After watching Jon Rahm win his first Green Jacket at The Masters, most of the PGA Tour’s top players will travel over the Georgia and South Carolina border to one of the most iconic vacation spots on the East Coast of the United States. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, is where Harbour Town Golf Links is located, which will be the course hosting the 2023 RBC Heritage. It’s now a designated event on the PGA Tour, meaning players will be competing for more FedExCup points and a bigger purse en route to the FedExCup playoffs slated to begin later this Summer. The biggest name to withdraw, amid some controversy, is Rory McIlroy, who failed to make the cut at The Masters and has subsequently withdrawn from the RBC Heritage.
Scottie Scheffler is set to make his debut at Harbour Town, while Rahm and Patrick Cantlay round out the top three outright betting favorites. Last year, Cantlay lost a sudden-death playoff to Jordan Spieth, who currently has the fifth-highest odds of winning and defending his title from a year ago. It’s important to note that Spieth has come out following his T4 finish at Augusta, speaking about exhaustion and his schedule, so it’ll be interesting to monitor his performance at Hilton Head. Other notable players to pay attention to include Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton, Jason Day, and Justin Thomas, who all rank 12th or better in strokes gained tee-to-green this season. Finding the greens on a shorter course is the recipe for a red scorecard, which is why quality iron players should be prioritized from a betting context this weekend.
Let’s look at the top-ten betting odds, course layout, and a couple of players with the experience, skill set, and current form to win outright ahead of Thursday’s opening round at the 2023 RBC Heritage.
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2023 RBC Heritage Odds
2023 RBC Heritage Betting Preview
Previous Winners
- 2022 - Jordan Spieth (-13)
- 2021 - Stewart Cink (-19)
- 2020 - Webb Simpson (-22)
- 2019 - C.T. Pan (-12)
- 2018 - Satoshi Kodaira (-12)
- 2017 - Wesley Bryan (-13)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
- Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee
- Driving Accuracy
- Sand Save percentage
- Strokes Gained Approaching the Green
Course Layout
Harbour Town Golf Links is a par 71 that runs just north of 7,200 yards. While it isn’t one of the lengthier courses, it puts a premium on finesse. Ball striking and accuracy with irons are going to keep players atop the leaderboard, as the Bermudagrass greens are some of the smallest on the PGA Tour, measuring 3,700 square feet on average. It’s twice as small as Augusta National and four times smaller than the links courses overseas so errant tee shots will create many problems.
Overseeded Bermudagrass is the surface on the fairways, rough, and greens, which will run roughly 12.5 feet via the Stimpmeter. It won’t be quite as fast as the Bentgrass surfaces at Augusta, but it has enough pace to get chips and long putts into the hole. Rows of low-hanging trees blanket narrow fairways, while the water hazards tend to pop up on the tee-to-green par 3s. Designed by the legendary golf architect Pete Dye, along with friend and golf icon Jack Nicklaus, Harbour Town has been the location for the RBC Heritage for over five decades. It’s been modified recently to bolster the sand bunker locations, with a few holes extended in length to create additional challenges.
Top Players to Bet for Outright RBC Heritage Winner
Scottie Scheffler (+850) (Bet $100 to collect $950) FanDuel Sportsbook has the best odds for Scottie Scheffler this week
Somehow, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is making his debut at Harbour Town this week. The 26-year-old logged a T10 finish at The Masters but has recorded two outright wins and hasn’t dipped outside of a T12 finish since The CJ Cup in October. Scheffler ranks first in strokes gained tee-to-green, which is a huge contributor towards his price as the outright betting favorite. 8/1 is fairly short as far as odds go, especially during a course debut, but Scheffler was dialed in with his irons at Augusta last weekend and should be able to transfer that momentum into a strong showing at Hilton Head. There’s no one better at finding the greens in regulation than Scheffler at 74.03 percent, so don’t hesitate to lay a hefty wager on the outright favorite making his debut at the RBC Heritage.
Patrick Cantlay (+1200) (Bet $100 to collect $1,300) Get the best odds for Patrick Cantlay at DraftKings Sportsbook
Last year, Patrick Cantlay came up short against Jordan Spieth in a playoff round at Harbour Town, but he had three rounds at three-under-par or lower. The 31-year-old is ranked first in par 5 scoring average, putting from three feet and scrambling from the fringe. We’re really here for Cantlay’s irons, which are powerful and precise, ranking sixth in total strokes gained, including seventh tee-to-green. He’s equipped with a reliable flat stick on the greens and is ranked second in total driving, accounting for accuracy and distance, so birdies should be plentiful during Cantlay’s return to the RBC Heritage. Cantlay’s previous finishes here are second, MC, T3, and T7, so he’s going to be a contender once Sunday afternoon arrives. Get ahead of it while his odds are sitting at 12/1.
Viktor Hovland (+2200) (Bet $100 to collect $2,300) Head to DraftKings Sportsbook for the best Viktor Hovland odds
After crushing the first round of The Masters at -7-under-par, Viktor Hovland wound up with two rounds over-par en route to a quiet T7 finish. The 25-year-old Norwegian will be another notable talent making his debut at Harbour Town on Thursday, as its recent status as a designated event has drawn the top players from the PGA Tour, which includes Hovland. He has juicy value currently at 22/1 odds for his outright win probability, so we need to take advantage of the low expectations that sportsbooks have towards Hovland. He’s ranked 15th in strokes gained tee-to-green, eighth in strokes gained off-the-tee, and 29th in strokes gained approaching the green. Additionally, Hovland is ranked fourth in total driving and is 21st in scrambling, which bodes well for his ability to save par if he cannot sustain greens in regulation. Let’s lay a unit on Hovland, who has recorded an outright win in each of his previous three years on the PGA Tour.
