With the fanfare of The Masters Tournament in the rear window, the PGA Tour heads to Hilton Head, South Carolina. The RBC Heritage (April 14-17) begins Thursday at Harbour Town. Here is analysis, gambling strategy, and prop bets to consider for your wagering enjoyment:
The Course
Harbour Town measures 7,100 yards and plays as a par 71. This classic Pete Dye design is one of the shorter tracks of the season and features the smallest greens on tour. Narrow fairways provide tricky angles off the tee, so longer hitters will be forced to keep their drivers in the bag for most of the round.
Strong iron players should be the focus of your betting cards this week. And if the wind picks up (as it usually does), players with low ball flights will have a scoring advantage.
Betting Strategy
One angle I like to shoot this week is to target golfers who did not play The Masters.
While the strength of the field is as good as it’s ever been here at Harbour Town (5 of the world’s top 10 tee up this week), players who battled the conditions at Augusta are prime for a letdown week. Guys like Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, and Dustin Johnson are a class above their peers this week, but it’s fair to question their energy and motivation after a tough test in Georgia.
As such, I think there’s a ton of value a little further down the oddsboard. Give me the well-rested and hungry players looking to secure a victory at longshot prices.
I’ll be adding the accurate-driving, solid iron players with good scrambling skills to my card this week. The combination of breezy conditions, tight fairways, and small greens favour golfers who keep the ball in play rather than the guys who bomb it off the tee.
Betting Props for RBC Heritage
The prop market for the RBC Heritage isn’t quite as lustrous as the one for The Masters, but here are a few options to add to your betting slip this week.
Brendan Grace, Top Player From South Africa +435 BetRivers
One of the guys who first caught my eye this week was Brendan Grace. A winner of this tournament in 2016, Grace typically plays his best golf when the wind is blowing. Since the breeze is one of Harbour Town’s only lines of defense, Grace should have an advantage. His lower ball flight and course history make him a worthy punt for an outright win, but I like +435 in a group that features only four other players from South Africa.
Jim Furyk Top 20 +700 PointsBet
Another former winner I like this week is Jim Furyk. An outright win at 250-to-1 odds is a lot to ask, but Furyk has the game to keep him in the conversation. A fairways and greens type of game has kept him competitive into his 50s, and he pops up on the first page of the leaderboard a few times a year. Familiar surroundings and the confidence of playing a course where he’s won before (2015 champion) should be enough to cash this ticket.
Kevin Streelman Top 10 +650, Top 20 +350 PointsBet
Sensing a theme here? Kevin Streelman is another shorter hitter who makes his money by competing on smaller tracks with narrow fairways and tiny greens. He’s entering the week well-rested and rides a three-tournament streak of top 25s. He’s also finished T-25 in four of his last five tournaments. Streelman has two top 10s in his last four trips to Harbour Town and strong finishes at Pebble Beach the last two years, another course with breezy conditions and small greens. This is a nice spot to target him.
Best Matchup Pick: Webb Simpson +105 vs. Daniel Berger Caesars
Getting Webb Simpson as an underdog at Harbour Town should be illegal. Simpson set the scoring record at Harbour Town back in 2020 after he torched the course and posted a -22 final score. He’s a perfect course fit here, and as much as I like Berger this week, Simpson as an underdog is great value. Grab it.
Build Your Own Triple-Digit Odds Basket
There are a ton of guys available in the stratosphere this week that are appealing. Choosing an outright winner in this range is damn near impossible, though.
Here are some guys you can target in various markets: head-to-head matchups, make the cut markets, and top 20 pieces. For the sake of the degenerates who can’t resist a longshot, I’m posting their outright odds.
At most I would suggest splitting one unit six ways and throwing a few darts on…
- Wesley Bryan 500/1 (2017 winner at Harbour Town, T25 last year)
- Graeme McDowell 400/1 (2013 winner at Harbour Town, T-13 Arnold Palmer Invitational)
- Pat Perez 300/1 (2 Top 10s last eight starts, including Pebble Beach)
- Jonathan Byrd 475/1 (Top 10 at Pebble Beach, similar course style)
- Zach Johnson 300/1 (3 Top 20s last eight starts, great on short tracks)
- Denny McCarthy 125/1 (11 of last 12 cuts, 7 Top 25s, T-13 here last year)
Gaming Today’s Bill Bowman: Looks to continue hot streak wtih RBC Heritage picks
Save That Bankroll
Hopefully some of these picks get us to the window this week. Don’t forget to save a good chunk of cash in case any live betting opportunities come up. The weather has been known to turn on a dime at Harbour Town and stir up the odds mid-tournament.
Plus, we’re just hitting the meat of the PGA Tour schedule, and we need to save some ammo for major season.
Good luck out there!
Also read: PGA Championship Odds on Tiger, Sheffler, Mickelson
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