Best bets for PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage

The RBC Heritage has been described as the PGA Tour’s all-star break in its traditional spot the week after the Masters.

But the rescheduled event will feature a star-studded field when it tees off Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Eight of the top 10 golfers and 19 of the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking will compete in the PGA Tour’s second tournament since a 91-day hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Top-ranked Rory McIlroy is the 14-1 favorite at the Westgate sportsbook, followed by No. 3 Justin Thomas (16-1), No. 13 Bryson DeChambeau (16-1) and No. 2 Jon Rahm (18-1).

A bulked-up DeChambeau took the outright lead Sunday on the back nine of the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge before bogeying 17 and missing a birdie putt on 18 that would have put him in a playoff with Daniel Berger and Collin Morikawa.

Berger, who went off as a 71-1 long shot, beat Morikawa (40-1) on the first hole of the playoff at Colonial Country Club when the Las Vegas resident’s 3-foot par putt lipped out.

Harbour Town’s narrow, tree-lined links are similar to that of Colonial.

“It’s as similar as you can get to what you saw last week with a lot of the same golfers playing,” Westgate golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said. “But with a fluctuation in the odds based on how people performed after the break. (For example), DeChambeau was 25-1 last week but is now (16-1).”

The last four Heritage champions cashed tickets of 40-1 or higher, with C.T. Pan winning last year’s event at 160-1 and Satoshi Kodaira taking the 2018 edition at 200-1.

Handicapper Wes Reynolds, host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, has eight best bets to win the tournament ranging from 30-1 to 100-1.

Sungjae Im (30-1)

Im notched his third consecutive top-1o finish at Colonial.

“Scrambling and a strong tee-to-green game are most important here,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1). “He was only one of seven players in the field (at Colonial) to have positive strokes gained in all five areas.

“Getting back into tournament play last week likely knocked off the rust.”

Matt Kuchar (53-1)

​Kuchar, who missed the cut at Colonial by a stroke, won the Heritage in 2014.

“He returns for the closest thing he has to a home game,” Reynolds said. “He lives less than two hours away in St. Simons Island, Georgia, and has more rounds logged in this event than anyone in the field.”

Branden Grace (56-1)

​Grace, who trailed by a shot entering the final round at Colonial, won the Heritage in 2016. He also won the South African Open in January for his first win since 2017.

“That has seemed to build some confidence,” Reynolds said.

Matthew Fitzpatrick (60-1)

​“He finished tied for 32nd last week but did shoot all four rounds in the 60s,” Reynolds said. “He should find this track a bit more to his liking than Colonial.”

J.T. Poston (65-1)

Poston also lives in St. Simons Island. He finished in the top 10 at Colonial and was second in scrambling. He tied for sixth at last year’s Heritage after shooting 9 under on the weekend, which Reynolds noted was two shots better than the entire field.

Kevin Kisner (66-1)

Kisner shot all four rounds in the 60s at Colonial and is a South Carolina native.

“Kisner has gone well here at Harbour Town before having taken two-time event winner and course ace Jim Furyk to a playoff back in 2015,” Reynolds said.

Ian Poulter (100-1)

Harris English (100-1)

“Poulter is a bit of a sneaky, under the radar horse for course here,” Reynolds said. “English is another resident of the St. Simons Island area. He also shot an opening round 65 in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the last time the players saw a Pete Dye design.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.