Out of the Rough: RBC Heritage (2026)

From the Green Jacket to the Plaid Jacket.

With the Masters Tournament behind us, the PGA Tour turns its attention to Harbour Town Golf Links for this week’s RBC Heritage.

This was once an event that drew the short-end-of-the-stick, dealing with the Masters ‘hang-over.’ For the fourth consecutive season, the RBC Heritage will play under Signature Event status and therefore, we’ll see the Tour’s best tee it up this week in South Carolina.

The event is held annually at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Islands, just a mere 142 miles from Augusta National and has been a staple of the PGA Tour since 1969.

What was once described as a relaxing trip to the lowcountry of South Carolina after the stress of the Masters and the first major of the season will be no longer as it comes with a $20 Million purse for grabs.

The Field

As is with each of these Signature Events across the season, the field remains consistent. All of the Tour’s best will be teeing it up this week.

All but the likes of Rory McIlroy (No. 2) and Hideki Matsuyama  (No. 14) who are two within the top 25 of the Official World Golf Rankings not playing this week.

Justin Thomas comes in as the defending champion as he held off Andrew Novak in a Playoff a season ago.

Other former winners of this event playing this week include Scottie Scheffler (2024,) Matt Fitzpatrick (2023) and Jordan Spieth (2022.)  

The Course

Harbour Town Golf Links is a course that makes up for its lack of length with tight fairways and the smallest greens on the entirety of the PGA Tour.

The Pete Dye designed course plays as a par 71 and comes in at around 7,100 yards

Harbour Town’s biggest defense is the size of its greens. As previously mentioned, the greens are the smallest on Tour. As well as being smaller in size, they are contoured in a way to challenge even the game’s best putters.

Along with the challenges on the greens, the combination of the fairways being both tight and tree lined with overhanging mossy oaks makes getting off-the-tee a challenge.

The course annually ranks as the venue with the fewest drives over 300 yards and shortest average driving distances on the PGA Tour. Harbour Town’s average distance off the tee is 268 yards as the PGA Tour average sits at roughly 302 yards.

Although finding the fairway at any track is important, Harbour Town is one of the few courses on the PGA Tour where driving means very little. Traditionally speaking from a statistics standpoint, Strokes Gained: Off the Tee means less than Strokes Gained: Around the Green among top-ten finishers. That is very rare on the PGA Tour.

Heck, a lot of the holes this week are structured in a way where being in the right rough generates better birdie opportunities than being situated in the left section of the fairway.

The greens in regulation percentage (GIR%) at Harbour Town too is among the lowest on Tour in terms of average. Due to its Tour smallest greens in size, the course boasts a GIR% of 58-percent. Taking advantage of the proper angle will be imperative to scoring.

In the end, players are treated to an 18th hole that sits flush to the Calibogue Sound. Along with the famed red-and-white lighthouse standing sentry over the green, this creates one of the most scenic settings on all of the PGA Tour.

Additionally, playoffs have become the norm here at Harbour Town. Three-of-the-last-four events resulted in a playoff. Eleven-of-the-25 events dating back to 2021 have ended in a playoff as well.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Thursday, Friday and Saturday currently call for just a five-percent chance of precipitation. Sunday is calling for a ten-percent chance. Temperatures will begin the week at 80-degrees on Thursday before peaking at 82-degrees on Friday. Temperatures will settle to 81-degrees on Saturday and 79-degrees on Sunday. Winds will remain steady at 10 miles-per-hour across Thursday and Saturday. Winds are set at nine miles-per-hour for Friday and 11 miles-per-hour on Sunday. In all, a great four days for golf.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda (SG: PUTT Bermuda)

• Good Drives Gained

• Scrambling

• Proximity to the Hole from 125-200 Yards

• Bogey Avoidance

• Ball Striking

Betting Card

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2400)

We’re back on the Fitzpatrick train. Fitzpatrick placed 18th last week at the Masters Tournament. Prior to that he won the Valspar Championship, placed second at THE PLAYERS Championship, 41st at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 24th at The Genesis Invitational, 14th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, ninth at the WM Phoenix Open and 63rd at The American Express this season. He is currently first on Tour in ball striking, second in both GIR% and good drives gained, seventh in SG: APP, ninth in proximity to the hole from 125-200 yards, 15th in bogey avoidance, 22nd in SG: ATG, 31st in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 51st in scrambling. He placed 38th at this event a season ago and 28th in 2024. He won the 2023 installment of the RBC Heritage, missed the cut in 2022, placed fourth in 2021 and 14th in 2020. Per my stats based model, he is my overall favorite to win this week. 

