RBC HERITAGE<\/p>\n
Purse: $20M Tournament Preview<\/p>\n The RBC Heritage has long been in a favorable position. It doesn’t matter that the tournament is played the week after the Masters — the golfers love playing at Harbour Town, and that was the case years before it became a Signature Event.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tournament organizers bask in the tailwinds blowing from Augusta National, riding the wave of the Masters winner continuing his victory tour and looking to add the RBC winner’s plaid sportscoat to his green jacket.<\/p>\n But not last year. And not again this year.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy<\/a> — perhaps you’ve heard he won the Masters for the second straight year — has taken a pass on the tournament once again. Mind you, McIlroy wasn’t coming regardless of winning. We should see him next in two weeks when the Tour returns to Doral for the new Cadillac Championship.<\/p>\n Most of the top players will play. World No. 1 (and still by a large margin) Scottie Scheffler<\/a>, who was the 2024 RBC winner, heads the 82-man, no-cut field along with Cameron Young<\/a>, Xander Schauffele<\/a>, Collin Morikawa<\/a>, defending champion Justin Thomas<\/a> and 2022 winner Jordan Spieth<\/a>. Spieth got in via the Aon Next 10, along with Jake Knapp<\/a>, Sahith Theegala<\/a> and Gary Woodland<\/a>, among others. Young Johnny Keefer<\/a> leads the Aon Swing 5 entries. The four sponsor invites are Wyndham Clark<\/a>, Tony Finau<\/a>, Billy Horschel<\/a> and Marco Penge<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The World No. 1 is headed back to Harbour Town! \ud83c\udf34 \u2014 RBC Heritage (@RBC_Heritage) April 7, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n In all, 41 of the top 50 of the OWGR are playing. Besides McIlroy, Justin Rose<\/a>, Hideki Matsuyama<\/a> and Adam Scott<\/a> are sitting this one out.<\/p>\n Before this became a Signature Event, you’d have thought the top players would’ve liked to break the week after a grueling major. But so many of them love, love, love this 1969 Pete Dye design that they came back year after year and year. Harbour Town is the only course this tournament has ever been played on. In 1969, an aging Arnold Palmer, winless for more than a year, came to Hilton Head Island and captured the inaugural Heritage Golf Classic.<\/p>\n So why have so many greats made this an annual part of their schedule? Maybe because Harbour Town reminds of a bygone era, when golf courses weren’t a-thousandy-billion yards long. No, this quaint little track checks in at 7,200ish yards — it even played at under 7.100 last year on Sunday — and the golfers will have to be more tacticians than bombers. Matt Kuchar<\/a> once said that the narrow, tree-lined fairways, dog legs, water hazards and tiny greens “make it exciting to try to truly play chess around this golf course.” Kuchar got his checkmate when he won the tournament in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n When precision and strategy beat power from players, every shot matters.<\/p>\n Welcome to Harbour Town. \u26f3\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/G9auFBeTMW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RBC Heritage (@RBC_Heritage) February 10, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n After a number of years of somewhat lesser guys winning this tournament, the past four years have seen bigger names come out on top. Spieth won at 13-under four years ago in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay<\/a> before Matt Fitzpatrick<\/a> turned the tables a year later and made Spieth a playoff loser after they ended regulation at 17-under. Two years ago, Scheffler’s 19-under score was three better than Theegala and four ahead of Cantlay and Clark. Last year, Thomas opened with a 10-under 61 en route to 17-under and playoff win over Andrew Novak<\/a>.<\/p>\n Harbour Town’s best defenses are wind, water on every hole and the poa overseed greens that average a mere 3,700 square feet, the smallest on Tour save Pebble Beach. The tiny putting surfaces make getting on the green in regulation a challenge. This is traditionally one of the hardest GIR weeks of the season and therefore there is a premium on scrambling and play around the green.<\/p>\n A few years ago, they cut the rough in half, from 2.5 inches to 1.25, but now it’s up to 1.5, according to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) fact sheet. This year, they’ve added 30 yards to the course.<\/p>\n The signature hole is the 18th, a 478-yarder leading to the famed red-and-white-striped lighthouse and marina. Fittingly, it usually among the hardest holes on the course. It is six yards longer than a year ago. They also added 12 yards apiece to the now 422-yard 1st hole and the 431-yard 6th.<\/p>\n As for the weather, conditions look great. High temperatures will be in the low 80s all week, with no chance of rain. The wind can whip up at any time.<\/p>\n Key Stats to Winning at Harbour Town<\/p>\n The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. “Key Stats” follow in importance.<\/p>\n \u2022 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green Past Champions<\/p>\n 2025 – Justin Thomas<\/a> Champion’s Profile<\/p>\n The past three winners have been 17- or 19-under, just under our personal threshold for a birdie-fest. But Harbour Town has been among the easier courses on Tour the past few years.<\/p>\n You don’t need to be a bomber to succeed there and you don’t have to be especially accurate off the tee, either. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to hit it far and straight.<\/p>\n Last year, Thomas and Novak went to a playoff at 17-under despite both ranking outside the top 50 in driving accuracy. That’s not the preferred path to victory. But when you are third in SG: Putting, fifth in SG: Approach and eighth in scrambling, like Thomas was, it’s doable. Novak ranked fourth in Approach and second in SG: Around-the-Green while 22nd in Putting.<\/p>\n Until Scheffler won in 224, a truly long hitter hadn’t won here in forever. But we all know Scheffler is so much more than long. He ranked first in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach and scrambling, second in greens in regulation and third in fairways hit. When you do all that, ranking 36th in SG: Putting is plenty good enough.<\/p>\n The RBC Heritage generally results in the shortest average drives of any tournament and the worst greens-in-regulation numbers. Firing at the tiny greens, even the most accurate iron players will see their GIR numbers dip.<\/p>\n As we often say, smaller greens tend to neutralize the better putters. That doesn’t necessarily mean that putting doesn’t matter this week; it’s just that poorer putters have a better chance of having a good putting week.<\/p>\n The over\/under on the winning score as determined by golfodds.com was set at 266.5 –17.5 under par. That’s the same as last year.<\/p>\n DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS<\/p>\n Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap<\/p>\n $10,000 and up<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler<\/a> – $13,500 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>: +380) Matt Fitzpatrick<\/a> – $10,000 (+1650) $9,000-$9,900<\/p>\n Russell Henley<\/a> – $9,700 (+1750) Jake Knapp<\/a> – $9,100 (+3500) $8,000-$8,900<\/p>\n Jordan Spieth<\/a> – $8,800 (+3100) Maverick McNealy<\/a> – $8,500 (+3700) $7,000-$7,900<\/p>\n Sahith Theegala<\/a> – $7,600 (+8400) Daniel Berger<\/a> – $7,300 (+9400) Brian Harman<\/a> – $7,000 (+10000) $6,000-$6,900<\/p>\n Matt Wallace<\/a> – $6,600 (+16000) Tom Hoge<\/a> – $6,200 (+90000) Honing in on your RBC Heritage lineups? See how they look in RotoWire’s PGA DFS Lineup Optimizer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including \u2013 but not limited to \u2013 games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it’s possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Len Hochberg plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DK: Bunker Mentality. <\/p>\n
Winner’s Share: $3.6M
FedEx Cup Points: 700 to the Winner
Location: Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Course: Harbour Town Golf Links
Yardage: 7,243
Par: 71
2025 champion: Justin Thomas<\/a><\/p>\n
2024 winner, Scottie Scheffler, has officially committed to the 2026 RBC Heritage. pic.twitter.com\/DYzKuOwtAS<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2022 Strokes Gained: Approach\/Greens in Regulation
\u2022 Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green\/Scrambling
\u2022 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee\/Driving Accuracy
\u2022 Strokes Gained: Putting\u00a0<\/p>\n
2024 – Scottie Scheffler<\/a>
2023 – Matt Fitzpatrick<\/a>
2022 – Jordan Spieth<\/a>
2021 – Stewart Cink<\/a>
2020 – Webb Simpson<\/a>
2019 – C.T. Pan<\/a>
2018 – Satoshi Kodaira<\/a>
2017 – Wesley Bryan<\/a>
2016 – Branden Grace<\/a><\/p>\n
Scheffler showed last week that he’s still Scheffler, as if there were any doubt. Somehow, he’s now about $1,000 cheaper than he’s been priced much of this season. That’s odd all by itself, but even more so considering McIlroy is not here. The Sportsbook seemingly takes McIlroy’s absence into account and drops Scheffler to under 4-1. At this DFS price, along with the fact that all the $6,000s will get four rounds in this limited-field, no-cut event, the 2024 RBC winner is a very attractive play.<\/p>\n
Fitzpatrick wasn’t a factor in the Masters, which was his first start after winning the Valspar. But he wasn’t bad, either. He tied for 18th and was in positive territory in every strokes-gained metric but putting, according to datagolf.com. He ranked 10th in the field in SG: Tee-to-Green. Fitzpatrick won here in 2023 and finished fourth two years before that.<\/p>\n
Henley is coming off a spectacular Masters, with the tie for third his best showing ever in a major. He led the elite field in SG: Approach, per Data Golf. As one of the shorter drivers on Tour, Henley should find Harbour Town even more to his liking. He finished top-10 here two of the past five years and was top-20 two other times.<\/p>\n
Knapp showed once again last week that he belongs in the same conversation as the best golfers on Tour. He finished 11th in the Masters, giving him a top-11 or better in every start this season but one. Knapp tied for 62nd two years ago in his lone RBC start. It’s hard to even consider that now, the way Knapp has transformed his game since then. But that first taste of Harbour Town knowledge will help him this week.<\/p>\n
Spieth tied for 12th at Augusta, which is good all by itself but especially so considering he couldn’t make a putt all week. He now has four top-12s on the season — but zero top-10s, which isn’t exactly easy to do. Spieth won here in 2022, lost in a playoff the next year and tied for 18th a year ago.<\/p>\n
McNealy has six top-25s in nine starts this season, including an under-the-radar tie for 18th at the Masters. But he has just one top-10, which is a little hard to explain considering his stats are quite good across the board — top-60 or better in every strokes-gained category. McNealy was third here last year and also finished fourth in 2021.<\/p>\n
If nothing else, Theegala will be well rested after not qualifying for the Masters. He tried desperately to get into the field, playing almost every week. He’s played well so far this season; he just couldn’t move up the world rankings enough. Theegala had an off-year at Harbour Town in 2025, though he was injured. He was runner-up the year before and fifth the year before that.<\/p>\n
Berger tied for third here a year ago after missing the RBC for two years. He also was third another time earlier in his career along with two other top-25s. So it’s safe to say he has the hang of things at Harbour Town. Berger is ranked sixth on Tour in SG: Approach and 10th in greens in regulation. That could help him avoid scrambling, which has been a weak spot for him this season.<\/p>\n
Harman has not had a great 2025, though he did tie for 33rd at the Masters, a tournament at which he hasn’t had much success. It’s been a whole different story at Harbour Town, where Harman has been a full-fledged horse for the course. He’s played there 16 times. He tied for third last year, his fourth top-10 there and seventh top-25. Harman’s DFS price somehow has gone down since last year, when he was priced at $7,600.<\/p>\n
Wallace has played this tournament four times. He missed the cut twice but also tied for 18th in 2021. All in all, the more rounds at Harbour Town the better. Wallace is coming off his best result of the season, a shared runner-up a the Valero Texas Open the week before the Masters. He needed to win the tournament to qualify for Augusta. He is ranked inside the top-90 in every strokes-gained metric, which isn’t half bad, especially for a guy priced in the mid-$6,000s.<\/p>\n
In a no-cut tournament, one with a small field, don’t fear the $6,000s. Especially one who has finished tied for 18th the past two seasons. Hoge has missed five of his past seven cuts on Tour, so that should really curtail his ownership. His best strokes-gained stat is Approach, which is always a good thing to have in your bag at Harbour Town.\u00a0<\/p>\n