What a fantastic return to the PGA Tour it was last weekend in Texas. The Tour continues this weekend as we head to Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina for the annual RBC Heritage!
As usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the action below. Remember, you can see a full list of our golf betting recourses by heading to our dedicated golf page.
RBC Heritage Betting Tips
Daniel Berger took out the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas last weekend as the PGA Tour made its return after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Berger entered a playoff hole with rookie Colin Morikawa and came out on top after four fantastic days in Fort Worth, Texas.
The tour will head to South Carolina for one stop this weekend as the annual RBC Heritage takes centre stage. The action gets underway Thursday night (AEST) and early signs point to a strong starting field for the tournament.
The Field
Tiger Woods was rumoured to be making his return for the RBC Heritage after his private yacht was tracked making it’s way towards South Carolina from Florida. It looks as though Woods will be skipping the event, however, possibly looking towards the Travelers Championship in Connecticut next week.
Regardless of whether Woods will be in action, the field for the RBC Heritage this weekend is predictably stacked. Given that players have had over two months off from the game, it looks as though they are taking every opportunity to get some reps in before a massive period of majors and key tournaments kicks off in August.
The No.1 ranked player in the world, Rory McIlroy headlines the field and will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing fourth round at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Other top ranked players who will make the start on Thursday include Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rode, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
Former winners of the tournament who will be back this weekend include Wesley Bryan, Glen Day, Jim Furyk, Branden Grace, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III ,Cheng Tsung Pan and Matt Kuchar.
The Course
Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina has been the sole venue for the RBC Heritage since the inaugural tournament back in 1969. The course was designed by Pete Dye with help from Jack Nicklaus, who coincidentally won the first event.
The course plays as a Par 71 at just over 7,100 yards, which is relatively short by today’s PGA Tour standards. Harbour Town’s main challenge comes from the size of it’s greens. The PGA Tour average green size is over 6,000 sqaure feet while the average green size at Harbour Town is just over 3,000 square feet. The greens are also deceptively in regards to putting.
Being able to shot shape into these tricky greens is crucial at Harbour Town, which means landing your tee shots on the fairway is paramount. We’ll be targeting accurate drivers and strong short-mid approach players this week.
Tips
Apart from some of the obvious guys who we know are going to be around the mark come Sunday in the likes of Rory and JT, we are looking a bit further down the board for value this week and the first player we are targeting is Matt Kuchar. ‘Kooch’ is a proven performer at the RBC Herritage and unlike many of the other names in the field list this week, Harbour Town is an annual stop. Kuchar has strong performances at Harbour Town dating back to 2014, when he won the tournament.
2019 – 2nd
2018 – 23rd
2017 – 11th
2016 – 9th
2015 – 5th
2014 – 1st
He is an incredibly accurate driver, ranking 28th in driving accuracy on tour this season at just over 67% while he was the 20th ranked green in regulation player last season at over 69%. Don’t mind the value of Kooch to win this week but it’s the top 30 finish market that we’ll really be hammering at $2.00.
Want even more value this weekend? We don’t mind the look of a few veterans in Jim Furyk and Luke Donald. Don’t bother with the $151 quote to win the tournament, however, there is some great value for them to finish in the top 40 or even to make the cut. Both have fantastic records at Harbour Town, with Furyk boasting two wins and Donald six top 3 finishes since 2010. Distance isn’t really an issue at Harbour Town, which will suit them.
And as usual, we'll be taking our standing bet of Rory McIlroy to finish inside the top ten. Last weekend at the Charles Schwab was the first official event of teh 2020 season where the No.1 player in the world hasn't finished inside the top 10, and that was only due to a poor fourth round which saw him slip out of contention. He should be right back in the mix this weekend and the T36 on the weekend has boosted his value to $2.63.
