Navigate

RBC Heritage PGA Betting Guide (2021)

by |

It was another historic Masters tournament, as Hideki Matsuyama (+5000) became the first Japanese golfer to ever put on the green jacket at Augusta National. Matsuyama stormed up the leaderboard on moving day thanks to a seven-under-par round of 65 and didn’t look back. In his Masters debut, Will Zalatoris impressed the golf world with a second-place showing, finishing just one stroke off of the lead. Featured in last week’s article, Jon Rahm turned in a T3 after firing a 66 on Sunday.

The PGA Tour will now head to South Carolina for the RBC Heritage Open. Despite coming a week after a Major, the field is still very strong, with plenty of elite talent in the mix.  135 golfers will tee it up for a chance to take home 500 FedEx Cup points.

Coming off a missed cut at the Masters, world number one, Dustin Johnson (+1200), headlines the field. After breaking the 72-hole-record at the event in 2020, Webb Simpson (+1300) will attempt to defend his title. He will be in for a challenge with big names like Collin Morikawa (+1700), Patrick Cantlay (+1700), and Daniel Berger (+2100) in the mix.

 

Get a sign-up bonus up to $1,000 at DraftKings Sportsbook >>

Previous Winners

  • 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
  • 2019: C.T. Pan (-12)
  • 2018: Satoshi Kodaira (-12)
  • 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
  • 2016: Brandon Grace (-9)

Course Preview

The RBC Heritage will be played at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. One of the shortest courses on Tour, Harbour Town measures just 7,099 yards. Instead of bentgrass, golfers will play on Bermuda greens this week. Similar to Colonial, the fairways here are narrow and tree-lined. Position off the tee will be pivotal for golfers to have the right angle into the greens. The course is a Pete Dye design that forces golfer into plenty of blind approach shots.

One thing to remember this week is that the wind can be a huge factor. The course is situated on Hilton Head Island, so the coastal breeze can greatly affect the scoring conditions. This is something to keep in mind when considering your player pool and while stacking tee times if you’re playing showdown. Also, the players’ game around the green will be crucial with the small greens.

Relevant Betting Stats

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Par 4 scoring
  • Opportunities Gained
  • Putting on Bermuda greens

Outright Betting Picks

Collin Morikawa  (+2100 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
There’s no better player on Tour with an iron in their hand than Morikawa right now. The 24-year-old leads the PGA in strokes gained: approach and has the ideal skill set for this course. He ranks sixth in driving accuracy and fifth in GIR. Harbour Town features very tight fairways and plenty of blind approach shots. Morikawa should give himself ample amounts of scoring opportunities and will be in a good position to get his second win of the season.

Abraham Ancer (+3000 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Ancer has piled up nine top-25s in 15 events this season. However, the 30-year-old is not satisfied as he is still searching for his first PGA Tour win. This week presents a glorious chance for the Mexican, as he placed T2 here last year, and the course sets up perfect for him. Ancer led the field in strokes gained: approach here last year and finished second in strokes gained: tee-to-green. If he has an above-average week with the putter, look out.

Longshot Betting Picks

Charlie Hoffman (+4000 on DraftKings Sportsbook) 
Hoffman is another player I fancy this week because of his strong recent form. The 44-year-old is coming off of a T2 at the Valero Texas Open and has a T17 (Players Championship) and a T10 (Arnold Palmer Invitational) to his name in his last four times out. He knows his way around the course with finishes of T6 (2013),  T14 (2016), and T23 (2018). Hoffman ranks 20th in strokes gained: total in 2021.

Si-Woo Kim (+4500 on DraftKings Sportsbook) 
At just 25-years-old, Kim has three PGA Tour victories and is knocking on the door of his fourth. He is coming off an excellent week at Augusta National (12th place) and goes into Harbour Town, where he has had success in the past. Kim is a Pete-Dye specialist who lost in a playoff here in 2018. With three top-25 finishes in his last four events, he is worth backing at a favorable number here.

Other Betting Picks

Brian Harman – Top-5 Finish (+650 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
It’s been an amazing stretch of golf for Harman over the past month. Harman followed up his third place at the Players Championship with a fifth at the WGC-Match Play and a 12th at the Masters last week. The 34-year-old now goes to a place that is much more suited for his game. His lack of distance off the tee won’t hinder him at Harbour Town. Harman just has to keep putting the ball in the fairway and setting himself up for comfy numbers. He has two top-10s to his name at this event (2014, 2017.

Kevin Na – Top-10 Finish (+300 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Another short hitter with five career PGA Tour victories to his name, Na carries good form into South Carolina. The 37-year-old had a T12 at the Masters last week and now goes to a course better suited for his skill-set. It’s no surprise to see that Na had a T4 here in 2016 and a T10 in 2019. He is very elite with his short irons and is a magician around the greens. On Pete Dye designs, having a nice touch around the greens is key due to numerous blind approach shots. Na can also get scorching hot with the flat stick.

Event Plays

Join the BettingPros Discord Chat for Live Betting Advice >>


Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our How To Bet and Sports Betting Strategy and Advice pages are for you. You can get started with our Sports Betting 101 Section — including 10 Sports Betting Tips for Beginners â€” or head to more advanced sports betting strategy — like Key Numbers When Betting Against the Spread â€” to learn more.

Nic Turner is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Nic, check out his archive and follow him @sportzbandit.

Golf