2023 RBC Heritage Preview, Picks & Analysis

DON’T you just love this time of year? We have just had four glorious days at Augusta National and now we move on to the RBC Heritage at the beautiful Harbour Town Links at Hilton Head Island.

If ever there was proof that golf courses don’t need to measure 7,800 yards to provide a proper challenge, this is the course that proves it. It is a proper shotmaker’s layout, calling for pinpoint accuracy from the tee and laser-like iron shots to small, well protected bunkers.

This is not a golf course upon which bombers thrive.

Under normal circumstances, many of the world’s leading players may choose to take the week off to recover from their exertions at Augusta, but the RBC Heritage is now one of the PGA Tour’s designated tournaments, with a bumper prize pot of $20m. The champion will walk away with $3.6m.

Jordan Spieth will return to defend his title at a tournament he loves. And he is part of a truly star-studded field that also includes Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala, Corey Conners, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Last year Spieth beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff after nearly holing a bunker shot at the iconic 18th hole, with the lighthouse in the background.

Sometimes, Spieth said, there's a tournament where you feel you've played well, yet not good enough to win. "I honestly felt like this was that week," he said with a grin. "I needed a lot of things to go right.”

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Spieth, at 13 under after his 5-under 66, finished four groups ahead of Cantlay and waited out the stellar field that had several chances to tie or move in front. But all except Cantlay could not chase down Spieth, who stayed away from watching too much of the action once he finished.

"Every single putt looks like it's going in," Spieth said. "It was way more nerve-racking than actually playing.”

Spieth was certain he would be overtaken by Cantlay, Shane Lowry or 54-hole leader Harold Varner III. But when all three parred the par-five 15th, Spieth felt his chances improve.

When he finished, he was a stroke behind Lowry. But Lowry's chip on the par-three 14th raced across the green and into the water, leading to double bogey. He finished a stroke back after a 69.

After Cantlay, who was tied for the lead after a birdie on the 17th, hit his approach on the green on his closing hole of regulation, Spieth headed out to loosen up, certain he would be called back after Cantlay made the winning putt.

But he missed, which meant a playoff. Cantlay found a dreadful lie in the front bunker in the playoff, blasted 35 feet past the cup and missed the par putt.

"Obviously, with it plugged like that, it's darn near impossible to get it close," Cantlay said.

Three strokes behind Varner entering the round, Spieth eagled both front-nine par-5s to get into the mix.

Facing a lengthy title drought, a man in a similar position to Spieth this year is Rickie Fowler.

Like so many before him, the American decided to change his swing. He walked away from Butch Harmon and promptly lost his game. His most recent victory came at the Phoenix Open in 2019. He tumbled down the world rankings.

A man who had been a fixture at both the majors and Tour Championship suddenly found himself at home, twiddling his fingers while his peers were battling it out for the sport’s biggest prizes.

But, like Spieth, Fowler is on the up once again. Yes, he missed out on The Masters again, but only just. Ahead of Augusta, his world ranking had risen to 55. He had fallen all the way to 160. But then he finished tied second at the Zozo Championship, tied 11th at the Farmers Insurance Open, tied 10th at the Phoenix Open, and enjoyed top-20 finishes at the Players Championship, Dell Technologies Match Play and Valero Texas Open.

He is, as they say, trending in the right direction. Fowler is finding fairways, hitting greens and holing putts once again. It is only a matter of time before he wins again and this could be the week it happens. While many of the other players in the field have been giving their all at Augusta, Fowler will arrive at Hilton Head refreshed and raring to go.

Tournament Winners

It was won in 2015 by Jim Furyk, in 2016 by Branden Grace, in 2017 by Wes Bryan, in 2018 by Satoshi Kodaira, in 2019 by Pan Cheng-tsung, in 2020 by Webb Simpson, in 2021 by Stewart Cink and last year by Jordan Spieth.

Form Guide

Rickie Fowler has shown a welcome return to form, with a series of good finishes getting back to the fringes of the top 50. He didn’t make it to Augusta so will come here fresh. This is a course that should be made for him. Shane Lowry played well here 12 months ago and played well at The Masters - don’t rule him out this week.

The Course

Harbour Town Golf Links measures just 7,099 yards and is a par 71. You would expect today’s stars to rip it to shreds, but they don’t. The fairways are narrow, the rough is penal, there are plenty of well-placed bunkers and the greens are small. On top of that, there is often a tricky sea breeze to contend with.

To Win:

Rickie Fowler. Ready to win again

Each Way:

Shane Lowry. Wonderful short game

Each Way:

Patrick Cantlay. Looking to go one better than last year

Five to Follow:

Rickie Fowler. Wonderful short game

Shane Lowry. Looking to improve on last year

Patrick Cantlay. Due a big week

Tom Kim. Fabulous young talent

Matt Kuchar. Hits it straight

Outsiders to Watch:

Doc Redman. Still looking for breakthrough

Matt Wallace. Desperate to win a mainstream PGA Tour title

Aaron Rai. Underrated

Andrew Putnam. Great ball striker