A week on from The Masters and another jacket is up for grabs as the PGA Tour moves to Harbour Town for the RBC Heritage, the latest Signature Event of the season and one which ensures that there can be no major hangover for the leading lights.
There certainly wasn’t here last year when Scottie Scheffler added to his win at The Masters by taking this title down as well. That won’t happen this week as Rory McIlroy hasn’t committed to the event so Scheffler will be looking to defend the crown.
Recent Winners
2024 – Scottie Scheffler
2023 – Matthew Fitzpatrick
2022 – Jordan Spieth
2021 – Stewart Cink
2020 – Webb Simpson
2019 – CT Pan
2018 – Satoshi Kodaira
2017 – Wesley Bryan
2016 – Branden Grace
2015 – Jim Furyk
The Course
It is Harbour Town Golf Links which stages the tournament again this year. The course is a par 71 which only stretches 7,213 yards so it is certainly not a long track by modern standards. The tournament remains in its post-Masters home and will welcome some of the best players in the world to a course which can play very tough when the wind is up, which can be quite regular with this course not too far from the coast.
There is no secret that accuracy is the key here although not necessarily off the tee where the landing zones for those who don’t get greedy are wide and generous. It is into the small greens where the fun and games come along so pure ball strikers and excellent iron players should work their way to the top of the staking plan. We should also remember that this is quite an exposed layout so players who can handle a bit of wind should be kept to the forefront of our minds. Bombers aren’t necessarily needed here although there are one or two holes where length is no bad thing.
The Field
This being a Signature Event we have another really good field on show although it is tarnished a little by the fact that the biggest name in golf currently, Rory McIlroy, isn’t teeing it up. World number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffer is here while recent winners such as Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jordan Spieth are also in what is still a decent field despite the absence of McIlroy. It does at least contain the man who lost in the playoff last week in Justin Rose.
Along with Scheffler, the home charge this week will be headed up by the likes of Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas while the European contingent, which is strong once again, will be spearheaded by players such as Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Victor Hovland among others. We also have a strong international flavour to the field where Corey Conners, Sungjae Im and Jason Day would be among the leading contenders.
Market Leaders
You wouldn’t say Scottie Scheffler is flushing it like he was around this time last year but he is the defending champion this week and he is also no bigger than 4/1 to keep hold of the title. That is understandable because he still managed a top five finish last week despite not being anywhere near his best but this is a strong field, it is a fairly tough course and I’m not sure he is playing well enough for me to justify backing him at such a skinny price. He is always a threat but the price needs to match and I’m not sure that it does.
It is certainly no surprise that Collin Morikawa is no bigger than an 11/1 second favourite to win the tournament this week. This course looks perfectly suited to his skill set but I must admit I expected more from him at The Masters last week and that fallout with the media a few weeks ago after he coughed up the chance to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational might just have impacted him a little more than it should have done. I wouldn’t put anyone off backing him but better value might lie elsewhere.
Ludvig Aberg comes next in the betting at 12/1. He showed at The Masters that he remains world class despite that illness that derailed his season midway through it but whether he is best suited to this place remains to be seen. I always think the Swede goes better on tracks where his length can be a real factor to bring the rest of his game in line and that isn’t really the case here. More of the field can get closer to his skills around this sort of course so while I remain a huge Aberg fan, I’m not sure he’s a huge price at 12/1 around here.
Xander Schauffele hasn’t really featured strongly anywhere since he returned from a rib injury but he is 16/1 to win this tournament. He definitely has all the tools to contend around here as he showed when he was fourth in 2023 but whether that injury is still an issue remains to be seen. The defence of his USPGA Championship title is looming on the horizon so he might look to peak for that. I think given his overall form this season, 16/1 is probably just a fair price rather than a special one so I’m happy to let it play out if he is to win.
Main Bets
With this tournament on the horizon I did have Shane Lowry down as a main bet candidate but that terrible finish to The Masters has put me off so I will go with a man who is very much coming to the boil once again as my first main bet. That is Viktor Hovland. The Norwegian won the Valspar Championship a few weeks ago and put in a creditable performance at Augusta where his skills are probably better suited elsewhere, such as here. Hovland sits seventh in proximity on the PGA Tour this season and that is a massive statistic around here. His iron play should get him in front of plenty over the course of the week and with him seemingly back in a better groove with the putter it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if we see Hovland winning multiple titles like he was a couple of years ago. He has everything going for him to win here.
The other main bet this week is a pretty obvious one in Sepp Straka. He was fancied by plenty to go well at Augusta last week and whether it was that extra expectation which he won’t have had going into too many majors or just a bad couple of days only he will know but it might be no bad thing that he had the weekend off before heading to a place where he has had success in the past. The Austrian has been in the top five in two of the last three years here and statistically is the one to beat. He is just outside the top 10 in fairways hit, third in greens in regulation and that extends to second in proximity to the hole. His long game should set up plenty of chances for the confident Straka to go very close here.
Outsiders
JJ Spaun probably should have won The Players Championship last month and he could easily have won the Cognizant Classic prior to that as well so he is a player who is in decent form and one of the reasons for that is he is second in strokes gained on approach this season and on a second shot golf course firing into small greens that has to be significant. Spaun is currently eighth in the FedExCup standings which shows how strong a season he is having and he didn’t disgrace himself at Augusta last week. He has won on the PGA Tour before so these near misses have literally just been a case of finding one too good. With his iron play that might not be the case here.
Michael Kim is another who has caught the eye this season. He was second at the Phoenix Open and then fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational which is very good form. He made the cut on his Masters debut last week and actually finished under par for the tournament which is to his credit. His long game is much improved, especially into the greens where he sits inside the top 25 in proximity to the hole. He has always been a decent putter and will contend best on courses where he doesn’t have to put his back out looking for length that he might not have. I think he’s primed for a decent run here as an outsider pick.
Tips
Back V.Hovland to win RBC Heritage (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back S.Straka to win RBC Heritage (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Coral (1/5 1-8)
Back J.J. Spaun to win RBC Heritage (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-6)
Back M.Kim to win RBC Heritage (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 91.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-6)
