Golf betting tips: Preview and tips for the 2023 RBC Heritage

The RBC Heritage was first played in 1969 and is played on the Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Harbour Town Golf Links has been the sole venue for the event and Arnold Palmer won the first edition of the tournament. Harbour Town Golf Links along with the Ocean Course and Heron Point make up the Sea Pines Resort.

Course Overview

Harbour Town Golf Links was designed by golf course architect Pete Dye with the assistance of Jack Nicklaus. The course consists of narrow fairways, overhanging oaks, pines, palmettos and dark lagoons.

It is a Par 71 course that is 7,101 yards from the back tees which is relatively short by Tour standards.

Harbour Town’s primary defence is its slick and firm Bermuda grass greens that are small in size. The average green at Harbour Town is 3,700 square feet while the average square footage of greens played on Tour is 6,600 square feet.

At Harbour Town Golf Links finding fairways is key and there is a demand for shot-shaping. Scrambling is also important as the smaller than average greens will be missed.

Harbour Town is very often wind-affected and an ability to play in blustery conditions is essential. Water is in play on half the holes.

2021 RBC Heritage | Stewart Cink

Last year’s RBC Heritage saw 47-year-old Stewart Cink capture his 8^th PGA Tour victory. It was his second win of the 2020-2021 season adding to the Safeway Open title back in September. He signed for a pair of 63’s in the opening two rounds which laid the foundation for his four-stroke victory. It was his third victory at Hilton Head having won there in 2000 and 2004.

Cink’s iron-play on approach was imperious. He finished the week 7^th in the Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green category which equated to a gain of 8.541 strokes on the field average for the tournament. He also finished 12^th in Strokes Gained Putting which was a gain of 4.390 strokes for the week. Other stats include T104 for Driving Accuracy, 7^th for Driving Distance, T1 for GIR and T14 for Putts per GIR.

2020 RBC Heritage | Webb Simpson

The 2020 edition of the RBC Heritage was the PGA Tour’s second event back after the schedule hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The event was moved from its traditional April slot to the week originally scheduled for the US Open in June.

The 2020 RBC Heritage saw Webb Simpson capture his 7^th PGA Tour victory. He signed for a bogey-free final round -7 (64), with five birdies in the final seven holes, for a tournament record -22 (262). It was his second victory of the 2020 season having won the Waste Management Phoenix Open back in February.

Simpson’s iron-play on approach laid the foundation for the victory. He finished 8^th in the Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green category which equated to a gain of 5.698 strokes. However, it was with the putter where the magic happened. He finished 4^th in Strokes Gained Putting which was a gain of 6.605 strokes for the week. Other stats include T54 for Driving Accuracy, 46^th for Driving Distance, T13 for GIR and 5^th for Putts per GIR.

2019 RBC Heritage | CT Pan

The 2019 champion, CT Pan from Chinese Taipei, won his first PGA Tour title with a one stroke victory over Matt Kuchar. He closed with a final round -4 (67) to finish on a total -12 (272) for the week.

Pan is only the second player from Chinese Taipei to triumph on Tour, following TC Chen at the 1987 Genesis Open.

Pan won on the with a combination of strong play on approach and around the green finishing just outside the Top 10 for the Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green category. He backed up his tee-to-green game with strong putting finishing the week 5^th for Strokes Gained Putting, a gain of 6.299 strokes on the field average for the week. He finished the week T59 for Driving Accuracy, 55th for Driving Distance, T37 for GIR and 2nd for Putts per GIR.

2018 RBC Heritage | Satoshi Kodaira

In 2018, Satoshi Kodaira prevailed in a sudden death playoff with Si Woo Kim to win his first PGA Tour title. The 28 year old Japanese golfer shot a final round 66 (71) for a total score of -12 (272).

Three quarters of Kodaira’s strokes gained on the field average came from his approach play finishing the week 7th in Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green (6.019). He finished the week T4 for Driving Accuracy, 65th for Driving Distance, T7 for GIR and 16th for Strokes Gained Putting.

2017 RBC Heritage | Wesley Bryan

The 2017 champion, Wesley Bryan, captured his first PGA Tour title at Harbour Town Golf Links. He had six birdies and two bogeys in a closing 67 to finish on -13 (271). Luke Donald finished a further shot back in solo second. It was his third runner-up finish in the tournament in four years.

Bryan finished the week with a negative Strokes Gained Off-The-Tee but countered this with his Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green gaining nearly 8.5 strokes on the field average. He finished the week T50 for Driving Accuracy, T55 for Driving Distance, T66 for GIR and T11 for Strokes Gained Putting.

RBC Heritage Winning Formula

The following table details the breakdown of the average Strokes Gained in each of the strokes gained categories for the past six champions of the RBC Heritage.

Graphing the above Average Strokes Gained gives a visual check on the likely key areas required for success at the RBC Heritage.

RBC Heritage Tips

Shane Lowry 33/1 (E/W) – has good history at the RBC Heritage with 3 xTop 10’s from four starts including a T3 last year. A battling T16 in last week’s Masters puts him firmly on this week’s radar. His performance at Augusta would suggest he has found something in his game. His statistics this season are mediocre at best but belie somewhat the Irishman’s talent. Known as a short-game specialist, it is the steady improvement in his tee-to-green play that makes him a regular on leaderboards. The 36-year-old is currently 7^th on Tour for Driving Accuracy and and 5^th for Total Driving. Putting is his kryptonite, however, history tells us that this is one of those weeks where you don’t necessarily need a red-hot putter to get the job done. Good each way value.

Sungjae Im 33/1 (E/W) – a T21 in last year’s RBC Heritage was preceded with a T13 in 2021. An eye-catching T6 in the PLAYERS Championship was followed by a T16 in last week’s Masters. No surprise that his solid play translates to his stats, placing inside the Top 30 in this week’s Stats Analysis. The talented South Korean is also 13^th on Tour for Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green and 15^th for Birdie Average. No doubting he has the game to challenge the best in the field. Ticks a lot of boxes to make some noise this week. Decent each way value.