RBC HERITAGE: The week after The Masters is always a bit of a comedown, but a fairly strong field has made the trek to Hilton Head Island this week for the 48th edition of the RBC Heritage. From the players’ perspective, the main draw here is the golf course: Harbour Town Golf Links is a coastal gem that features tight fairways, tiny greens, and one of the most iconic finishing holes in all of golf. Designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus in 1969, Harbour Town has hosted this tournament in every year of its existence and continues to challenge players despite its modest length (just over 7,100 yards from the tips).
Jim Furyk is the defending champion but he’s still nursing a wrist injury and will not play this week, while several other top players are recuperating from The Masters and won’t be present either. World No. 1 Jason Day will be in attendance, though, and he tops BETDAQ’s win market at 7.2, followed by Brandt Snedeker (19.0) and Paul Casey (19.5). Length off the tee will not be much of a factor this week, but iron play and scrambling will be at a premium. And don’t get too wrapped up in how guys played at Augusta, as four of the past five winners of this event have either missed the cut or not played in the Masters the week prior to winning.
We’ve got a little money to burn after hitting on Danny Willett at 86.0 last week; hopefully we can keep it going with these three selections:
WIN MARKET
Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)
Brandt Snedeker (19.0)- Snedeker loves it at Harbour Town, winning this event back in 2011 and making 8 of 10 cuts here over the course of his career. He’s playing well now, too, as he followed up his strong performance in the WGC Match Play with a 10th-place finish at The Masters last week. With his injury issues seemingly behind him, Snedeker is poised for a big summer and now he returns to a place that’s perfectly suited for his game and chock-full of good memories. He’s a safe bet to contend this week.
Kevin Na (48.0)- Na’s Masters week was marred by a ghastly 85 in the third round, but he played solid golf for most of the tournament and he entered the week on a high note after back-to-back top-25 finishes in the WGC Match Play and the Valspar Championship. His style of play seems tailor made for Harbour Town and indeed he’s had plenty of success in this event, making six of eight cuts and cracking the top-10 three times. He hasn’t won on Tour in awhile, but he’s logged four top-5 finishes in his last 13 starts so he’s obviously comfortable around the lead. Na is a great value at nearly 60/1.
Scott Brown (74.0)- A South Carolina native, Brown has played dozens of rounds at Harbour Town and has shown that he knows his way around the course, making the cut in all three of his appearances in this tournament and finishing 5th in 2014. He didn’t play The Masters last week but his recent form has been outstanding, with a 5th-place showing in Puerto Rico and top-10s at the Valspar Championship and Honda Classic highlighting his recent schedule. He may be a bit of a longshot, but at 74.0 Brown is well worth a bet.
TOURNAMENT MATCH BETS
Justin Thomas (1.91) vs. Branden Grace (1.91)
Thomas played well in this event last year, finishing 11th in his debut appearance, but his game doesn’t seem like a natural fit for the golf course and he’s been a bit erratic lately, finishing 35th or worse in six of his last eight starts. Grace missed the cut in Augusta last week, but he won the Qatar Master two months ago and has logged top-25s in two WGC events since then. Plus, Grace finished 7th in this tournament last year. Recommendation: Grace at 1.91
Jason Dufner (1.91) vs. Luke Donald (1.91)
Dufner has a solid history at Harbour Town but he’s struggled of late, logging just one top-10 finish in his last eight tournaments. Donald hasn’t had many results to get excited about lately, either, but he’s a veritable cash register at this event, finishing either second or third in 5 of his 10 career starts here. Bottom line: betting against Donald at Harbour Town is not a wise move. Recommendation: Donald at 1.91
