The first major is in the books and you would think that most of the stars on the PGA Tour were ready to take the week off following the Masters. That is not the case. The PGA Tour heads to Hilton Head, South Carolina this week to play the RBC Heritage. This is another “signature event.” That means the there will be $20M in prize money up for grabs and 41 of the top-50 players in the World Golf Rankings will be teeing it up Thursday. It should be a fun week to play a DFS contest, but watch the entry list because there could be some withdrawals this week.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
Harbour Town Golf Links is short for the tour professionals. The course plays 7,100-yards; par 71, with only three par 5’s which are reachable in two shots for every golfer in the field. What make this course difficult are the trees which line the fairways and the smallest greens on tour. The golfers will have to be accurate off the tee to setup easier approaches to the pins. Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy with the irons is what we are looking for this week.
Click here to see the course: Harbour Town Golf Links
KEY STATS FOR RBC HERITAGE
– Stroke Gained Approach (150-yards – 175-yards)
– Strokes Gained Putting (Bermuda)
– Ball Striking
– Birdie or Better %
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
TOP 30 GOLFER RANKINGS
* Scottie Scheffler would be ranked No. 1 if I knew he was playing all four rounds.
CORE GOLFERS FOR RBC HERITAGE
RBC HERITAGE STRATEGY
There are only 69 golfers in the field right now. We could see a few more WD before Thursday. The big name that everyone is waiting for is Scottie Scheffler. He said before the Masters that he would leave if his wife went into labor. I am sure the same rule applies this week. It will be tough to build lineups until we know the status of Scheffler. I am fading Scheffler this week in the Multi-Entry list that I posted below. I will have some exposure to Scottie Scheffler by playing him in some Thursday Showdown Contests. Here is the Showdown Contest I like for Thursday…
There are rumors that Rory McIlroy is leaving the PGA Tour for the LIV Tour. McIlroy said the rumors are totally false, but there is still a risk in playing him. I am fading McIlroy simply because his form is not great and this course does not set up well for his game like the longer courses on tour do.
The RBC Heritage is a non-cut event. All golfers will play all four rounds, so we do not need to worry about playing it safe and getting 6/6 golfers through the cut. There really is no difference between Cash and Tournament Contest strategies this week. We simply need to build the best lineups possible. I will be targeting the best ball-strikers with the best course history.
Harbour Town Golf Links is a ball-strikers paradise. We should be able to find the best golfers for our lineups by looking at the players who rank the highest in ball-striking, shots gained approach and proximity to the hole with their approach shots. These greens are the smallest on tour, so we want the golfers who can attack the pins this week.
Here are the top golfers in ball-striking, shots gained approach and proximity to the hole in their last 16 rounds (4 tournaments played)…
* We can find value picks for our lineups by looking at the above chart.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
PATRICK CANTLAY ($10,200): This pick is all about course history. Cantlay only ranks 32nd in the key stats and his form has been up and down this year. He always shows up and plays well at the RBC Heritage. Cantlay finished 3rd, 2nd, MC, 3rd, 7th and 3rd in his six trips to Harbour Town Golf Link. He was injured the year he missed the cut. Cantlay played well at the Masters last week, so that is enough form for me to trust him at the top of my Cash Contest lineup this week.
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK ($9,600): Fitzpatrick is another horse for the course. He won the RBC Heritage last year, fourth in 2021 and 14th in 2020 and 2018. Fitzpatrick enters this week tournament with some good recent form. He finished fifth at THE PLAYERS, 10th at the Valero Texas Open and 22nd last week at the Masters. This is one of the best courses for Fitzpatrick so I will trust him in my Cash Contest lineup.
BRIAN HARMAN ($7,800): This is a home game for Harman this week. He is from Savanah, Georgia, but now lives in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Harbour Town Golf Links is his home course. Harman finished seventh in the RBC Heritage last year and 13th in 2021. He missed the cut last week at the Masters, but I am not worried about it. I am sure Harman went back home Friday night to start preparing for the RBC Heritage. I expect Harman to play will at home this week.
CHRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT ($7,600): There is a lot to like about C-Bez this week. He should be rested since he did not play the Masters last week. C-Bez played the RBC Heritage three times and never missed the cut. That includes a 19th-place finish last year. He also enters the tournament in good form. C-Bez finished 13th at THE PLAYERS, 9th at the Valspar and 25th at the Valero Texas Open. He ranks 10th in the key stats, so I will take a chance with him this week.
CAMERON DAVIS ($7,400): Davis is one of my favorite plays in the $7K price range this week. His course history is outstanding. Davis finished seventh in the RBC Heritage last year and third in 2022. He has never missed a cut in this tournament. His recent form is good too. Davis finished 18th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 21st at the Texas Houston Open and 12th last week at the Masters. Davis knows how to play Harbour Town Golf Links so I will have him in my lineup this week.