Viktor Hovland (+4500)

When it comes to proximity to the hole from 125-200 yards, there is no one better on Tour this season than Hovland. He is also 19th on Tour in SG: APP, 33rd in SG: ATG, 40th in scrambling, 45th in bogey avoidance, 63rd in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 67th in ball striking, 96th in good drives gained and 100th in GIR%. He placed 18th last week at the Masters Tournament and missed the cut at the Valspar Championship. Prior to that he placed 13th at THE PLAYERS Championship, 13th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 41st at The Genesis Invitational, 58th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and tenth at the WM Phoenix Open this season. He placed 13th here a season ago, 59th in 2023 and 21st in 2020. 

Chris Gotterup (+5000)

Gotterup was impressive last week in his debut at Augusta National, placing 24th. Prior to that he placed sixth at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, 56th at THE PLAYERS Championship, 18th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, missed the cut at The Genesis Invitational, placed 37th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, won the WM Phoenix Open, placed 18th at the Farmers Insurance Open and won the Sony Open in Hawaii. Gotterup is currently 26th on Tour in SG: ATG, 29th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 30th in ball three of SG: APP, GIR% and ball striking, 39th in bogey avoidance, 80th in scrambling, 102nd in proximity to the hole from 125-200 yards and 106th in good drives gained. He’ll be making his debut at the RBC Heritage this week. 

Ryan Gerard (+10000)

Gerard is currently third on Tour in proximity to the hole from 125-200 yards, eighth in good drives gained, 12th in both SG: APP and GIR%, 13th in ball striking, 53rd in bogey avoidance, 72nd in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 128th in scrambling and 134th in SG: ATG. He too played the Masters Tournament last week where he placed 38th. Prior to that he missed the cut at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, placed 27th at THE PLAYERS Championship, 51st at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 23rd at the Cognizant Classic, 28th at The Genesis Invitational, 45th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, 11th at the Farmers Insurance Open, second at The American Express and second at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He also placed 27th here a season ago. 

Brian Harman (+12500)

Harman has great course history here dating back to 2020. He placed third here a season ago, 12th in 2024, seventh in 2023, 35th in 2022, 13th in 2021 and 28th in 2020. He also has been in decent form on the PGA Tour coming into this week. He placed 33rd last week at the Masters Tournament, 39th at the Valero Texas Open and 11th at THE PLAYERS Championship. I went with course history and recent form with Harman over what his stats tell us for this selection. He is currently 56th on Tour in SG: ATG, 59th in proximity to the hole from 125-200 yards, 70th in good drives gained, 79th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 100th in SG: APP, 108th in scrambling, 120th in ball striking, 130th in GIR% and 136th in bogey avoidance.

2025 Betting Card

• Russell Henley (+2800) - T8th

• Jason Day (+4000) - T49th

• Sepp Straka (+4500) - T13th

• Denny McCarthy (+6000) - T49th

• Nick Taylor (+17000) - T49th

• Ryo Hisatsune (+22000) - T18th

2024 Betting Card

• Max Homa (+2500) - T55th

• Sahith Theegala (+3500) - 2nd

• Russell Henley (+5000) - T12th

• Chris Kirk (+6000) - T10th

• Matthieu Pavon (+10000) - T49th

• Andrew Putnam (+15000) - T18th

2023 Betting Card

• Jon Rahm (+850) - T15th

• Tony Finau (+2900) - T31st

• Max Homa (+3100) - MC

• Tom Kim (+4100) - MC

• Matt Kuchar (+4500) - T19th

• Andrew Putnam (+21000) - T59th