Horse For The Course: PGA DFS Course History - RBC Heritage

Joe Nicely's under-the-radar DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2021 RBC Heritage. His Horse for the Course for daily fantasy golf based on course history.

Welcome back RotoBaller PGA family! The Masters never disappoints and that was once again the case this year, as Hideki Matsuyama put on a ball-striking clinic to win his first major championship and hold off a group that included Xander Schauffele and young Will Zalatoris.

Despite being a consistent performer at Augusta National, Matsuyama was flying under the radar for the most part last week. However, the Japanese star was featured right here in last week's HFTC, along with a couple of top-five finishers (Jordan Spieth & Jon Rahm) and Tony Finau, who scored a T10. It was the second week in a row that we nailed the winner and we'll try to keep that positive momentum going as we head to Hilton Head, South Carolina for the RBC Heritage!

Horse For The Course is an article that highlights players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For my favorite DFS plays of the week check out my Core Four article here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: NICE for an extra discount at checkout!

RBC Heritage Overview

The Masters is such a huge event that there is naturally a little hangover afterwards. The RBC Heritage has long held the spot on the schedule the week after the Masters and while some PGA DFS players might lose a bit of focus as they come down from the Masters high, the Heritage is one of my favorite tournaments on the PGA Tour.

One of the long-standing events on the schedule, the Heritage is held at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island. It's a beautiful place and one of the truly unique layouts on the PGA Tour schedule in that distance and power off the tee give players basically no advantage. We're going "old school" this week...accuracy off the tee, precise iron play, and a great short game will all be required at Harbour Town.

The Heritage has long been a favorite stop for Tour players, as they'll often look at it as a chance to decompress after the pressures of Augusta National, with many players making Hilton Head a mini vacation spot with their families. The strength of this week's Heritage field reflects just how popular this event is with players, as Webb Simpson will defend his Heritage title against a lineup that includes a host of stars like Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, and Collin Morikawa just to name a few. We'll also get another look at last week's breakout star, Will Zalatoris. Really pumped for this tournament, so let's dive right into some course history for the Heritage!

You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles to help you win big!

The Course: Harbour Town Golf Links

Par 71 - 7,121 Yards, Greens: Bermuda, Designed By: Pete Dye (with input from Jack Nicklaus)

This Pete Dye beauty is one of the shortest layouts these pros will face all year. Its lack of length is a refreshing change of pace from the stretched-to-the-max layouts that we routinely see on the PGA Tour schedule. While it may lack length, Harbour Town is by no means a pushover. Very tight, tree-lined fairways often take drivers out of the players hands, forcing them to play strategically off the tee. In true Dye fashion, this is a second-shot golf course and players will be taking aim at miniscule greens that routinely grade-out as some of the toughest to hit on the PGA Tour schedule. These factors make me give almost no weight to the bombers this week and I'll instead be focusing on players that are precise off the tee and accurate on approach.

While it's an area that often goes overlooked, I'll also be giving weight to around the green ability this week. Harbour Town is slightly similar to Augusta National in that we often see the same players perform well here every year, while first-timers can struggle, so I'm giving an even bigger bump than normal to players with strong course history.

For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!

Recent Champions

• 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
• 2019: CT Pan (-12)
• 2018: Satoshi Kodaira (-12)
• 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
• 2016: Branden Grace (-9)

The Horse

Webb Simpson

Notable Course History: Win (2020), T16 ('19), T5 ('18), T11 ('17)
DraftKings Price: $10,700 FanDuel Price: 

Anytime distance isn't a requirement, Webb Simpson shoots to the top of the list of players we want to consider in PGA DFS. This week's Harbour Town layout certainly fits that profile and Simpson's history in the RBC Heritage reflects the terrific fit. The Carolina boy toppled a stacked field in last year's edition of the Heritage. It was the culmination of years of consistently-strong play in this event.

Outside of a somewhat surprising missed cut at THE PLAYERS, it's been business as usual for Simpson this year. He's coming off a T12 last week at the Masters and has posted an additional two top-six finishes in just six 2021 starts. As you can imagine, he's statistically sound across the board and profiles as a rock-solid DFS option this week.

The Ponies

Patrick Cantlay

Notable Course History: T2 ('19), T7 ('18), T3 ('17)
DraftKings Price: $10,900 FanDuel Price: 

Will the real Patrick Cantlay please stand up? Is Cantlay the player we saw post back-to-back top-three results earlier this year at the AmEx and AT&T Pro-Am or the player that has played shockingly-bad in recent starts at THE PLAYERS and Masters? I lean more towards the former and this Harbour Town layout presents him with a great chance to snap out of his mini funk. 

