RBC Heritage: Expert Picks

Tournament Information

RBC Heritage
Date: April 15th - 18th
Course: Harbour Town Golf Links
Purse: $7.1MM ($1.3MM to winner)
2020 Winner: Webb Simpson (-22)

Course

Harbour 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. It has a course rating of 75.6 and a slope rating of 148. 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.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

My Starting 4

Patrick Cantlay (second selection this year) — Cantlay has had a solid year up until recently when he missed the cut in two of the last three tournaments. He excels at Harbour Town where he had top 10 finishes between 2017 and 2019.

Webb Simpson (fourth selection this year) — Simpson finished in the top 20 here each year since 2017 culminating in a win last year. Webb has one missed cut across 11 tournaments this year and eight top 20 finishes.

Ian Poulter (first selection this year) — Poulter, like Simpson, also finished in the top 20 each of the last four years at RBC Heritage. After two consecutive missed cuts at the PLAYERS Championship and Honda Classic, he rebounded well at the Masters with a 26th place finish.

Matt Kuchar (third selection this year) — For years Kuchar has been dominant in a semi-home field course for him. Last year he was 41st and that is the only blemish he has here. Across five starts this season, he’s missed the cut in three tournaments. I’m not letting that deter me from his usual strength here.

My Bench 2

Matt Fitzpatrick (second selection this year) — 17th in OWGR, Fitzpatrick is 15th in total strokes gained and 24th in strokes gained putting. He’s missed just one cut in his last 10 tournaments.

Michael Thompson (first selection this year) — Thompson was a top 10 finisher here in 2019 and 2020 as he has continued to improve here each of the last four years.

Fun Fact: This course uses different grasses during different times of year and since 1969 has been played in fall, summer and spring.

2020-2021 Stats (1^st percent would be the top golfer picked every week)
Starting 4: avg finish 39^th (31^st percent)
Bench 2: avg finish 46^th (37^th percent)