I'm old enough to remember when you could take the week after the Masters off. Sure, maybe some stars were already in the neighborhood or participated due to sponsorship obligations, but the field at Harbour Town Golf Links wasn't must-see viewing. However, the RBC Heritage is no longer an afterthought - it was designated a big-money event for the 2023 season.
The plaid coat lacks the prestige of a green jacket, but whether it's cashing a ticket on Jon Rahm like we did last week or the players' check for winning in Hilton Head, they both pay. It's worth it for the TOUR's big names and bettors alike to keep their fires lit, like the lighthouse that awaits golfers just beyond the 18th green this week.
3 draws (odds to win/top 20)
Golfers more valuable than their odds suggest this week
Cameron Young (+2500 / +130)
As the first designated event to be played immediately after a major, it will be interesting to see if the Heritage feels the same as previous editions or whether it's more likely for a lesser-known player to pull off a win, like first-timer Kurt Kitayama did at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
If you rode the Cameron Young roller coaster with us last weekend, you could never be sure you would safely come to a stop after your keys flew out of your pocket on some of the more aggressive turns. Luckily, we hung on while spectacular shots came as frequently as the misses. Somehow, Young cashed tickets on top-20 and top-10 finishes but only pushed his primary head-to-head with Xander Schauffele.
Young is still looking for his first TOUR win, and while Harbour Town isn't considered a bomber's paradise, he was second to 2022 champion Jordan Spieth last year in strokes gained: tee-to-green.
We discussed Young's addition of Paul Tesori on the bag in the Masters preview, and it just so happens that Tesori's former boss, Webb Simpson, was never worse than T16 at Hilton Head from 2017-21. +130 for a top-20 seems like great value, and a win here makes some sense for Young.
Sungjae Im (+2500 / +130)
Anyone who's concerned about a golfer being exhausted on the back end of a pair of big weeks doesn't need to worry about Sungjae Im, who seems to play every week. Im just picked up a result of T21 or better for the seventh time in his last nine tournaments since returning from Hawaii.
He finished T13 two years ago and was a shot short of a top-20 last year despite a fourth-best shots gained: tee-to-green. He can compete with the top players, he's comfortable on the course, and this is actually only his second consecutive event since he skipped the Texas Open.
Chris Kirk (+8000 / +300)
Chris Kirk had a quietly quality week at Augusta, anonymously finishing T23. That's a nice result following a top-10 at the Texas Open that came weeks after snapping a long winless drought at the Honda Classic.
Kirk missed the cut last year in Hilton Head due to some atrocious putting, but his shots gained: tee-to-green was comparable to a top-five finisher in the two rounds he played. Putting is much more finicky than ball-striking, so we'll try Kirk for a top-20 against a good field this week.
The scary fade
A golfer with high expectations who's worth betting to miss the cut at a big price
Jon Rahm (+550 to miss cut)
This one is really scary. However, if you just had the week - particularly the Sunday - that Rahm did, battling head-to-head for 29 holes with Brooks Koepka to win the tournament, would you be up for another big event a few days later?
Rahm's only played the Heritage once, when it was one of the first events rescheduled out of the pandemic. He managed a T33 on a course that won't give him the same advantage he usually gets from his power off the tee. A more conservative play is using Scottie Scheffler against Rahm in head-to-head matchups at -110.
The favorite club in the bag
We've picked two golfers to bet to win each week: Max Homa and Tom Kim. Assuming they play 20-25 events, we're expecting our second-tier oddsboard duo will win more than once and be profitable. It took one week for that approach to pay dividends: Homa won at Torrey Pines at 20-1 and almost added a second win at Riviera.
Are Max and Tom playing this week?
Both are playing, and Homa (+2800) is back above 20-1 thanks to some mediocre recent results. He's always dangerous, though, especially since he didn't have to deal with any leaderboard pressure last week. Meanwhile, Kim (+4000) has the iron game to succeed at Harbour Town and did secure a top-20 finish at Augusta, so maybe he's rounding into form for a hot summer.
Matt Russell is the senior betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.
