Bolton: RBC Heritage calls for roster-management during busy Segment 2

A moment like Sunday’s at the Masters is unique in that it transcended all familiar experiences while connecting everyone paying attention. In a cosmic sense, it truly is everything for everyone. In time, even the competitors who didn’t win will appreciate their roles as Rory McIlroy made history.

Being on board with McIlroy as your captain in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore is one way we’ll always remember where we were when he achieved the career Grand Slam. More relevant to our objective, having designated McIlroy for that role before he converted is the stuff that fantasy dreams are made of. Although the customary factors in advance mitigated the risk, he still needed to deliver to pay off the rarest of career accomplishments. It was a win worth celebrating almost as much as a league championship. Congrats if you were on board.

No matter how the Masters played out for you, we’re all treated to a bit of a break this week and entirely a break next week.

The RBC Heritage guarantees four rounds to all 72 entrants. With no cut at Harbour Town Golf Links, you can use your bench like a Major League Baseball manager can use the best arms in the bullpen. Make a call only in a high-leverage situation. Barring a mid-tournament withdrawal or disqualification, insurance isn’t necessary, so slot a pair of potent performers to be in position for the FedExCup bonus points in the final round. Because this is a Signature Event, 70 bonus points will be awarded to the champion.

Now, that strategy caters to chasers because league leaders are likely to coast. If you’re out front, you’ve earned the right to holster starts for the big guns who will be more popular at the PGA Championship later in Segment 2. There are also two more Signature Events to come in this phase, but targeting the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday that concludes it is preferred because it’s the only of its series with a cut.

Just like this week’s Corales Puntacana Championship, next week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans does not contribute to the fantasy game, so there’s no action for that team competition.

Captain

Patrick Cantlay … Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is atop my Power Rankings, and rightfully so, but we can’t play him every week, so we need to be choosy when to ration the three starts allotted. With no cut at Harbour Town and with a considerable portion of the season still to come, abstaining is the right call.

To pivot, if you ever wanted to know what it looks like to have the right player at the right time in any tournament, Cantlay is the one. He’s No. 3 in the Power Rankings and I’m going all-in on this thoroughbred for the course. All he’s done here since 2022 is go P2-third-T3, and he already had a pair of T3s and a T7 previously. So, it hasn’t mattered how many have been in the field for him to reign.

Other considerations

• Collin Morikawa … No. 2 in the Power Rankings and still in pursuit of his first PGA TOUR title since what was the Baycurrent Classic in October of 2023, but any touring professional would love to have the kind of phenomenal form that he’s flashed over the last 12 months specifically.
• Xander Schauffele ... He was my captain for the Valspar Championship and responded with a T12, which was fine, but the timing is better to lean into him at Harbour Town. It’s precisely what Mike Glasscott is doing as the pacesetter in my little league of Experts.

Rounding out the roster

While you could argue this every week, when there’s no cut and, thus, no need to make any roster changes mid-tournament, things could get very interesting with the complementary pieces relative to your competition. I’m taking advantage of the setup by sending out four guys whom I have faith could prevail. All opposition can do the same, but the promise to avoid zeroes, favors ownership dispersion to target the FedExCup bonus points. With this approach, the doubled scoring of the captain provides insurance.

My starters

• Patrick Cantlay (C)
• Brian Harman
• Sungjae Im
• Jordan Spieth

My bench

• Xander Schauffele (1)
• Collin Morikawa (2)

Careful

For almost every tournament, a usually impressive subset of the field warrants avoiding, and it might be represented in my Power Rankings which is not written in the context of any fantasy golf format. In this section, I single out who demands pause and why.

Justin Rose ... No one is more self-aware and locked into his possibilities, but the stress and heartbreak of losing another Masters in a playoff might require more time to process. And while it can’t happen this week, he missed the cut following each of his most recent top 10s (dating back to last summer).

Matt Fitzpatrick ... His love affair with Harbour Town yielded a fulfilling victory in 2023, but the Brit has struggled considerably for most of the past 12 months. When he returned for his title defense, he was 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but with only one top 20 in his last 17 starts worldwide, he’s plummeted to 75th.

Harris English ... Fresh off a personal-best T12 in his sixth appearance at the Masters, he presents as a timely spell for guys for whom you’re likely to burn three starts, but Harbour Town hasn’t been especially friendly in recent years. In his last three starts, he failed to record a top 25 and he broke 70 just twice in 10 rounds.

Keegan Bradley ... Missed the cut at the Masters and signed for a 73, two 74s and a 77 after his last four rounds across two tournaments. His scoring should improve at Harbour Town but he’s without a top-40 finish in four appearances.

Returning to competition

Harrison Endycott ... Committed to the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic. It’s his first sanctioned action since an illness forced him to withdraw before the second round of last year’s ISCO Championship. In the interim, the Aussie was equipped with a medical extension on the PGA TOUR that allows 10 starts. Just like with Jimmy Stanger, who’s also slated to give it a go at Lakewood National Golf Club for what is his second rehab start following recovery for tendonitis in his right elbow – he has 12 starts on his medical extension – keep tabs on Endycott. Either or both guys could be mildly impactful as midseason pickups because of their status.

Notable W/Ds – Corales Puntacana Championship

Ben Griffin ... Like others who remained in the field at the RBC Heritage via the updated FedExCup standings and then decommitted from Corales, he held as first alternate at Harbour Town, but then he pulled out of Corales on Tuesday. At 44th in the FedExCup, even if he doesn’t sneak into the field in the Signature Event, a week off wouldn’t be the worst thing for our long-term goals. He co-leads the PGA TOUR with 13 starts.

Sam Ryder ... He’d have been landed on his fair share of betting cards what with a T2 in 2021 satisfying course-history buffs, but he’s also among the unheralded stories in the first third of the season. Since finishing as the last man inside the top-125 bubble in the FedExCup Fall, he’s gone 10-for-10 with four top 25s to sit 73rd in the 2025 FedExCup.

Taylor Moore ... Third consecutive early withdrawal since a rib injury forced him out early from the Texas Children’s Houston Open on March 27. At 72nd in the FedExCup, he can afford to remain patient.

Brandt Snedeker ... His tournament debut will have to wait. There was some anticipation for the possibilities after he posted a T10 on paspalum at the Puerto Rico Open. Sits 142nd in the FedExCup. Despite this decision, expect to see him often enough as he plays this season on a career earnings exemption.

Thorbjørn Olesen ... Also would have been making his first appearance at Corales. It’s a bummer because he just finished T5 at the Valero Texas Open. Now 122nd in the FedExCup in just five starts.

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