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Hello RotoBaller PGA family! Golf returned with a bang last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, as Daniel Berger outlasted Collin Morikawa and a host of other stars at Colonial Country Club.
We have another great tournament on deck this week as the PGA Tour heads to Hilton Head, South Carolina and Harbour Town Golf Links for the RBC Heritage! In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Heritage. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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RBC Heritage - PGA DFS Overview
Harbour Town Golf Links
7,099 Yards - Par 71 - Greens: Bermuda
This Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus 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. While this Hilton Head classic is rather short by modern standards, it often keeps scores in check, with 12-under par taking home the win in each of the last two years.
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Harbour Town | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 268 | 283 |
| Driving Accuracy | 62% | 61% |
| GIR Percentage | 57% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 61% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.38 | 0.54 |
Right away, a couple of things jump out at us this week. The average Driving Distance at Harbour Town is significantly below the PGA Tour average due to players being forced to use irons and hybrids off the tee on multiple holes. We can also see the GIR Percentage is much lower than Tour average. We can attribute this stat to Harbour Town's extremely small greens.
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Par 4
- Greens In Regulation Gained
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermuda)
- Birdies Or Better Gained
- Total Proximity
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced DFS Players
Rory McIlroy ($12,200)
With FanDuel's PGA pricing so consistently soft, we are often able to jam a couple of elite players into our lineups. Rory McIlroy sits atop the FD salary scale this week and the top-ranked player deserves at least a mention here.
McIlroy has been a top-five machine in 2020, finishing inside that mark in each of his last seven starts prior to a T32 last week at Colonial thanks to a disastrous final round. He's the only player that's priced over the $12k threshold on FD for the Heritage, so if you are rostering him this week, you are expecting him to win. McIlroy is talented enough to win on any golf course on any given week, but there are a couple of factors working against him at Harbour Town: 1:) His last start on this golf course came in 2009 when he logged a T58 and we have to assume there's a reason he's skipped this tournament for over a decade. 2:) This course will neutralizes the biggest weapon in his arsenal - his driver.
Bryson DeChambeau ($11,900)
Like the aforementioned Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau's biggest asset at the moment is his driver. While Harbour Town will take away that advantage, DeChambeau has shown the ability to adapt on this layout, with top-five finishes at the Heritage in 2018 and 2016. Unlike Rory, he seems to like this unique design, as he's made the trip to Hilton Head for four straight years.
Bryson has quickly silenced those who doubted his "bulk up" plan by scoring top-five finishes in each of his last four starts, including a T3 in last week's Charles Schwab. Colonial also neutralizes a player's driver, but he adapted by gaining 4.8 strokes on approach and finishing at third in the field in GIR's Gained for the week. Bryson is playing with a seemingly limitless amount of confidence at the moment and has experienced success at Harbour Town in the past. The DFS price is high, but he's a scary player to fade with his current form.
Justin Thomas ($11,800)
JT entered the final round of last week's Charles Schwab firmly in the mix, but a pedestrian Sunday 71 ensured he faded into a tie for 10th. Thomas had his irons clicking at Colonial and finished second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach (+7.0).
If JT can keep the irons hot at Harbour Town he has a great chance to get a leg up on this field. He should also fare better on this week's Bermuda putting surfaces. Thomas profiles as a tremendous GPP play in this spot.
Xander Schauffele ($11,600) & Collin Morikawa ($11,500)
I'm listing these two together because not only do they have similar games that project well on this Harbour Town layout...they also both suffered unbelievable heartbreak at Colonial last week. Both Xander and Morikawa had victory at the Schwab within reach, but each were undone by gut-wrenching misses on very short putts late in the final round.
There are two narrative directions we can go with these guys: A:) They are both excellent players with games that fit Harbour Town or B:) There will be some emotional hangover present in both guys after the brutal fashion in which their respective runs at Colonial ended.
Morikawa's iron play is verging on supernatural at this point and, despite having no experience on this track, he's a no-brainer type of fit. Xander has only been so-so in two previous Heritage starts, but he led the Schwab field in GIR's gained and he's the type of mentally-tough player that can turn last week's disappointment into this week's motivation.
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Mid-Priced DFS Players
Matt Kuchar ($10,400)
Speaking of heartbreak...Matt Kuchar crushed the souls of PGA DFS players last week when he double-bogeyed his final hole of the second round to miss the cut by a shot. Those that were burned by the penny-pinching, Skecher-wearing, khaki-clad veteran will probably be hesitant to go back to the Kuchar well this week at the Heritage.