TAYLOR MOORE ($7,400): Moore finished 11th at the RBC Heritage last year. That is not a lot of course history to work with, but I also picked Moore because of his recent form. Moore has not missed a cut all season (10/10). He finished 12th at the Valspar three weeks ago, second at the Texas Houston Open two weeks ago and 20th last week at the Masters. Moore is a good, safe option as the anchor to your Cash Contest lineup.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
LUDVIG ARVERG ($10,400): The ownership for Arverg may be lower than it should be this week. He sits between two of the top golfers this week (Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay). I will pivot off of Schauffele and Cantlay and take a chance with Arverg. He does not have any course history at Harbour Town Golf Links, but he did not have any course history at Augusta National and he finished second in the Masters. Arverg has the game to win this week, so I will use him as the top golfer in my Tournament Contest lineup.
CAMERON YOUNG ($8,700): I really like Young this week. He finished third in the RBC Heritage in 2022, so he has some course history. He also finished second at the Valspar and ninth at the Masters, so his recent form is good. Young ranks No. 6 in Ball-Striking and No. 5 in SG Approach. He should have a good chance to win Sunday.
SHANE LOWRY ($8,500): Lowry checks all of the boxes this week. He finished third in 2022, ninth in 221 and third in 20219 at the RBC Heritage, so his course history is excellent. Lowry has made seven cuts in a row on the PGA Tour, so his recent form is good. Lowry ranks No. 5 in Ball-Striking and No. 5 in SG Approach, his iron game is one of the best in the field. I would not be surprised to see Lowry at the top of the leaderboard this week.
COREY CONNERS ($8,300): I want elite ball-strikers in my lineup and it is tough to find a golfer as good as Conners this week. He ranks No. 4 in Ball-Striking, No. 2 in SG Approach and No. 2 in Proximity to the hole. The tiny greens are going to be tough to hit, but maybe not for Conners. He has made four cuts in a row at the RBC Heritage. That includes a fourth-place finish in 2021 and a 12th-place finish in 2022. Conners elite iron play should give him a good chance to finish in the top-10 this week.
AKSHAY BHATIA ($7,700): No one is talking about Bhatia this week. He just won two weeks at the Valero Texas Open. There were reports that he hurt his should during his win, but he was still able to finish 35th in his first trip to the Masters. Bhatia ranks No. 2 in Ball-Striking, No. 4 in SG Approach and No. 7 in Proximity to the hole. He should be knocking down the flag-sticks at Harbour Town Golf Links this week.
AUSTIN ECKROAT ($6,400): I haven’t seen a cheap golfer pop off the page, like Eckroat did this week when I ran the key stats for this tournament. Eckroat ranks No. 3 in Ball-Striking, No. 3 in SG Approach and No. 3 in Proximity to the hole. This dude is deadly accurate. His only flaw is that he ranks 187th on the PGA Tour in Driving Distance. That is not going to be an issue at this short course. The stats love Eckroat this week, so I will take a chance with him for only $6,400 in a no-cut event.
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contest: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the sixth tournament in Segment 2. There are 11 tournaments in this segment (one more than usual). That includes the Masters and the PGA Championship. There are also two “signature events” in this segment (RBC Heritage and the Wells Fargo Championship). This is going to be a tough segment to navigate, so use your allocations wisely.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: MATTHEW FITZPATRICK (RBC HERITAGE)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Jon Rahm (45th), Hideki Matsuyama (7th), Will Zalatoris (74th), Maverick McNealy (45th), Justin Thomas (MC), Scottie Scheffler (Won), Russell Henley (41st), Tony Finau (13TH), Sahith Theegala (37th), Sam Burns (3rd), Max Homa (66th), Jason Day (MC), Taylor Montgomery (61st), Corey Conners (57th)
SEASON-LONG ONE & DONE PICK: PATRICK CANTLAY (RBC HERITAGE)
One & Done picks used so far this season: Jon Rahm (45th), Corey Conners (25th), Keith Mitchell (MC), Sam Burns (MC), Shane Lowry (19th), Matthew Fitzpatrick (MC), Eric Cole (MC), Nicolai Hojgaard (52nd), Adam Scott (19th), J.T. Poston (MC), Jordan Spieth (39th), Keegan Bradley (43rd), Andrew Putnam (47th), Russell Henley (4th), Sungae Im (5th), Alex Noran (Won), Beau Hossler (15TH), Min Woo Lee (6th), Adam Schenk (MC), Eric Cole (35TH), Sahith Theegala (Won)
BEST BETS RBC HERITAGE
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK (22-1)
CAMERON YOUNG (25-1)
SHANE LOWRY (35-1)
COREY CONNERS (45-1)
CAM DAVIS (50-1)
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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