Racing Post's RBC Heritage predictions & free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Links on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from noon on Thursday

Best bets

Matthew Fitzpatrick
2pts each-way 22-1 general
Russell Henley
2pts each-way 33-1 general
Shane Lowry
1.5pts each-way 22-1Hills
Tom Hoge
1pt each-way 80-1Betfair, Paddy Power

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The battle for the Green Jacket is over for another year but a keen contest for a rather natty tartan number looks to be on the cards at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina.

Players will be presented with a different task this week as the wide fairways of Augusta National give way to the tight Harbour Town Links, which should suit those whose strengths lie in accurately finding fairways and small greens.

Red-hot new Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has given this one a swerve but Justin Thomas, Open winner Collin Morikawa and former world number one Dustin Johnson are due to be in action along with Cameron Smith and Shane Lowry, who finished tied for third at Augusta on Sunday.

Wilkerson's top tip

Matthew Fitzpatrick 22-1

For years people have been suggesting a first PGA Tour victory is just around the corner for Sheffield's Matthew Fitzpatrick and this could be the week when it all clicks.

There are plenty of courses where his lack of length from the tee is a handicap but that is not really the case with Harbour Town so we should be able to expect a bold show.

Scheffler's exploits have been the golf story of 2022 after the Texan won his fourth tournament in seven weeks and it could trigger some extra encouragement.

After all, Scheffler reached the quarter-finals of the US Amateur Championship that Fitzpatrick won in 2013 and, despite seven victories on what is now the DP World Tour, the English player may be provoked into thinking it is time to kick on.

He has been concentrating his efforts Stateside this year and has been relatively successful.

While he missed the cut at the Players Championship, he has finished in the top 15 in his other seven outings, including the Masters, and this is the sort of course that should suit, as he proved when he finished fourth last year.

Last year's winner Stewart Cink was first in strokes-gained tee-to-green and second in strokes-gained on approach, so it is encouraging that Fitzpatrick ranks fifth and 13th in those metrics this year.

Maybe this can be his week because he looks geared for a strong run.

Next best bet

Russell Henley 33-1

Russell Henley, officially the best approach player on tour this year, is another play who looks a good statistical fit.

He is also ranked seventh tee-to-green and Henley, who was ninth in this tournament last year, played the best of his four Masters rounds on Sunday when he carded a 70.

Last year's Open Championship is the only cut Henley has missed in his last 20 outings and his best performance in that time was on another tight track at the Sony Open in Hawaii where, having won there in 2013, he was pipped in a playoff by then-Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama.

Henley's last of his three PGA Tour victories came at the 2017 Houston Open but another win may not be far away and it would not a big surprise if he made a big challenge this week.

Other selections

Shane Lowry 22-1

Tom Hoge 80-1

Shane Lowry has been in excellent form as he demonstrated at the Masters, where he finished third and recovered well from a triple-bogey at the fourth on the final round that put paid to his slim chances of a second Major triumph.

The 2019 Open champion hit six birdies after that hole from hell to card a closing 69 and his 2022 Stateside strokeplay form figures are 2-13-12-3.

He ranks 27th in strokes-gained tee-to-green and 11th in approach, and possesses some decent course-form figures with a third spot in 2019, two shots behind winner CT Pan, and ninth last year, to show his claims have to be respected.

Meanwhile, one outsider to keep an eye on is Tom Hoge, who hails from across the North Carolina state border, after he has progressed from 110th in the world rankings to 38th since the turn of the year.

The 32-year-old was tied for 39th on his Masters debut and it is a sign of the progress he has made over the last few months that he viewed that as a disappointment.

He won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, having finished second at the American Express so he should be full of confidence and the fact he is ranked seventh in strokes-gained on approach and 12th tee-to-green suggests he has every right to be.

Players to note

Stewart Cink
The three-time and defending champion missed last week's cut but did have a hole-in-one at the 16th and was seventh at the Valspar Championship in his previous outing.

Corey Conners
Conners should be encouraged by his sixth place at Augusta and he was fourth at this tournament last year.

Webb Simpson
Finished 35th at the Masters but loves this place with form figures of 11-5-16-1-9 in the last five years. He also holds the four-round course record.

Patrick Cantlay
While he missed the cut last year, Cantlay has finished in the top ten on his other three visits and while he couldn't build on a good start at Augusta, he could still prove a factor.

Harbour Links course guide

Course Harbour Town Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Prize money $8m ($1.44m to winner)
Length 7,121 yards
Par 71
Field 132
Course records - 72 holes 262 Webb Simpson (2020) 18 holes 61 David Frost (1994), Troy Merritt (2015)

Course winners taking part Davis Love (five times), Stewart Cink (three times), Brian Gay, Jim Furyk (twice), Brandt Snedeker, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar, Branden Grace, Wesley Bryan, Satoshi Kodaira, CT Pan, Webb Simpson

When to bet By 11.45am on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from midday Thursday

Time difference South Carolina is five hours behind the UK & Ireland

Last week - The Masters 1 S Scheffler 16-1, 2 R McIlroy 20-1, T3 S Lowry 40-1, C Smith 16-1, 5 C Morikawa 20-1, T6 W Zalatoris 35-1, C Conners 50-1.

Course type Links

Course overview The Harbour Town Links is a classic Pete Dye-designed track, which was created in 1969 and revised in 2000, and has a history of producing great champions.

It is a tricky, seaside track but the list of previous winners is like a who's who of golf.

Despite its lack of yardage, the Links is a difficult assignment, with tall trees, 49 bunkers and 12 water hazards. There are only three par-five holes (the 502-yard second, the 549-yard fifth and the 588-yard 15th) and they are the easiest holes on the course.

The 332-yard par-four ninth is another pick-up hole, but players will only score well with straight hitting to tight targets and good scrambling around some of the smallest greens on the circuit.

Strategically placed bunkers demand precision hitting and the 472-yard 18th is one of the toughest finishing holes in the business. The fourth and eighth holes are historically the most difficult.

Story of last year Stewart Cink claimed his third victory at the venue after opening with two rounds of 63. A final round 70 was enough to secure a four-shot success ahead of Harold Varner and Emiliano Grillo

Weather forecast Overnight rain on Thursday could soften the course but the weekend promises to be clear with temperatures peaking at about 24C.

Type of player suited to the challenge Cink finished first in strokes-gained: tee to green and second in strokes-gained: approach last year, so good iron play is vital for success. Thin fairways and tidy greens provide a real test so length is not a huge advantage.

Key attribute Accuracy

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