This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
RBC Heritage
Course: Harbour Town Golf Links (7,213 yards, par 71)
Purse: $20,000,000
Winner: $3,600,000 and 700 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
I'm not sure how you write a better script than what happened last week at The Masters. It was an absolutely thrilling tournament all the way through with so many different curveballs thrown at us. We had so many of the top players in the mix, and just when you thought you had an idea of what was going to go down, something stunning would happen to change the tournament completely. In the end it was Rory McIlroy, who overcame so much throughout the week, that finally broke through and won The Masters, and in the process became the sixth man to complete the career grand slam. The other five completed the hardest feat in golf within three tries, but for McIlroy it took him 11 times to finally do it. He hadn't tasted victory at a major of any kind since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. The now five-time major winner had some incredibly close calls and heartbreaks in that long drought, but it only made that victory at Augusta that much sweeter.
It's hard to even think about playing another golf tournament after what we saw at The Masters, but the show must go on. Why the PGA Tour decided to use up one of their eight signature events the week after Augusta is another discussion for a different day. Trying to capitalize off some of the casual fans that watched The Masters and lead them into another big event I suppose makes sense, but you know the top players have to be mentally gassed after that week. Majors, and specifically Augusta National, just take so much out of you, especially if you found yourself in contention on the weekend. Hell, I just watched the tournament and I feel like I need a 3M Open just to get my stress levels back down. Nevertheless, this is what we have and players can't really afford to take this week off with $20 million and increased FedExCup points on the line. One man can, however, and that's McIlroy who will surely use this week to properly celebrate and digest what he has just accomplished. The Northern Irishman has an 1,100+ point lead in the FedExCup standings after wins this season in a signature event at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, THE PLAYERS Championship and of course The Masters. Besides McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama is the only other qualified player who is deciding to skip the fifth signature event of the season.
A year ago the rule was different. Top players were forced to have to tee it up in the signature events so the PGA Tour could guarantee sponsors that all the best players would be there. While players got more freedom in that regard heading into the 2025 campaign, we haven't really seen many top qualified players skip any of the first four signature events. It just doesn't make a lot of sense with the massive purses and increased FedExCup points. Even coming off winning The Masters last year, Scottie Scheffler still went on his media tour and came back later in the week to compete in the RBC Heritage. There weren't many expectations for Scheffler at Harbour Town, but he came out and took care of business once again, capping off his incredible five-start stretch last spring that went 1st-1st-T2-1st-1st. Scheffler took command of the RBC Heritage with an eight-under 63 in round three and didn't look back, as he went on to win by three strokes over Sahith Theegala.
This will be the third year in which the RBC Heritage gets signature event status. Prior to that it was a very well respected tournament on a very unique course for PGA Tour standards. Harbour Town is not a place where the bomb and gauge method works like many other Tour courses these days. It really is nice to see a place that holds players accountable for bad shots and allows players of all types to be able to win. Ten men have won the RBC Heritage on multiple occasions since the first tournament back in 1969 won by Arnold Palmer. Of those, Hale Irwin and Stewart Cink have tasted victory three times, while Davis Love III has the all-time record with five wins at the Heritage. Hilton Head Island is around a three-hour drive from Augusta and has relished being in that slot after the year's first major.
After a tremendous week of weather at The Masters, it looks like much of the same this week for the RBC Heritage. Day-time highs will be in the mid-70s with plenty of sunshine all four days and winds should be pretty consistent in the 10-15 mph range. This event historically always seems to come down to the wire. There have been seven playoffs here since 2010, and on four other occasions during that stretch the tournament was decided by just a single shot. Webb Simpson set the all-time scoring record for this event at 22-under-par back in 2020, but that was when this event was held in June. In the four events since then back in the traditional April slot, the winning score has averaged 17-under-par and that's right about what I would expect it to land on again in 2025.
Recent Champions
2024 - Scottie Scheffler (-19)
2023 - Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
2022 - Jordan Spieth (-13)
2021 - Stewart Cink (-19)
2020 - Webb Simpson (-22)
2019 - C.T. Pan (-12)
2018 - Satoshi Kodaira (-12)
2017 - Wesley Bryan (-13)
2016 - Branden Grace (-9)
2015 - Jim Furyk (-18)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
- SG: Around-the-Green/Scrambling
- Proximity 125-150 yards/Proximity 150-175 yards
Champion's Profile
Harbour Town is a Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus masterpiece that is a real shot makers course. The narrow tree-lined fairways force players to work the ball in both directions to give themselves the best angle to the hole location. On some holes players can even be blocked out by trees in the fairways, so there's a lot of precision required off these tees to be able to give yourself the best opportunity to hit it close. There won't be a ton of holes in which some of the big hitters will need to grab driver on. From there, these greens are also very small targets. Distance control will be crucial, and can be challenging with the gusty winds coming off the ocean on holes where the ball may or may not be affected as much depending on the amount of trees surrounding. I'll be focusing on the proximity buckets from 125-150 and 150-175 yards this week. Overall, if you hit a lot of fairways and greens you're going to be in a good place on the leaderboard around this course.
