To the casual observer, the week after an event as illustrious and emotionally invested as The Masters might bring about sort of a letdown. The green jacket is now on Jon Rahm’s broad shoulders after a dominant four-stroke victory at Augusta National. Another jacket will be the proverbial carrot this week. This time, it’s red plaid (snazzy!). The RBC Heritage is a beloved event on the PGA Tour schedule. It is one of five “invitational” events with an abbreviated field of 132. The Heritage also sports the coveted “designated” status that draws all the world’s best to a purse teeming with riches.
We did manage to cash a couple more tickets before leaving the Georgia hills. Patrick Reed was our star, easily cashing our top-20 bet at +190 by tying for fourth place. Tom Kim also cashed a top-20 wager at +220 with a t-16 finish. Our favorite to win was defending champ Scottie Scheffler, who struggled to make birdie putts all week. He still managed to crack the top 10, but it was on negative odds and subject to a ties split at certain books. Kurt Kitayama missed the cut in his first Masters appearance, but he’s still the golden goose that allows us to coast through the season certain of a profit.
The RBC Heritage is played at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The track is a coastal links style, stretching to nearly 7,200 yards with a par of 71. The field is as strong as it has ever been here, thanks to the event’s newly elevated status. That still does not mean that Harbour Town won’t prefer a lesser-known champion in its unique setup. Many Tour professionals have slipped on the plaid blazer to mark their first (and often only) victory. It must be immediately mentioned that my weighted statistical model for the Heritage is uniquely geared toward normally undercounted data points. We must win with weird this week.