However, we should leave our emotions at the door in DFS and despite the hurt that Kuch laid on us last week, he's undoubtedly a tremendous bounce-back candidate in this spot. He's been M-O-N-E-Y at Harbour Town - with a win, a fifth, a T9, and a solo second in this event since 2014. We normally think of him as a Cash Game option, but with his elevated FD price tag and the amount of people that will be abandoning ship this week, he's a sneaky-good GPP play.
Jason Kokrak ($9,900)
It's really surprising that notorious "bomber" Jason Kokrak has actually had quite a bit of success on perhaps the most "anti bomber" layout on the PGA Tour schedule, but the PXG trooper has defied expectations several times at Harbour Town by recording three finishes inside the top 18 since 2015 (there's also two MCs in there).
Kokrak's splashy final round at Colonial will probably move him to the forefront of the public's mind a bit for the Heritage, though it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to replicate last week's 5.2 strokes gained putting again at Harbour Town. He's such a volatile player - with the tournament history to match in this event - that I don't mind playing the ownership game with him in GPPs this week in an attempt to gain leverage. Fade him if he's chalky, go overweight if it looks like he'll be underowned.
Kevin Kisner ($9,800)
It's always tough predicting when "the Kiz will be lit", but Harbour Town has been known to ignite the South Carolina native. Kiz has posted some strong finishes at the Heritage, including a runner-up mark in 2015 and a T7 in '17. His game looked sharp at Colonial en route to gaining 5.4 strokes T2G, but his putter continually failed him throughout the week. This is Kisner's type of track and he's just a warm putter away from another strong finish at Harbour Town.
Ian Poulter ($9,400)
Like the aforementioned Kevin Kisner, Ian Poulter is a player with which we must carefully pick our DFS spots. Luckily for us, the Heritage is historically an event where the glossy Englishman shines brightly. For all his flash, Poults is actually one of golf's great grinders. He won't blow us away statistically, but he hits fairways and greens with consistency, and possesses a world-class short game. You can slot him in to Cash Game lineups, though he goes overlooked with regularity as a GPP play. Poulter brings some sneaky upside to the table at this event, where he's finished inside the top 11 for three consecutive years.
J.T. Poston ($9,200)
This price range is littered with players that it's easy to overlook in a star-studded field like this week's. J.T. Poston is one of those guys that probably deserves a little more GPP consideration than he will garner from the masses. "The Postman" delivered a T6 at last year's RBC Heritage (that line is sooo cheesy, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!) and looked solid while posting a noticed-by-no-one T10 at Colonial last week. His iron play can be spotty at times, but he's an excellent putter - especially on Bermuda.
Low-Priced DFS Players
Bud Cauley ($8,800)
Trying to author a comeback story similar to last week's winner Daniel Berger, Cauley was once touted as a rising star, but a series of unfortunate injuries and accidents have left him fighting for his PGA Tour career. He's been under-the-radar good in 2019-20 and still has one of the best short games on Tour. Cauley's went T39-T23-T9 at Harbour Town since 2017 and didn't make a bogey over his last 36 holes at Colonial last week.
Luke List ($8,800)
While everyone's attention was focused on the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas last week, Mr. Mayo's favorite punt play was busy winning a Korn Ferry Tour event at TPC Sawgrass - which also happens to be a Pete Dye course, just like Harbour Town (#TheMoreYouKnow). List is a ridiculous ball striker that's been battling for status on the PGA Tour and he's played well in previous trips to Hilton Head, making three of four cuts since 2016 with a T3 in 2018.
Emiliano Grillo ($8,000)
This isn't really a recommendation, just more of a Public Service Announcement. Emiliano Grillo is a tremendous ball striker and a God-awful putter. No, really...he's a prodigiously-good iron player and the Mozart of three jacks. However, he has found some success on this unique Harbour Town layout, going T33-T16 at the Heritage over the last two years. Maybe the greens are so small that he doesn't have enough room to three putt? I'm not sure, but if you're throwing darts in a huge GPP, he's the type of guy that could pop up for a random top-10 finish.
Sam Burns ($7,700)
Trying to nail down Sam Burns is like attempting to hit a moving target. One week he looks like one of golf's next big stars and the next he can't play dead in a western. Burns is the polar opposite of the aforementioned Grillo, in that he's one of the best young putters on Tour, but his ball striking tends to come and go. He scored a ninth-place finish in his Heritage debut last year and he's a threat to get into contention if the irons are clicking.
Bronson Burgoon ($7,100)
There's a reason these guys are priced way down here, but Bronson Burgoon feels a little too cheap this week. He looked solid at Colonial last week, gaining strokes both on approach and around the greens, but struggling with the flat stick. Bermuda is traditionally his best putting surface and he notched a T39 in his lone Heritage start back in 2016.
