Spieth, Kuchar, Koepka share early Open lead

This week’s RBC Heritage slots familiarly immediately following the Masters where Scottie Scheffler prevailed for the first time in a major. For the 42 who competed at Augusta National and are committed at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (as of Monday afternoon), the tournament promises that – hang on one sec … checks field to confirm that Scheffler isn’t playing –someone else will win. Notwithstanding Scheffler’s historic surge, the tournament also is known for its heaters. In its first 53 editions dating back to 1969 – all contested at Harbour Town – there have been 10 golfers who have won it multiple times. Davis Love III headlines the club with five titles, while Hale Irwin and this year’s defending champion, Stewart Cink, have won thrice. Twelve former RBC Heritage champions are among the 132 in the field this week, including all of the last nine. Continue reading beneath the ranking of projected contenders for how Harbour Town tests, which boxes Cink checked en route to victory, what’s new this year and more. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE Jordan Spieth, Kevin Na, Jason Kokrak, Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Stewart Cink will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Draws and Fades. DL3 scattered his Ws at Harbour Town over 17 editions (1987-2003) and in his 20s and 30s, but both Irwin (24) and Cink (22) stretched longer from the first to their last. What’s more, Irwin was 48 years old for his third; Cink was 47. That’s part of the magic of the place. It doesn’t discriminate against age. Or relative lack of muscle off the tee. Or putting. Ranging just 7,191 yards and with 18 of some of the PGA TOUR’s smallest greens on average (at 3,700 square feet), the par 71 rewards the shot-makers among the ball-strikers. It’s not as much about finding fairways as it is paying off finding the most strategic angles on approach. But with bermuda rough, which is overseeded, extending just three-quarters of an inch high, accuracy off the tee is secondary to piling up greens in regulation. Because targets demand precision, hitting it close is the default of getting it on. Cink ranked T57 in fairways hit last year, but he co-led the field in averaging 14 GIR per round. He also finished 11th in proximity, so it was no wonder why he paced the tournament in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Cink also was T4 in scrambling en route to his four-stroke margin of victory. While the parlay of tidy into- and around-the-green work should be rewarded handsomely, the latter is the softest underbelly of Harbour Town. Small greens usually surrender high rates of salvaging pars after missing them in regulation. Furthermore, because the overseeded bermuda greens are ready to run up to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, which essentially is the TOUR norm, talents who don’t profile as superior putters can circle this week as an opportunity to make a dent. The 2021 field averaged 70.332 on the scorecard. That’s second-lowest in recorded tournament history (1983-present) to the special June date of 2020 (when the course doesn’t require overseeding) and reflective of how a gathering worthy of a strength-of-field rating as determined by the Official World Golf Ranking of 481 can make a difference. (The SOF in 2020 was 712.) However, slightly higher scoring should be expected this week as the two easiest holes on the course are longer. New tees at the par-5 second and fifth holes have extended the pair. No. 2 is 48 yards longer at 550 yards; No. 5 now tips at 569 yards after a 20-yard increase. Also, for the record, after the new expanded tee box at the par-3 17th introduced an additional 22 yards last year, even newer modifications bumped it up again, this time by two yards to 198. The most challenging of the weather conditions will be the swirling winds that will blow a bit at least through the first two rounds and as energy threatens rain and storms that will linger into the weekend. Otherwise, comfortably cool air blankets the week as daytime highs extend 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, Draws and Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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Ready or not, here it comes! A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier launches the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. The first of 49 tournaments sat out last season to accommodate the shift of the FedExCup Playoffs to August. This is the ninth edition of the tournament, all of which have been contested at The Old White TPC at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. There are only nine days between the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and the first round at Greenbrier. While some graduates may be weary after long seasons and the pressure of the series, all should be encouraged that numerous golfers just like them over the years have sustained form when the light turns green on the PGA TOUR. As of midday Monday, all 50 are committed to the tournament, including all 21 rookies. For what the entire field of 156 is getting in The Old White TPC and more, scroll past the projected contenders. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Jimmy Walker, Scott Piercy, Cameron Smith, Byeong Hun An and Doc Redman among other notables. No matter one’s position in the overall pecking order, The Old White TPC is a proper opener. It’s fair and fun. Checking in as a par 70 with both par 5s on the inward side (Nos. 12 and 17), the course is one of the longest of its kind at 7,292 yards. For the record, that reflects an increase of six yards from the 2018 edition, and 15 holes are listed at a different yardage this week, but none more than the reduction of nine yards at the 484-yard, par-4 11th. The Old White TPC also boasts the only par-3 finisher on the PGA TOUR. Defending champion Kevin Na parred the 179-yard 18th hole in all four rounds last time, but he could afford to, having prevailed by five strokes at 19-under 261. That’s the second-lowest aggregate since Stuart Appleby’s 22-under 258 in the inaugural edition of 2010 and before the course was fitted with some teeth. Na’s path to the title was unconventional, but it proved the worth of the equity of the track. Hitting greens and sinking putts is the standard objective on a scorable course with average-sized greens (6,500 square feet of bentgrass) rolling upwards of 11-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. However, of the 10 golfers who finished inside the top 10 of the 2018 edition of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, Na tied for hitting the fewest (53). His percentage (73.61) was nearly three clicks higher than the field average, but in a shootout, that puts pressure on the short game and putter. On cue, Na finished second in both Strokes Gained: Putting and scrambling, and he led the field converting GIR into par breakers with the flat stick. He also paced it in par-4 scoring, which is to say that he capitalized on an occasional weakness of the course. The set of 12 par 4s never plays harder than TOUR average, but the field scored just 3.97 on them in 2018, fourth-easiest of 51 courses all season. The absence of impactful wind will contribute to another good week of scoring, but looming rain and boomers figure to challenge the more inexperienced touring professionals who aren’t as familiar with stopping and starting on this stage. Warm, juicy air with daytime highs in the mid-to-high 80s will remind everyone that the autumnal equinox still is a couple of weeks out in the Northern Hemisphere. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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