The Masters is over, but the thick of the golf season is upon us. Following a wild spring, the PGA Tour now enters a rhythm of one major championship per month leading into the FedEx Playoffs at the end of the year.
This week's RBC Heritage is stacked with a surprising number of stars playing an atypical golf course that could not be more different than Augusta National. The golf never stops, and if you're looking for a relaxed follow-up to the intensity of last week's Masters, this tournament is perfect.
Let's take a closer look at this week's contest with odds provided via Caesars Sportsbook.
Event information
Event: RBC Heritage | Dates: April 14-17
Location: Harbour Town Golf Links – Hilton Head, South Carolina
Par: 71 | Purse: $8 million
Three things to know
1. Morgan Hoffmann's return: Hoffmann's story -- as told by Golf Digest's Dan Rapaport -- is astounding. Hoffmann has been beset by muscular dystrophy. The diagnosis waylaid an elite amateur career and promising professional start, and Hoffmann has been searching for healing (and answers) in Costa Rica. This will be his first start on the PGA Tour since the end of 2019, and he has three starts left on a major medical extension. His last made cut was so long ago that the tournament it took place at -- A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier -- is no longer an event on the Tour. Hoffmann's story is worthy diving into, and there will be plenty of folks rooting for him this weekend at the Heritage.
2. Halfway point: Twenty-three weeks of the season have been played, and there are just 20 remaining. With Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith gobbling up six wins already, players like Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas -- all in this field -- who normally win at least once a year have yet to post a tally mark. There has been a strange mixture of disproportionate winning from Smith and Scheffler and a wave of first-time winners like J.J. Spaun, Luke List, Sepp Straka and Tom Hoge. It would be unusual for the D.J., J.T., Morikawa types to go a full season without a win, and this might be the spot where one of them breaks through.
3. What do we see from Jordan Spieth? Following his first ever missed cut at the Masters, Spieth will tee it up here for just the third time in the last seven years. After thriving early in his career, he hasn't played that well at Harbour Town over his last two outings. Interestingly, his ball-striking has actually been better than it was a season ago when he finished in the top five in seven of his 25 starts. However, his putter has been ice, and his normally-wizardly short game hasn't been quite as good as normal. He's somebody I'll be watching closely this week with major season now fully in swing.
Grading the field
When you consider the fact that it's a week after a major championship, this field is bordering on elite. It's the ninth-highest strength of field we've seen this year and includes five of the top 10 players in the world, including Masters contenders from a week ago, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas. In addition to several of the top players teeing it up, half of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings will also be in attendance, which is nearly unheard of for the week after the Masters. Grade: A
2022 RBC Heritage picks
| Winner (20-1): Fitzpatrick is quietly having a tremendous season. He has six top 20s in his last seven PGA Tour starts and three top 15s on this golf course in his last four starts here. Like the player I selected for a top 10 below, this course sets up nicely for Fitzpatrick, who is average in terms of distance off the tee but extremely accurate. Only five golfers in the field have a better strokes gained number over their last 20 rounds coming into this week. |
| Top 10 (+160): On paper, this course looks perfect for Morikawa. The one relative weakness he has from tee to green (distance off the tee) is mitigated by how little length Harbour Town requires. He's also coming in off a great Masters performance and finished T7 at this tournament last year despite not putting it whatsoever. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Morikawa get his first win of 2022 this week in a fairly loaded field. |
| Sleeper (50-1): Varner has been playing well of late with four consecutive made cuts and a top 10 at The Players followed by a top 25 at last week's Masters. He contended here last year with a T2, and I've been impressed with how solid he's been so far in 2022 up and down the bag. If he putts, he should be able to play his way onto the leaderboard here once again. |