Cantlay has been a beast in previous trips to Hilton Head, going T3-T7-T3 in the Heritage between 2017 and 2019. From a game theory perspective, Cantlay disappointed as a very popular option last week in the Masters, which means we might be able to catch his ownership at lower-than-it-should-be levels this week at the Heritage.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Notable Course History: T14 ('20), T39 ('19), T14 ('18)
DraftKings Price: $9,100 FanDuel Price:

The Englishman has made no secret of his love for Harbour Town, repeatedly calling it his favorite course on the PGA Tour schedule. After a couple of false starts on the layout in 2015-16, Fitzpatrick has been remarkably solid over his last three trips to the RBC Heritage, posting a T14 in his most recent start last year.

Fitz has already won multiple times on the European Tour and his play this year indicates he's close to a breakthrough in the U.S.. A T34 last week at the Masters was actually his worst finish on the PGA Tour this year, as he's posted a top-five at the Genesis Invitational and top-10s at both the API and THE PLAYERS. Shorter than most off the tee, the strength of his game is his putting and scrambling, tools that are of the utmost importance at Harbour Town.

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Abraham Ancer

Notable Course History: 2nd ('20), MC ('19)
DraftKings Price: $8,900 FanDuel Price:

Ancer heads to Harbour Town in rock-solid form, having posted finishes inside the top-26 in four straight (a T26 last week at the Masters could’ve been a bit better if not for a questionable two-stroke penalty assessed after the opening round). His course history isn’t as extensive as some others featured in this week's HFTC, but a runner-up finish in last year’s Heritage illustrates that the layout suits him well, as do other solid outings at additional Pete Dye courses (PLAYERS, Travelers, AmEx). 

The Mexican has been consistently great with his irons, gaining strokes on Approach in every start dating back to the ZOZO Championship last October! He stands 12th in this week’s Heritage field in SG: Approach and 18th in Overall Proximity. In addition to the steady iron play, Ancer is the definition of accurate off the tee, grading out fifth in Fairways Gained over the last 24 rounds.

Brian Harman

Notable Course History: T28 ('20), MC ('19), T23 ('18), T9 ('17)
DraftKings Price: $8,700 FanDuel Price:

Lots of viable "horses" in the $8k price range this week, but Brian Harman sticks out due to his recent play and course fit. The little lefty played extremely well at a stretched-out Augusta National last week, posting an impressive T12. That finish came on the heels of an impressive run at the WGC-Dell Match Play and a T3 in THE PLAYERS. Like Harbour Town, TPC Sawgrass is a Pete Dye design, so there are the obvious course comps there, but Harman has also fared well in the Heritage, posting a T9 in 2017 and a T28 against stiff competition last year. He's an experienced veteran that knows how to navigate this week's tricky layout and his dependable short game (14th SG: Short Game) will be a huge asset this week.

Ian Poulter

Notable Course History: T14 ('20), T10 ('19), T7 ('18), T11 ('17), T18 ('15)
DraftKings Price: $7,600 FanDuel Price: 

Sometimes you just have to be willing to throw the stats out the window...it's fair to say that's where we find ourselves with Ian Poulter this week. The Englishman isn't going to look great from a statistical standpoint, but he looked sharp at the WGC-Dell Match Play, posted a T26 last week at the Masters, and has been A BEAST at Harbour Town. Poulter has notched four consecutive top-15 finishes in the RBC Heritage and has a Strokes Gained: Total mark of 30.15 in this event since 2015.

Michael Thompson

Notable Course History: T8 ('20), T10 ('19), T42 ('18)
DraftKings Price: $7,200 FanDuel Price: 

Michael Thompson heads into this week with fairly low name recognition compared to many of the players in this very stout Heritage field. He’s also not gonna pop in most statistical models. However, both Thompson’s recent play and course history at Harbour Town put him squarely in DFS consideration this week. He’s made the cut in each of his last three starts, including a T34 last week at the Masters.

In addition to that recent form, the veteran has also played sharp over his last three Heritage starts, making the cut in three straight at Harbour Town, and going T10-T8 in his last two visits to Hilton Head. Thompson doesn’t really have the distance required to excel on many of today’s modern layouts, but his precision off the tee (14th in Fairways Gained), short game (30th SG: Short Game) and ability from 150+ plus yards (top-26 in Proximity from 150-175, 175-200, & 200+ yards) is a unique skill set that spells success on this old-school Harbour Town course.

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