RBC Heritage 2026
Overview
Dates: April 16, 2026 to April 19, 2026
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA
Course: Harbour Town Golf Links
Course Par: 71
Course Length: 7243
Prize Purse: $20000000
The Masters certainly lived up to its billing, with Rory McIlroy stumbling over the line having looked at half way like he was going to run away with it. Truth be told, his putter was the main reason behind his six-shot lead after round 2 and it’s devilishly hard to rely on that club for a full four rounds at Augusta.
The pack duly closed in on Saturday but nobody could come up with the Sunday back 9 hot streak that would’ve ripped the green jacket from Rory’s hands.
Two of our picks, Cameron Young and Justin Rose, both held the lead at times during the final round and it was frustrating that neither could close it out. Both finished inside the top 5, but Young’s putter turned ice cold on him for his final twelve holes, while Rose looked the most likely winner until a duffed chip at 12 was closely followed by a 3-putt par at 13 which opened the door for Rory. Jake Knapp performed with great credit in finishing 11th, with a missed putt from under two feet at 15 costing him the top 10 finish we had hoped for.
Adam Scott performed ok, finishing top 30 without threatening while Jon Rahm was a big disappointment despite a small Sunday recovery that saw him into the top 40. And a disastrous Friday back 9 saw Akshay Bhatia go from a promising position to missing the cut.
But overall it was a fine display from our picks. Although a small hit to the P&L on the week to recommended stakes, you may well have been able to generate a profit by playing in the top 5 and top 20 markets. It was hard to feel confident about Rory given his recent back injury, but he had clearly recovered well and got the job done despite arguably being a touch short of his very best, particularly with driver in hand.
Preview
Harbour Town is a Pete Dye design, created with input from Jack Nicklaus. It is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive and strategic layouts on the PGA TOUR.
Key course traits:
Par 71, approximately 7,200 yards
Narrow fairways that demand positional accuracy
Small, well‑protected greens requiring precise iron play
Numerous doglegs and sharp angles that force players to shape shots
Flat terrain, contrasting sharply with Augusta’s elevation changes
Coastal winds that influence club selection
Iconic finishing hole along Calibogue Sound with the famous lighthouse backdrop
Harbour Town is consistently described as a finesse course, prioritizing strategy, accuracy, and creativity rather than raw distance.
In Summary:
Although somewhat more mundane fare than the thrills of the Masters, we have another signature event on our hands at the RBC Heritage. Masters champ Rory McIlroy deservedly takes the week off but almost all the other big names are in action again.
It’s hard to gauge motivation levels amongst the elite players. Scottie Scheffler, although not at his very best at Augusta, still showed enough to think that his best form may not be far away. In fact many of the best in the world showed up well on the Masters leaderboard so there may be some mileage in focusing on those who weren’t exposed to the stress of competing in earnest for a green jacket.
Hilton Head in any case is a vastly different course to Augusta. Favouring accuracy over distance, a sharp touch around the greens is far more important than it is most weeks so that’ll be the first metric we go to in search for the value. Course experience certainly helps, although is far less of a pre-requisite for success than was the case last week.
Headline pick:
Patrick Cantlay 5 Units win +2500, 5 units top 10 +225