I'm sad that we have to wait another year to see Augusta National Golf Club, but what an incredible Masters.
At one point on Sunday, there were 6 golfers who had a realistic chance of winning the green jacket.
Rory McIlroy had 2 of the most tumultuous days a golfer could possibly have. He had a 6-shot lead heading into Saturday, and that entire lead disappeared. His struggles continued on the first 6 holes on Sunday, and he found himself 3 shots behind the lead.
In typical Rory fashion, all it took was one birdie on No. 7 to get the bounce back in his step. He followed it up with a birdie on No. 8 and then put together an excellent back nine.
He tried to make it interesting on the final 2 holes, but he found a way to get up and down on the 17th hole and get himself out of trouble after a wayward drive on No. 18.
McIlroy became the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters, joining Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus.
We often have a weak field the week after the majors, but the RBC Heritage is a Signature Event. Most of the world's best are set to tee it up this week at Harbour Town Golf Links.
With a lot of big names on the board, let's take a look at my RBC Heritage picks and PGA Tour predictions for this week's Signature Event.
RBC Heritage Course Preview for Harbour Town Golf Links
There are very few similarities between Harbour Town Golf Links and Augusta National.
This week's course is a par-71 that measures 7,243 yards. It features narrow fairways and tiny greens.
We've seen golfers be more aggressive off the tee here in the last two years, but the driver usage rate was still below 60% in both of those events. This is a classic less-than-driver course where the shorter hitters have a real chance to contend.
The difficulty of the course grades out as average. The winning score has been between 17-under and 19-under in four of the last five years.
With such small greens, there's a major emphasis on approach play and scrambling. The recent list of winners (Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Jordan Spieth) certainly suggests that those two skills are needed to contend here.
The greens themselves feature Bermudagrass overseeded with Poa trivialis and should measure around 11.5 on the Stimpmeter.
RBC Heritage Picks, Predictions
We're still in search of our first win of the season. Once we get it (hopefully this week), the floodgates will open.
This is the first event in a while where I'm actually scared of a Scottie Scheffler fade in the outright market. He has struggled with his iron this year, but he gained over six strokes on approach last week. He also won this event in 2024.
The good news is that Scheffler's second-place finish last week is good for everyone else's odds in this week's field.
2026 RBC Heritage Outright Picks
It's been a while since Cantlay has contended at a PGA TOUR event and even longer since he has won a PGA TOUR event (2022 BMW Championship).
His game hasn't been in bad shape; he just hasn't been able to string four solid rounds together.
His T12 finish at the Masters last week was encouraging, especially when you look at his statistics. He gained over five strokes on approach and over five strokes around the green.
Those are the two skills that are most needed at Harbour Town.
Cantlay seems to love it here, as he's finished T13, T3, T3 and T2 at this event over the last five years.
There are few courses on the PGA TOUR better suited for Kim's game than Harbour Town.
He's extremely accurate off the tee, he's one of the best iron players in the field, and he's an excellent scrambler.
Kim already has five top-11 finishes this year, so he's been knocking on the door all season. He's one good putting week away from securing his fifth win on tour.
While he didn't have a great week at the Masters, that can often be a positive at this event. Kim has played well here in each of the last two years, posting finishes of T8 and T18.
I'm on record that Spieth is going to win this year. I will continue to bet him on courses that suit his game.
His approach play, around-the-green play and putting have all been better this year than they have been in the last few years.
After finishing T12 at the Masters last week, he said that's the best he has ever hit the ball at Augusta National.
A quick look at the stats show that he gained six strokes on approach and three strokes around the green. That bodes well for his chances at Harbour Town, where he won in 2022.

Many will argue that McNealy is a better top-10 or top-20 bet than an outright bet. His 2026 season is littered with solid finishes, but he doesn't have a single finish better than T10.
While I usually like to bet golfers who have flashed more upside recently, I love that McNealy has been positive in all four of the Strokes Gained categories this year.
It's only a matter of time before he avoids the one blowup round that keeps holding him back. He seems to like it here, as he has two top-four finishes in his last four starts at Harbour Town.
Last but not least, we have Mr. Straka.
He's the opposite of McNealy because what he lacks in consistency, he makes up for in high-end finishes. He can get red-hot with his irons and with his putter at any time.
