Stewart Cink cruises to victory at RBC Heritage

Chez Reavie ... He's like a long reliever who's just as comfortable taking the mound in a spot start on zero notice. With pitchers and catchers reporting across Major League Baseball this week, that analogy is an easy pull given that the logo of the Arizona Diamondbacks is visible on the side of his cap. His flexibility between occasional appearances in the Power Rankings and a default position as a Sleeper hinges on his recent play. Well, the pendulum is swinging back into the preferred direction after a T16 at Pebble Beach, his first top 25 in five months. You'd expect his skill set to fit Riviera as well, and it has at times. Although six of his 10 appearances resulted in a missed cut, and he placed outside the top 70 in two others, he's also finished seventh (2016) and T10 (2020). K.H. Lee ... This is the first time that he's centered among converging trends. Of course, there was the close call at TPC Scottsdale two weeks ago where he settled as a co-runner-up to Brooks Koepka's heroics on the penultimate hole, but Lee also is 2-for-2 at Riviera with a T25 in 2019 and a T13 last year with a scoring average of 69.63 in those eight rounds. He's not as much of an unknown to even core golf fans as he was, say, before the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but he's no stranger to winning abroad. The 29-year-old has a pair of victories on the Japan Golf Tour on his résumé. He also prevailed in consecutive Korea Opens before making his way to the PGA TOUR. J.T. Poston ... His career-long-tying 0-for-4 skid is a thing of the past after consecutive top 20s in recent weeks. En route to a T18 at Torrey Pines, he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and ranked second in par-5 scoring. Those feels carried over to TPC Scottsdale where he finished second in putting: birdies-or-better and T4 in par-5 scoring to post a T11. Perfect in three tries at Riviera with a personal-best T17 as a rookie in his debut in 2017. Brian Stuard ... His success so often has been reliant on his ability to split fairways, it explains why he's had success on multiple occasions on tracks like Sea Island, Waialae, Harbour Town and Mayakoba. Those backdrops share two critical variables in common. Each is exposed to wind and none is of a length that he can't handle. As one of the shortest knockers on the PGA TOUR, the 38-year-old plays to his strengths out of necessity. Currently eighth in fairways hit and T18 in proximity to the hole on approach. He's fresh off a T16 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he ranked inside the top 15 in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation. He also led the field in par-3 scoring. He's 4-for-6 at Riviera with a personal-best T23 a year ago. Sung Kang ... There's only one data point that suggests that he's going to be a threat at Riviera. Given he's been mired in a drought without a top-25 finish (and only one top 35) since play resumed last summer, that there's at least one data point is a big deal, and it's a big one at that - his track record. In six appearances since 2012, he's survived every cut and has posted four top 25s, including a share of runner-up honors last year. His scoring average in his last 20 rounds on the course is a sporty 69.80. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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The QBE Shootout, which will be held at Tiburón Golf Club’s Gold Course in Naples, Florida, gives golf betting an opportunity before the end of the calendar year. A unique event, with 24 players paired into 12 teams, with a field that includes past Presidents Cup players, major winners and two LPGA stars. It will feature a scramble format during the first round (Friday), a modified alternate shot format during the second round (Saturday), and a final-round Four-ball (Sunday). So, how are bettors approaching this tournament? As of Tuesday at the BetMGM online sportsbook, the team of Max Homa and Kevin Kisner is generating the most betting action by far. They have the most handle (30.2%) on the most tickets (21.7%). In terms of golf odds to win, they are +700, tied for fourth-best. Kisner and Homa are among the few teams in the field with both players having experience in a Presidents Cup. The two were part of the United States Team that defeated the International Team in the Presidents Cup this fall at Quail Hollow. Homa went a perfect 4-0, while Kisner was 0-2-1. Homa fans have had the opportunity to profit significantly over the last year or so. Had you placed a $100 wager on Homa to win in each of his 24 PGA TOUR starts last season, plus his three starts so far in this new 2022-23 campaign, you would have profited a cool $9,300. Harris English and Matt Kuchar also are a popular pick. They are drawing