As is often the case with Pete Dye courses, there are some really tricky places around these greens to have to scramble from. Players won't have to worry about pitching from thick rough, instead there are a lot of short grass runoffs, quirky bunker shots and even some waste areas players might have to play from. Much like we talked about last week at Augusta, missing the ball in the right places will be key as to whether or not a player is able to get it up-and-down. I still think there's enough variability to have to focus on SG: Around-the-Green and scrambling numbers, however. These are some of the more flat greens on Tour and lead to some pretty straightforward putts if you put your ball in the right spots.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Collin Morikawa ($12,200)
Morikawa did finish T14 at The Masters, but many expected better from him. His ball-striking was very much there yet again, but the short game and putter didn't really come along for the ride. Morikawa's touch has gotten much better over the last 12 months and I expect him to bounce back on a course that should be perfect for his game. He's finished top-10 twice in the last four years at Harbour Town and leads the Tour in driving accuracy, SG: Approach and proximity.
Justin Thomas ($11,400)
Thomas once again didn't have the kind of showing he expected at The Masters finishing in T36. The good news is that it was the fifth time in his last six starts that he has gained strokes on the greens, which has really been the reason he hasn't won since 2022. Thomas continues to excel with the irons and being able to hit more irons and fairway woods off the tee should play to his strengths. The 15-time PGA Tour winner has finished top-11 three times in six starts at Harbour Town, including a T5 last year.
Patrick Cantlay ($11,100)
Cantlay is likely to be a very popular OAD pick, but his DFS value makes him a very attractive option to build a lineup around. Simply put, Cantlay's record at Harbour Town is up there with any other player's record at any course on Tour, period. Apart from a missed cut in 2021, Cantlay has finished top-3 five times with a T7 finish in seven career starts. His iron play has been very strong this season and he hasn't missed a cut since last June.
The Middle Tier
Sepp Straka ($10,200)
It was surprising to see Straka struggle to a missed cut at The Masters because of how consistent his ball-striking has been. The iron play was fantastic once again, but everything else left a lot to be desired. I expect the Austrian to get back to the form he's shown over the last several months which included a stretch with eight top-15s in ten starts. Straka's accuracy off the tee will be rewarded at Harbour Town where he has finished inside the top-five in two of his last three starts.
Sungjae Im ($10,100)
Im is a streaky player and it feels after a strong weekend at The Masters where he surged into T5, this might be the start of a good stretch after he had just one top-25 in his prior seven starts. He continues to be one of the most consistent drivers out there having gained strokes off the tee in his last 15 starts. Im has been strong at Harbour Town of late finishing T13-T21-T7-T12 over his last four starts. He gained strokes approaching the green in all of those tournaments.
Daniel Berger ($9,800)
Berger scored a top-25 finish in his return to Augusta last week which marked his seventh straight top-30 finish this season. Over that stretch he has gained strokes in every category except once (Off the tee at THE PLAYERS). Berger is firing on all cylinders and Harbour Town is an excellent course fit. He has never missed a cut in five starts and has finished T21-or-better in his last three starts, including a T3 in 2020.
The Long Shots
J.T. Poston ($8,800)
Poston has been somewhat of a boom-or-bust option throughout his career, but his consistency deserves some credit this season. He only has a best finish of T12, but has made the cut in nine straight events. Harbour Town is a place we could see that first boom week as he's finished inside the top-eight in four of his last six starts here, including a T5 last year. Poston has putted and scrambled very well on this course over that stretch, and has gained strokes on approach in eight of his last nine starts overall this season.
Tom Hoge ($8,300)
At a course like Harbour Town where approach play is so important, Hoge is an excellent value play here as one of the best iron players on Tour over the last several years. This season has been no different as Hoge sits 12th in SG: Approach and 10th in proximity 150-175 yards. He was fourth in SG: Approach at The Masters en route to a T14 finish, that came following a T3 at THE PLAYERS and a T5 at the Valero. Hoge has also gained on the greens in four straight.
Ryan Gerard ($7,700)
Gerard is the best play in the $7K range this week. Funny enough the only time all year that he has lost strokes on approach was in that solo second in his last start at the Valero Texas Open, where he absolutely dominated around and on the greens. That was his second straight top-10 and fifth top-25 in 2025. Gerard is properly suited if this thing turns into a shootout at top-20 in both SG: Approach and SG: Putting on the season.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
All 72 players in this field will be guaranteed four rounds at this signature event. That always can create the potential for a lot of movement to happen all the way down to the wire in this one. The main separation this week should come from the best iron players, as most of the tee shots will be played from the same area on this very narrow course. Last year Scheffler led the field in SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach on his way to victory. Speaking of Scheffler, at a whopping $14,000 that's going to be a pass for me. He struggled quite a bit off the tee at Augusta, and with the strength of the $10K range this week, Scheffler is going to be a tough player to construct a lineup around. I'm also inclined to pass on anyone who found themselves in deep contention at The Masters like Ludvig Aberg ($11,800) and Justin Rose ($9,400). It's just hard to get the juices going again after a week like that.
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