Power Rankings: RBC Heritage

For the majority of the last 40 years, the commute from Augusta, Georgia, to the Lowcountry of South Carolina has served as a designated corridor of decompression immediately following the Masters. For 47 who competed at Augusta National last week, the same exhale can be embraced yet again, but this time it’s the destination that’s designated.

The RBC Heritage is the eighth designated event of the 2022-23 season. It’s designed to host 132 golfers, but as a result of the boost, 143 are committed to competing as of Monday.

Harbour Town Golf Links in (and on) Hilton Head Island has hosted all 55 editions of the tournament. Continue reading beneath the ranking of projected contenders for what they will face, changes to the setup and more.

Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau and 2020 RBC Heritage champion Webb Simpson will be among the notables reviewed in Golfbet Insider.

Just as the WM Phoenix Open and The Genesis Invitational exceeded their planned capacities of 132 and 120 entrants with 134 and 129, respectively, so does the RBC Heritage. Because all automatic qualifiers are guaranteed entry into every tournament, this always has been possible, but it’s been the through line for these three events due to their status as designated. It doesn’t hurt that the prize fund at Harbour Town this week is $20 million of which $3.6 million is reserved for the champion.

Harbour Town will appear visually different this week. In the past, the only cut of rough was three-quarters of an inch high. That has transitioned into a six-foot ribbon of intermediate rough serving as the border between fairways and a primary cut allowed to extend as tall as three inches. Although the bermudagrass has been overseeded, it won’t be as gnarly as it could be because of how it’s been prepped in advance of the tournament.

Overseeded bermuda greens could touch 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter, but putting in general takes a back seat to sharpshooters on approach. Harbour Town is the kind of test for which it makes sense to map out in reverse. Positioning off the tee is more important than piling up fairways hit because the greens average just 3,700 square feet, so the field will be using the putter much less. And because the perimeter of the intermediate cut around greens is just over two-feet wide, roll-outs shouldn’t travel as far. Even so, Harbour Town annually is among the leaders in hole-outs from off greens, anyway. Last year’s 111 was the most among all courses since they’ve been measured as a statistic (2001-present).

Thanks to a new tee at the par-3 seventh hole that’s 22 yards longer on the scorecard, the course now tips at 7,213 yards. Numerous bunkers have been redesigned to introduce a more challenging way out to get the ball closer to the hole, but Harbour Town still is a par 71 with one par 5 (No. 15) on its inward side.

At 70.739, last year’s field regressed to the mean in terms of scoring. Even with a stacked field, because of the expected learning curve for the changes, it’s a fair target again this week. Mother Nature might throw a couple of punches in the form of rain and boomers, the worst of which most likely on Friday, with a secondary swing on Sunday, so greens should be receptive. Wind shouldn’t be a big deal and daytime temperatures will rise into the mid-70s.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Power Rankings

TUESDAY*: Sleepers

WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider

FRIDAY: Medical Extensions

SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Qualifiers, Reshuffle

* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.