the second-most handle (15.3%) on the second-most tickets (13.6%). This pairing has had a ton of success at this event, winning in 2013, 2016 and 2020. Kuchar has earned the most money in the tournament’s history ($2,295,000), while English is third ($1,938,750). They have the second-best odds to win at +600. Current Handle & Tickets Handle Max Homa/Kevin Kisner – 30.2% Harris English/Matt Kuchar – 15.3% Trey Mullinax/Scott Stallings – 13.8% Steve Stricker/Cameron Young – 11.9% Jason Day/Billy Horschel – 9.2% Tickets Max Homa/Kevin Kisner – 21.7% Harris English/Matt Kuchar – 13.6% Steve Stricker/Cameron Young – 12.5% Tom Hoge/Sahith Theegala– 9.8% Brian Harman/Sepp Straka – 9.8%\ The team with the best odds to win is Jason Day-Billy Horschel (+500). They are drawing 7.1% of the tickets and 9.2% of the handle. The LPGA players are Nelly Korda, paired with Denny McCarthy (+2800), and Lexi Thompson, with Maverick McNealy (+3300). * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, KS, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Cameron Smith birdied the difficult 17th and 18th holes at Harbour Town to shoot a 9-under 62, his career low on the PGA TOUR, and take a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage on Thursday. RELATED: Leaderboard | Paul Casey’s circuitous journey to cross-handed putting Cink finished his 63 around lunchtime and no one appeared likely to beat that score in overcast, breezier afternoon conditions. Yet Smith played his best down the challenging stretch. The Australian chipped in for birdie on the par-3 17th, then stuck his approach to the lighthouse finishing hole within 5 feet to take the lead. Smith surpassed his previous low of 63, accomplished three times on TOUR. The 47-year-old Cink shot his lowest score in 75 career rounds at Harbour Town — not bad, considering he won here in 2000 and 2004. Collin Morikawa, who will defend his PGA Championship title up the South Carolina coast next month, shot 65 along with Matt Wallace. Charles Howell III, Billy Horschel and Harold Varner III shot 66. Smith is coming off a tie for 10th at the Masters Tournament, his second strong finish in five months at Augusta National. He was runner-up to Dustin Johnson last November. “I feel like Augusta really gets my mind going, my creativity going,” he said. Smith got a free drop after his second shot to the par-5 15th was near a temporary structure and played it to 3 feet for birdie. He missed the fairway and the green on the 16th before pitching to 6 feet to save par. He saved his best for the last two holes, where the winds off Calibogue Sound regularly batter shots that appear on the mark. Smith’s tee shot on the par-3 17th landed in a bunker well below the putting surface. Smith figured it would be a difficult up-and-down until he saw a nice lie and more green to work with than he anticipated. “The ball was sitting nice,” he said. It sat in the cup after Smith’s next stroke, which moved him into a tie with Cink at 8 under. On the 18th, Smith smashed a 3-wood down the middle of the fairway and a 9-iron to near tap-in range, matching Davis Love III in 2002 and Peter Lonard in 2005 for the lowest opening round at Harbour Town. “That was the icing on the cake,” he said. Smith has never finished better than 15th in five previous appearances at the Heritage and missed the cut the last two years. “Everything just came together,” he said. “It was a great day on the greens. I was hitting my irons really good. I had lots of good looks, and I just took advantage of them.” Cink is enjoying a late-career renaissance. He won his first tournament in 11 years this past September, added five more top-20 finishes including a tie for 12th at the Masters and has pocketed more than $1.9 million this season — his most since 2009, when he won The Open Championship. Cink started on No. 10 and drove into the water left for a bogey. “It got my attention,” Cink said. “We were really good and clean the rest of the way. No more mistakes. I played really, really well the rest of the way.” Johnson opened with a 1-under 70. Will Zalatoris, the fast-rising 24-year-old who was runner-up to Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, played with Johnson and shot 68. “Admittedly, I’m a little fried from last week,” Zalatoris said. “Coming out of the gates making a couple of birdies was nice. Kind of set the tone.” Morikawa shot in the 60s for the fourth time in five rounds at Harbour Town and said it was one of his best rounds of the year, which already includes a victory. It “puts a lot of confidence in my game,” he said. Defending champion Webb Simpson, who set an event scoring record last year at 22 under, started with an even-par 71. He had shot in the 60s in 13 of his previous 16 rounds here.

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