Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2022 RBC Heritage
RBC Heritage Fantasy Preview
Only time will tell if Scottie Scheffler is on the most incredible heater run or destined for golf’s all-time hall of fame.
But one thing that is for sure is that, 58 days after winning his maiden PGA TOUR title, Scheffler has earned a slice of history that nobody can take away from him.
The newly-minted Masters champion will have a green jacket in his closet until the end of time, thanks to an extraordinary performance at Augusta in which he threatened to break all sorts of records.
At one point, Scheffler was seven shots clear of the field, and it was only a minor wobble on Saturday that prevented him from building on that sizable cushion.
Striking the ball tremendously well, Scheffler ranked second in the field for birdies made and tied fourth for fewest bogeys – confirmation of his all-round brilliance.
He’s not the most demonstrative of fellows, nor the most controversial or headline-making, and so you worry that his achievements could get lost in the post somewhat. But three PGA TOUR wins and a major in two months, franked by an ascent to world number one, are confirmation of Scheffler’s majesty.
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Indeed, only Tiger Woods has won four times in a single season, with a major and WGC included, and now he may even be eyeing an extraordinary feat – becoming the first player to win ten PGA TOUR events in a calendar year since Ben Hogan in 1948.
So comprehensive was Scheffler’s victory that there were no hard luck stories on the part of anyone else, with only Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy even getting a sniff of the green jacket. It made for a pretty dull spectacle, truth be told, but the Scheffler household won’t give a damn about that.
There’s no rest for the wicked, however, and many of the big names from Augusta are making the short trip to the Harbour Town Links for this week’s Rbc Heritage.
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
RBC Heritage Field
Respect should go to the tournament officials this week given that they have been able to assemble a quality field just a week after a major.
Fresh from their top-10 finishes at Augusta, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Corey Conners and Sungjae Im will all head to Harbour Town, where they will be joined by Dustin Johnson and Patrick Cantlay.
The in-form Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick will join the decidedly out of form Jordan Spieth, who missed his first ever cut at The Masters at the weekend.
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Course specialists like Webb Simpson and Ian Poulter will also try to maintain their fine records at this layout, while defending champion Stewart Cink will be on hand to return the tartan jacket he won 12 months ago.
This Week’s Course Preview
You might think it’s a case of ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ when you hear that the players are switching from Augusta to a Pate Dye design.
But in truth, Harbour Town Links finds Dye in rather more generous mood than normal, and this is a golf course that can be got at when the weather suits.
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Yes, it feature’s Dye’s tiny upturn saucer style greens, and water is in play on 17 holes, but other variables are in the players’ favor – such as some of the shortest rough on TOUR, which affords some leeway to errant tee shots.
While it has Links in its name, Harbour Town plays host to a huge number of trees, and so the coastal real estate is offered some protection from the breeze – although not complete coverage, and the winning score will be largely determined by how windy it gets this week.
Measuring 7,100 yards for its Par 71, Harbour Town features three gettable Par 5s as well as a 332-yard Par 4 – plenty will look to take this on with a prevailing wind. But look out for the eighteenth hole….more over-par scores were made here than birdies and eagles in 2021.
Weather Forecast for Hilton Head, SC
Although the forecast for Friday is looking a bit tricky – more on that shortly, for the most part it looks set to be a relatively benign week on Hilton Head island.
Thursday looks likely to be the warmest day but also the windiest, according to the early forecast, with 77˚F and around 13mph the numbers to know.
Friday has the dreaded ‘scattered thunderstorms’ in its predictions, although how much rain will fall is, as ever, something of a guessing game.
The weekend is set fair with warm temperatures, sunny spells and winds that might only just creep into the double digits in miles per hour.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND WEATHER
Last Year’s Results from the RBC Heritage
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Stewart Cink clinched his second PGA TOUR win of the season at the RBC Heritage last year – clinching the third biggest payday of a more than two-decade long career.
He bombed and scrambled his way to an opening pair of 63s, and even though he was joined by a classy field nobody could really trouble the veteran after that outstanding start.
Smith and Morikawa had opened with rounds of 62 and 65 respectively, although they couldn’t capitalize on their bright starts (although both would finish inside the top 10).
Rounds of 64 from Conners, Fitzpatrick and Emiliano Grillo on Friday kept them interested, while Cink’s 69 on Saturday somewhat opened the door for others to prosper.
But the three-time Harbour Town winner kept his nerve on Sunday, playing a trouble-free front nine in -1 to keep all others at bay and eventually close out a four-shot victory.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the RBC Heritage this Week
There might feel like there’s a post-Masters lull, but it’s full steam ahead with the RBC Heritage and a wide range of contests. For us, given the wide open nature of the event, single entry is the way to go….
- PGA $250k Driver: It’s all or nothing here with a $50k top prize to play for and just 1,388 single entry teams allowed. The upside from this contest is tremendous.
- PGA $400k Drive the Green: For a lower budget option, dive in to this $5 contest that still pays a handsome $50k to the winner and an array of consolation prizes.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the RBC Heritage
In the space of ten months, Cink and Webb Simpson (the latter in a rescheduled June timeslot) had won the RBC Heritage….and it’s hard to imagine two players of completely contrasting styles.
Cink bombed his way to glory last year – he found just 55% of fairways from an average driving distance of 311 yards, but he hit some fantastic irons out of some pretty forgivable rough to set up numerous birdie opportunities.
Simpson was rather more circumspect off the tee as you would expect, but his -22 was the lowest winning score in tournament history – albeit assisted by an enjoyably benign set of conditions.
The point we’re trying to make is that all sorts of players can prevail at Harbour Town – the likes of C.T. Pan, Satoshi Kodaira and Wes Bryan are also engraved on the winner’s board here, and so finding hooks on which to hang our hat this week are difficult.
Despite the fine record of Simpson and others here, there’s no harm in drafting a bomber or two this week. With low cut rough, hitting it 300 yards off the tee and then trying to land fluffy wedges on the tiny greens from 100 yards or so seems a fair enough tactic on the Par 4s, and in some regards those are the key holes on this layout given that the whole field will enjoy lots of chances on the pretty short Par 5s – the second hole measures just 502 yards.
But it should be said that bombing with some accuracy in mind is key – every single hole at Harbour Town saw at least one double bogey or worse 12 months ago.
Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the RBC Heritage
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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2021-2022)
Tourneys Played '21 -'22
Season Earnings YTD
Total Top 3s
Total Top 10s
Total Top 25s
Total Winners Picked
Total Runners-Up Picked
Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)
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