After the excitement of Rory McIlroy’s historic win at the Masters, the PGA Tour stays in Georgia for the RBC Heritage this week, which starts on Thursday and will be televised live on Sky Sports Golf.
McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta on Sunday and is understandably sitting out the latest PGA Tour signature event, but a strong field is nevertheless assembling at Harbour Town Links, which provides a much tighter test than the one the game’s leading lights took on last week.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is defending champion and is set to go off as hot favourite, followed by Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Aberg, who will be hoping to bounce back from finishing 5-7 when in contention to win the Green Jacket.
However, there are plenty of others who will fancy their chances of winning one of the Tour’s most illustrious prizes, and there may be value to be had a bit further down the market.
Tip 1 – Patrick Cantlay 16/1 (bet365)
It is more than three years since Patrick Cantlay claimed his most recent PGA Tour success, but he tends to flourish at Harbour Town and can finally get over the line this week.
He has finished in the top-10 in six of his seven visits to the fiddly track, losing in a play-off to Jordan Spieth in 2022 and then falling a shot shy when Matt Fitzpatrick won the following year.
Cantlay was 36th at Augusta, but his 12th at the Players Championship demonstrated he can still be a force and his top-five finishes at the Genesis Invitational and the American Express provide cause for optimism that a long-awaited success could arrive this week.
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Tip 2 – Sungjae Im 35/1 (bet365)
Sungjae Im did not head to Augusta in strong form having failed to make much of an impression since he was fourth at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, but he bounced back well with fifth spot in the first Major of the year and he could build on that this week.
That was Im’s fourth top-20 finish in six Masters visits and there looks a strong chance the performance can be a catalyst for even better things this week.
The tight course has plainly been to his liking over the last four years when he has posted finishes of 13-21-7-12 and he could push his way right into the picture for glory.
Tip 3 – Bud Cauley 75/1 (bet365)
It is possible that a player who was not involved at the Masters could cause a surprise and one player who looks a prime candidate to do so is in-form Bud Cauley.
The 35-year-old from Florida has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but he has been in red-hot nick, finishing sixth at the Players Championship, fourth at the Valspar Championship and fifth in the Texas Open in his last three efforts.
He has good memories of this course after blasting a 63 in the opening round in 2017 when he finished ninth and there looks a strong chance he could improve on that showing.
