RBC Heritage: Expert Picks

Tournament Information

RBC Heritage

Date: April 12^th – 15^th

Course: Harbour Town Golf Links

Purse: $6.5MM ($1.2MM to winner)

FedEx points: 500 to winner

2017 Winner: Wesley Bryan (-13)

CourseHarbour Town Golf - Built in 1967 by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus, this 7,100 par 71 course has extravagant beauty running up against the Atlantic Ocean. The narrow fairways force golfers into the thick Bermuda roughs which are tough to navigate (some are Rye). This course forces golfers to be patient and not force shots. Water traps lie around many of the greens and wind off the ocean can cause havoc on shots.

Starting 4

Ollie Schniederjans. Typically a risky pick like this I would relegate to a bench spot. He finished 3^rd here last year but nothing much beyond that. His last 5 tournaments have been ok with one top 5 finish, one missed cut and a three 40-70 place finishes. Maybe I have faith in his 21^st ranking in strokes gained around the green or his 40^th ranking in strokes gained total or maybe I just like saying the name Ollie.

Luke Donald. One of the other golfers to have top 15 placements each of the last 3 years here (one – Brendan Grace is not entered). Luke finished 15^th in 2015 before having back to back 2^nd place finishes the last two years. He will need to rebound, with 5 missed cuts in 8 tournaments this year he needs to bring his A game to advance here.

Matt Kuchar. The third to have top 15 placements each of the last 3 years here. The native finished 5^th, 9^th and 11^th in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Matt has 2 top ten finishes in his last 5 tournaments

Russell Knox. 18^th in 2015, 2^nd in 2016 and 11^th last year for an average 3 year placement of just over 10^th place here. The strong fringe player (27^th in strokes gained around the green) has a mixed recent history with 2 top 20’s and 2 missed cuts over the last 5 tournaments.

Bench 2

William McGirt. After a 31^st place finish in 2015 he has been a top 10 finishes the last two years here. 2 missed cuts and one top 20 finish in his last 5 tournaments.

Austin Cook. He started out brilliantly and has since cooled. He is strong putting and around the green so I’m gambling that he can have some success here. His last 5 have included two missed cuts and 3 finishes between 30-50. I’m willing to excuse the most recent missed cut as the Masters can be difficult the first play.

2018 Stats

Starting 4: avg finish 37^th (29^th percentile)

Bench 2: avg finish 37^th (29^th percentile)