NEWSLETTER
Following the intensity of the Masters, the PGA Tour takes a short trip to Hilton Head Island and Harbour Town Golf Links for the 2024 RBC Heritage. This beloved event, traditionally known for its relaxed atmosphere, steps up its game in 2024 with one of the strongest fields ever assembled.
Harbour Town Golf Links, a picturesque par-71 course spanning 7,213 yards, is ensconced in the natural beauty of Sea Pines Resort. It presents a stark contrast to the wide-open spaces of Augusta National, demanding precision above all else. Its narrow fairways, doglegs, and small greens necessitate accurate tee shots and expert iron play. The past champions’ success stories are a testament to their finesse, showcasing their exceptional short games and wedge skills.
This relatively flat course ranked the 17th shortest on Tour, is a maze of tight fairways flanked by trees. While the usual Bermudagrass lies dormant in April, the ryegrass fairways and rough are overseeded, with Poa Trivialis putting surfaces on tap for this week. This year, the rough returns to a more manageable height after a significant increase last year.
Greens at Harbour Town are another story. The second smallest on Tour, they average a mere 3,700 square feet and run lightning-fast at 11.5 on the stimpmeter. Despite the seemingly easy lie, scoring can be a challenge. Precise tee shots are crucial – errant drives can be blocked by the omnipresent trees on approach shots. Water lurks on nine holes, further demanding pinpoint accuracy. Don’t expect a birdie bonanza; the combination of tight fairways, small greens, and coastal winds can quickly deflate GIR percentages, making pars a valuable commodity at Harbour Town.
The limited-field signature event format, with only 68 players competing, adds another layer of exclusivity. Even the world No. 1 and Masters champ, Scottie Scheffler, is tentatively listed despite his wife’s imminent childbirth.
While most golfers take a break after a major, the lure of a $20 million purse and valuable PIP points proves too strong to resist. The pressure may shift, but the competition remains fierce. Whether it’s Scheffler seeking yet another win or players like Homa and Morikawa aiming to rebound from a disappointing Sunday at Augusta National, the RBC Heritage promises a captivating display of resilience and elite shot-making.
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2024 RBC Heritage Sleepers and Longshots
Cameron Davis
Cam Davis has teed it up at Harbour Town three times, and it’s clear that he likes this track. A T25 in his debut was his lone finish outside the top 10, with a T7 last season and the aforementioned T3 with Young and Lowry back in 2022.
Like Young, Davis’s length off the tee would lead you off of him this week, but some of his best finishes on Tour have come at Colonial, Sedgefield, Sawgrass, and Harbour Town. He carried his T21 finish in Houston into his second appearance at the Masters, where he was inside the top 10 all week until a late bogey knocked him down to T12, which is still good enough to bring him back next year.
Davis is streaky, and a win is unlikely at 66/1, but I’ll lay -125 in this short field for him to finish inside the top 30 once again.
Taylor Moore
Taylor Moore has yet to miss a cut in 2024, and he’s currently in the middle of his best run to date. His T20 last week at the Masters comes on the back of his T2 finish in Houston and a T12 in his title defense at the Valspar in late March.
His approach play is behind his recent improvements, and that’s a prerequisite for success around Harbour Town. He finished T11 here last year in his debut against a similarly strong field, and I think he’s in the mix for another top-20 finish this week.
Austin Eckroat
Austin Eckroat struggled in his Masters debut, but that’s a feature, not a bug. He won the Cognizant Classic back in March, and his strong iron play has continued. His putter lets him down from time to time, but he’s capable of going low when dialed in.
He’s not going to win this signature event against the top players on Tour, but this is a spot where he can compete if his iron play holds up. He’s eighth in my Rabbit Hole model at Betsperts Golf this week, ranking among the top 10 in this week’s field in both long and short-term form on approach shots. I like him at +150 for a top-30 finish.
