This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
RBC Heritage
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Harbour Town Golf Links - Par 71 - 7,213 yards
Field - 143 entrants
Purse - $20M
The Preview
The 2023 major championship rotation began with what became a dominant four-shot victory for Jon Rahm on Sunday afternoon as he became the first European to win both the Masters and a U.S. Open, all while keeping LIV alpha Brooks Koepka from attaining the green jacket. Due to the introduction of the PGA Tour's elevated events this season, another loaded field heads to Hilton Head Island this week for a swing at the $20 million purse, though World No. 3 Rory McIlroy is one of only a couple names to have backed out.
The same Harbour Town Golf Links that has always hosted the RBC Heritage once again invites these players to navigate tree-lined fairways, oftentimes with less than driver off the tee, setting up an approach-play contest into some of the smallest greens we'll see all year, which have been overseeded with poa trivialis. Precise iron play is the most likely avenue to contention. A coastal breeze off the Atlantic typically provides a defense, but this year the rough also has been lengthened to 2.5 inches, lending even more importance to finding fairways and greens in regulation. Peeking at the forecast, rain and heavier winds could arrive Thursday afternoon, which might encourage an AM/PM stack advantage.
Recent Champions
2022 - Jordan Spieth
2021 - Stewart Cink
2020 - Webb Simpson
2019 - C.T. Pan
2018 - Satoshi Kodaira
2017 - Wesley Bryan
2016 - Branden Grace
2015 - Jim Furyk
2014 - Matt Kuchar
2013 - Graeme McDowell
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Proximity: 150-200 yards
GIR percentage
Driving accuracy
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
An ice-cold putter throughout Rounds 1 and 2 at Augusta National made it difficult for Scheffler to contend in his Masters defense effort this past weekend, ultimately placing T10 as he averaged a disappointing 1.76 putts per GIR. However, he paced the entire field in SG: Approach for the tournament, and Scheffler ranks No. 1 in both SG: Tee-to-Green and Par-4 Efficiency over his last 24 measured rounds. Despite the angry mob rightfully coming for Cantlay's unhurried pace of play, he'll likely be on the chalkier side this week thanks in large part to his course history here, so Scheffler could go slightly less rostered than expected in a spot like this as he makes his RBC Heritage debut.
Collin Morikawa - $41
Morikawa's combination of elite iron play and control off the tee sets him up for projected success at Harbour Town, where he's a collective 19-under-par across the past two years. He hasn't lost strokes with his irons in a measured event since the 2022 PLAYERS Championship, and he's fourth in proximity from 175 to 200 yards over his last 24 measured rounds. The flat stick can sometimes give him fits, but Morikawa's putting woes could be masked on these tiny greens, and he just finished 18th in SG: Putting en route to a T10 at the Masters.
Glue Guys
Cameron Young - $37
Young led the Masters in SG: Off-the-Tee on the way to a tie for seventh last week, but he also finally putted well for the first time since his runner-up effort at last July's Rocket Mortgage Classic. Additionally, the 25-year-old's iron play has been sharp, ranking second to none in Opportunities Gained and third in Prox: 150-175 over his last 24 measured rounds. Young, who tied for third in his Harbour Town debut this past year, now has caddie Paul Tesori on the bag, who looped for Webb Simpson during their 2020 RBC Heritage victory.
Rickie Fowler - $34
Despite some pedestrian driving accuracy metrics, Fowler pops in the No. 4 spot of my past-24 round custom model this week with really high ratings in a few key areas such as SG: Approach, P3: 200-225 Efficiency and Opportunities Gained. For rostership sake, we'll hope our competitors focus on the fact that he's only made the cut in one of six career trips to Harbour Town, and ignore the fact that he's averaged 4.1 strokes gained per event with his irons throughout his past five starts.
Wyndham Clark - $30
The improvements Clark has made with his iron play this season have been remarkable, as he comes in at No. 8 in SG: APP and 12th in GIR percentage over his last 24 rounds. He managed to make the cut here in each of his first four attempts at the venue when he was a poor iron player, so it'll be intriguing to see what he can do with this new skill set at his disposal. Clark's accuracy off the tee became a concern from The American Express through the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year, but he's since finished on the positive side of Fairways Gained in three straight outings from THE PLAYERS through the Corales Championship.
Bargain Bin
Sepp Straka - $28
The former Georgia Bulldog tied for third at last year's RBC Heritage when he averaged five birdies per round and led the field in par-3 scoring. He comes into this week's edition 10th in SG: Approach over his last 24 measured rounds, and also off a made cut at the Masters where he finished top-10 among his peers in SG: Off-the-Tee.
Taylor Moore - $23
Moore, who recently picked up his maiden win at the Valspar Championship, just tied for 39th in his major championship debut last week at Augusta National where he extended his streak to six consecutive starts with a positive SG: Putting performance. However, he's also eighth in Par-4 Efficiency and 22nd in Prox: 175-200 across his past 24 measured rounds.
Ben Martin - $20
Martin probably has a chance to be the most popular minimum-priced option this week, but for good reason with six straight made cuts since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a stretch that includes a quartet of top-15s as well. Albeit not anywhere close to the same talent level, he profiles as a Morikawa-type while ranking top-20 in both SG: Approach and driving accuracy over his last 24 rounds, but Martin's also familiar with this layout. He's made the cut in six of eight career Harbour Town appearances, notably tying for third back in 2014 when he held a share of the 36-hole lead.
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