RBC Heritage 2021: Your form guide for this week's tournament on Hilton Head Island

The traditional post-Masters party takes place this week in South Carolina, where 138 golfers will tee-up in the RBC Heritage.

From the wide open spaces of Augusta National, the golfers will suddenly have to come to terms with the much-narrower fairways of Harbour Town Golf Links, situated at Sea Pines Resort on the south-west edge of Hilton Head Island.

Harbour Town is one of the shortest layouts on the PGA Tour, yet this is countered by tight fairways on which there is very little room for error.

The greens are slick and firm, as well as being much smaller than the Tour average, so accuracy is the name of the game.

And if a golfer fails to find the correct part of the fairway from the tee, there's every chance that their route to the flag will be blocked by overhanging trees.

This can happen on as many as 10 holes, which means it's simply not good enough just to find the fairway with the driver, as this does not guarantee a straight line to the pin.

An ability to scramble successfully will also come in handy as it's not always possible to locate every small putting surface in regulation.

This is borne out by the fact that between 2016 and 2020, Harbour Town's greens were the 25th most difficult (out of 29*) to locate in regulation.

Water comes into play on 11 holes, with seven of these affecting approach shots.

It's also a venue where golf's longer hitters will have to curb their exuberance, with fewer drives than normal exceeding the 300-yard mark.

To sum it up, Harbour Town demands finesse, imagination and shot-making, rather than brute force.

On the tee

Despite taking place the week following The Masters, the Heritage usually attracts a strong field.

As many as half of the world's top 10, and 13 of the top 25, are in attendance, although remarkably none of them posted a top-10 finish at Augusta.

The best Masters finish from this group of 13 came from Webb Simpson (T-12), the defending champion at Harbour Town this week.

Check out the latest betting ahead of this week's RBC Heritage

Simpson usually performs well on Hilton Head Island and should be among the leading contenders, once again, come Sunday afternoon.

You have to go down to No 27 Will Zalatoris, who finished second on his Masters debut, to find an Augusta T-10 - he'd started the week at No 46 in the World Ranking.

World No 1 Dustin Johnson is in the field, but hasn't posted a T-25 finish in his most recent four outings. He's also failed to finish inside the top-dozen from five previous visits to the Heritage.

Harbour Town should suit some of the shorter hitters, such as Kevin Na, Ian Poulter and Matt Fitzpatrick, all of whom have played pretty well during 2021.

Former champ Matt Kuchar may also offer some decent value this week, despite missing the cut at Augusta.

Check out the latest betting ahead of next month's PGA Championship

And Ireland's Shane Lowry could easily leave South Carolina with a trophy this weekend.

The 34-year-old 'still-reigning' Open champion is playing solidly right now. He's accurate with his short irons and will relish a week by the coast.

He tied-third at Harbour Town two years ago, and posted four steady rounds at Augusta finishing inside the top 25.

Course history

This much-loved public course was designed by Pete Dye, in conjunction with Jack Nicklaus, and opened 54 years ago.

In 1969 it hosted its first PGA Tour event and has remained on the schedule ever since.

The Heritage is one of five tournaments afforded invitational status on Tour, along with those at Muirfield Village, Bay Hill, Colonial and Riviera.

Over the five decades of its existence, the Heritage has compiled an honours' board full of excellent ball-strikers and solid iron players.

Last year's event was staged in mid-June, nine-weeks later than originally planned, having been denied its normal mid-April slot due to lockdown.

* 29 courses staged a minimum of four PGA Tour events during this five-year period (2016-20). Averages relate to those who completed 54 or more holes in tournaments.

Course Comparisons (1.1.16 - 31.12.20)

Driving Accuracy (%)
73.88: Sea Island (RSM Classic) (1/29)
61.97: Harbour Town (RBC Heritage) (16/29)
52.24: Torrey Pines (Farmers Insurance) (29/29)

Greens in Regulation (%)
75.98: Sedgefield (Wyndham) (1/29)
61.36: Harbour Town (RBC Heritage) (25/29)
58.99: Innisbrook (Valspar) (29/29)

Putting (GiR)
1.664: PGA West (host) (American Express) (1/29)
1.718: Harbour Town (RBC Heritage) (3/29)
2.668: Augusta National (Masters) (29/29)

Key: Above stats are for all 29 courses which staged four or more PGA Tour events between January 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2020. To qualify for a ranking (between 1 & 29), tournaments must have a minimum of 50 players competing over the final two rounds of the event. Averages do not include players who failed to complete at least 54 holes.

Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves