After watching Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam with his first Masters victory, the PGA TOUR is hosting the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links (par 71, 7,213 yards, POA Trivialis greens) in Hilton Head, South Carolina, which has hosted this event since 1969. Last year, Scottie Scheffler (-19) won the RBC Heritage by three strokes over Sahith Theegala. The RBC Heritage is one of the PGA TOUR’s eight Signature Events this season, meaning the PGA TOUR’s best players will be competing for a huge purse of $20 million. This week’s field consists of 72 golfers and there will be no cut. Before 2024, the RBC Heritage was a full-sized tournament that featured a standard cut.
Harbour Town Golf Links was designed by Pete Dye and is a short course that is home to narrow fairways, tiny greens, 51 bunkers and water in play on every hole. Like most Dye designs, Harbour Town is a less-than-driver course where being in elite form with your irons is a must. Plus, with the putting surfaces at Harbour Town being the second-smallest we have seen this season, being a strong short game player is critical at this venue. Of the last four winners at Harbour Town, three have finished the event top-10 in both SG APP and SG ARG. As for which holes are the most important at this par 71, capitalizing on the three par fives has been the most crucial for success at Harbour Town. For three years in a row, the winner of the RBC Heritage has either led their field or finished runner-up in par five efficiency.
Below, I have featured four of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the RBC Heritage, all of which are priced under $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Byeong Hun An ($7,400) – An finished T-21 at the Masters last week while gaining strokes in every major category, aside from with his putter. An shot under par in three of his four rounds at Augusta National and he has made four cuts in a row, with three of these finishes being top-25 results. An ranks 34th in par five performance this season and while he has been hit-or-miss at Harbour Town with a 3-of-6 record in terms of made cuts, one of these finishes was a T-7 in 2018.
An has carded two top-25 finishes in four starts at Signature Events this season, and he is far too cheap for his upside at only $7,400. An carries +6500 odds to win the RBC Heritage on DraftKings Sportsbook, which are tied for the best odds among all the players priced under $7.5K for DFS.
Harris English ($7,200) – English has finished T-32 or better in six of his 10 starts at Harbour Town and the veteran is coming off an impressive T-12 at the Masters. English closed the major with a 4-under 68 on Sunday and he finished the event top-15 in both SG APP and SGP. This season, English has only missed two cuts in nine starts and he has carded five top-30 finishes, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open, which was played at the challenging Torrey Pines.
English has finished higher in three consecutive starts and he has top-10 upside this week if his irons and putter can both remain hot.
Tom Hoge ($7,100) – Hoge finished T-18 at last year’s RBC Heritage and he brings even better upside this week. Hoge has quietly been playing some outstanding golf, finishing T-3 at THE PLAYERS Championship, T-5 at the Valero Texas Open and T-14 at the Masters, all of which are career-best outings for him at these tournaments.
Hoge gained strokes on approach and with his flat stick during all three of these finishes, and this three-start stretch alone vaulted him up 31 spots in the world golf rankings. Hoge ranks fourth in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 12 rounds, and he is severely underpriced for his elite form.
Sami Valimaki ($6,200) – While Valimaki has never competed at Harbour Town before, he travels to Hilton Head in terrific form. Valimaki dominated at the two Texas events before the Masters, finishing fourth at the Houston Open and then T-12 at the Valero Texas Open. During that fourth-place finish at the Houston Open, Valimaki posted an 8-under 62 during the final round, which tied the course record and tied for the lowest round of the tournament.
Valimaki has made six consecutive cuts, and he has gained strokes on approach and with his putter at three straight events. The Finnish professional ranks top-25 in both SG APP and SGP this season, and Valimaki is a must-play at this near-minimum salary, especially with no cut to worry about this week.
