RBC Heritage 2026 preview, picks & analysis

Justin Thomas has become something of an enigma. Twelve months ago he beat fellow American Andrew Novak in a play-off to win the RBC Heritage to secure his first win since the 2022 US PGA Championship.

It looked like a turning point for the American.

Novak needed a birdie at the 18th to secure his first PGA Tour title with Thomas having gone into the clubhouse on 17 under after a 68, but he missed a putt for victory and also carded a 68. 

The two players headed to the 18th for the first play-off hole and Thomas holed a lengthy putt for a birdie to secure the title at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina.

"Winning is hard, it's really hard but I've worked my butt off and stayed patient and positive," said Thomas, who shot a course-record 10-under-par 61 in his opening round.

"I didn't realise how much I missed winning and battling out there today was so much fun."

England's Tommy Fleetwood, then chasing his first PGA Tour victory like Novak, was three shots off overnight leader Si-woo Kim going into the final round and ended on 13 under after a 70.

Kim shot a three-over-par 74 in his final round as his challenge faded and he finished on 12 under, along with defending champion Scottie Scheffler.

All the signs for Thomas seemed promising. But he missed the cut at the US PGA and US Open and has had a stop-start beginning to 2026 after becoming the latest star to undergo back surgery. It meant he had to wait until the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his first competitive start of the year, where he missed the cut after successive rounds of 79.

There is something rather perverse to me about a Signature Event coming the week after a major when most players would surely rather take the week off. And therein lies part of the problem - players routinely pull out on the eve of the tournament after their exertions at Augusta National. 

Common sense would dictate that this event should be pushed back a couple of weeks in order to avoid this.

Harbour Town is one of the best courses on the PGA Tour, one that most definitely favours straight hitters and shot makers. This is not a course that can be brought to its knees by power. Miss the narrow fairways and you are going to be in trouble.

Matt Fitzpatrick is a former winner and admits that the RBC Heritage is his favourite PGA Tour event. He used to attend with his parents and always dreamed about winning, something that finally became reality for the Englishman in 2023 when he beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Twelve months ago, Fitzpatrick was finally beginning to emerge from a slump that had seen him tumble down the world rankings. He will relish a return to Harbour Town. He won the Valspar in superb style, bouncing back after missing out on the Players Championship.

Having fallen to 85th place in the world rankings in 2025, he also won the DP World Tour Championship, finished fourth at The Open and Scottish Open and tied fifth at the BMW PGA Championship. There is no doubt that the former US Open champion is back to his very best.

And the same applies to Collin Morikawa, arguably the best iron player on the planet and a golfer for whom this course is made to measure. 

Morikawa started last year brightly but had the stuffing knocked out of him by Russell Henley at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He began the year by missing the cut at the Sony Open and then finishing in a tie for 54th place at the Phoenix Open. It hardly inspired confidence that he had turned a corner but he then won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, finished tied seventh at the Genesis and fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Morikawa produces his best play on tough and challenging courses and they don’t come much harder than this.

They say you should beware the injured golfer. Morikawa had to withdraw from the Players Championship with a back injury and he arrived at Augusta claiming that he was still having problems but finished tied seventh. 

Robert MacIntyre will want to put his Masters nightmare behind him as soon as possible. He lost the plot at Augusta after falling foul of the par-five 15th, where he ran up a nine. There are serious questions to be asked about the Scot’s temperament and this is another course that will test that to the limit. It is to be hoped that he will be on his best behaviour this week.

Davis Love III won this tournament five times throughout his career, with victories stretching from 1987 to 2003. He is one of several multiple-time winners of the competition. Hale Irwin and Stewart Cink have both won at Harbour Town three times, while Johnny Miller, Hubert Green, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Payne Stewart, Boo Weekley and Jim Furyk have all been victorious on two occasions.

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, in 2022 by Jordan Spieth, in 2023 by Matthew Fitzpatrick, in 2024 by Scottie Scheffler and last year by Justin Thomas.

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.

Form Guide:

Nobody wins at Harbour Town unless they are an excellent iron player and nobody fits the bill better than Collin Morikawa.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is $20m, with $3.6m going to the winner, along with 700 FedEx Cup points.

How to Watch:

Thursday, April 16, Friday, April 17, Saturday, April 18, Sunday, April 19, Sky Sports Golf, midday.

To Win:

Collin Morikawa. Master of strategy

Each Way:

Matt Fitzpatrick. Course is made for his game

Each Way:

Tommy Fleetwood. A proper contender

Five to Follow:

Collin Morikawa. Beware the injured golfer

Matt Fitzpatrick. Has great memories of this place

Tommy Fleetwood. Grinds out top 10s for fun

Sahith Theegala. Wonderful iron player

Akshay Bhatia. Going up in the world