That's a lethal combination on the PGA TOUR.
His long-term stat profile doesn't necessarily line up great with this week's course, but he has actually gotten much better around the green this season.
Couple that with his iron play and his spike putting, and he stands out as an excellent bet at +5000.
When is the 2026 RBC Heritage?
The 2026 RBC Heritage tees off on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
- What: 2026 RBC Heritage
- When: April 16-19, 2026
- Where: Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Par: 71
- Length: 7,213
- Purse: $20 million
How to Watch RBC Heritage
Round 1: Thursday, April 16
- Live stream: ESPN+ (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
- TV coverage: Golf Channel (2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
Round 2: Friday, April 17
- Live stream: ESPN+ (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
- TV coverage: Golf Channel (2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
Round 3: Saturday, April 18
- Live stream: ESPN+ (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
- TV coverage: Golf Channel (1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET) · CBS/Paramount+ (3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
Round 4: Sunday, April 19
- Live stream: ESPN+ (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
- TV coverage: Golf Channel (1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET) · CBS/Paramount+ (3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET)
2026 RBC Heritage Odds
via bet365 as of Monday
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | +400 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +1500 |
| Xander Schauffele | +1500 |
| Cameron Young | +1900 |
| Russell Henley | +1900 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +1900 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2200 |
| Ludvig Aberg | +2400 |
| Collin Morikawa | +2700 |
| Robert MacIntyre | +3000 |
| Jake Knapp | +3200 |
| Jordan Spieth | +3200 |
| Justin Thomas | +3200 |
| Sam Burns | +3200 |
| Si Woo Kim | +3200 |
| Maverick McNealy | +3500 |
| Shane Lowry | +3700 |
| Viktor Hovland | +3700 |
| Chris Gotterup | +4500 |
| Jacob Bridgeman | +4500 |
| Jason Day | +4500 |
| Sepp Straka | +4500 |
| Ben Griffin | +5000 |
| Harris English | +5500 |
| Justin Rose | +5500 |
| J.T. Poston | +6000 |
| Rickie Fowler | +6000 |
| Ryo Hisatsune | +6500 |
| Akshay Bhatia | +6600 |
| J.J. Spaun | +6600 |
| Min Woo Lee | +6600 |
| Alex Noren | +7500 |
| Daniel Berger | +7500 |
| Harry Hall | +7500 |
| Ryan Gerard | +7500 |
| Sahith Theegala | +7500 |
| Sam Stevens | +7500 |
| Wyndham Clark | +7500 |
| Nicolai Hojgaard | +8000 |
| Brian Harman | +9000 |
| Kurt Kitayama | +9000 |
| Max Homa | +9000 |
| Nick Taylor | +9000 |
| Sudarshan Yellamaraju | +9000 |
| Corey Conners | +10000 |
| Keegan Bradley | +10000 |
| Marco Penge | +10000 |
| Gary Woodland | +11000 |
| Matt McCarty | +12000 |
| Sungjae Im | +12000 |
| Taylor Pendrith | +12000 |
| Andrew Novak | +14000 |
| Jordan Smith | +14000 |
| Matt Wallace | +14000 |
| Michael Brennan | +14000 |
| Nico Echavarria | +14000 |
| Pierceson Coody | +14000 |
| Billy Horschel | +16500 |
| Bud Cauley | +17500 |
| Ricky Castillo | +17500 |
| Tony Finau | +17500 |
| Denny McCarthy | +20000 |
| Michael Kim | +20000 |
| Austin Smotherman | +22500 |
| Chandler Blanchet | +25000 |
| Patrick Rodgers | +25000 |
| Ryan Fox | +25000 |
| Andrew Putnam | +30000 |
| Johnny Keefer | +35000 |
| Sami Valimaki | +40000 |
| William Mouw | +40000 |
| Karl Vilips | +45000 |
| Lucas Glover | +45000 |
| Steven Fisk | +45000 |
| David Lipsky | +50000 |
| Tom Hoge | +50000 |
| Garrick Higgo | +60000 |
| Jhonattan Vegas | +60000 |
| Aldrich Potgieter | +75000 |
| Brian Campbell | +75000 |
| Adam Schenk | +200000 |
| Joe Highsmith | +200000 |













