollow is McIlroy’s happy hunting ground (4 wins), and I don’t need to tell you about his affinity for Royal Portrush. Too many things can go sideways at The Open to spend Scheffler at that event. I’d take the money and run here or at the Travelers after Oakmont.
HERE. WE. GO.
Those of you in the Cantlay camp, please, go right ahead. His record here is incredible. I’ll sneak him in at Memorial or Caves Valley for the BMW Championship, where he will be the course defending champion.
THE CHOICE: Scottie Scheffler
Others to consider:
Patrick Cantlay, Sepp Straka, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley, J.T Poston
Glass Houses 