Sometimes the simplest plan is the best plan.

That’s the approach many bettors are taking this week at the RBC Heritage, where a familiar face is attracting a lopsided amount of action at BetMGM Sportsbook.

It was one year ago at Harbour Town Golf Links that Jordan Spieth slipped into the tartan jacket after beating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. This week he returns to defend that title, admittedly a little exhausted as he makes his ninth start in the last 11 weeks. But bettors are more drawn to his skillset (and T-4 finish last week at the Masters) than concerned about any fatigue factor, as Spieth is the top sweat for BetMGM oddsmakers heading into the opening round.

When in doubt, bet on the guy that won last year – right? That’s the mindset that has led Spieth (+2000) to lead the way in both tickets (8.2%) and handle (11.7%) while representing the top overall liability for this week’s event in South Carolina.

Current Handle & Tickets

Handle

Jordan Spieth +2000 (11.7%)

Patrick Cantlay +1200 (9.9%)

Collin Morikawa +1800 (9.5%)

Cameron Young +2000 (5.6%)

Justin Thomas +2500 (5.6%)

Tickets

Jordan Spieth +2000 (8.2%)

Collin Morikawa +1800 (6.8%)

Patrick Cantlay +1200 (6.8%)

Cameron Young +2000 (6.1%)

Scottie Scheffler +750 (5.7%)

A runner-up in a playoff last year, Cantlay has also seen a significant amount of action as oddsmakers have trimmed his price to +1200 after opening at +1400. Other early-week odds on the move include Morikawa (+2000 to +1800) and Young (+2500 to +2000). Morikawa and Cantlay represent the next biggest liabilities for BetMGM after Spieth.

One name noticeably absent from the tallies above? That would be Masters champ Jon Rahm. Bettors aren’t warming to the notion of the Spaniard going back-to-back while snagging what would be his fifth victory of 2023. Priced at +850, Rahm has only garnered 4.4 percent of tickets and 3.8 percent of handle. It’s a similar story for Scheffler, priced as the outright betting favorite, who sits fifth in tickets and sixth in handle.

Other players cracking the top 10 in either tickets or handle amid early-week betting: Viktor Hovland (+2200), Max Homa (+2500), Sungjae Im (+2500), Shane Lowry (+3000) and J.T. Poston (+6000). Im opened at +3500 before being re-priced, while Poston has shifted from +8000 at open to +6000.

Those backing Spieth this week will be angling for the first back-to-back winner at Harbour Town since 2008, when Boo Weekley successfully defended what was his first PGA TOUR win from the spring of 2007.

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