top 20 pga tour players

• Strokes Gained Calculator
• Player List

Official World Golf Rankings Advanced Statistics

Who is the top ranked golfer in the world.

The current #1 player in the world is Scottie Scheffler . He's been the top ranked player for the past 48 weeks, starting on May 22. Overall he's held the #1 position for 82 weeks. Scottie Scheffler first achieved the number 1 ranking on March 28, 2022.

Current Top 100 Golfers By World Ranking

Who has gained the most rating points in the last month.

Scottie Scheffler has gained 1.92 points since March 18, which is the most of anybody in the world rankings. In this time period he has solidified his position as the 1st ranked player in the world.

Who has lost the most rating points in the last month?

Jon Rahm has lost 0.55 points since March 18, which is the steepest drop of anybody in the world rankings. His ranking has dropped from 3rd to 4th in the world rankings.

Who is the highest ranked player who hasn't been #1?

The highest ranked player who hasn't reached the top spot in the world rankings is currently Xander Schauffele , who is ranked 3rd in the world.

Players Championship 2024: The top 50 contenders for PGA Tour's biggest prize at TPC Sawgrass

Scottie scheffler, wyndham clark, viktor hovland among the favorites to hoist the gold man trophy for winning at the players stadium course at tpc sawgrass.

The Players Championship field is 144 strong, and we do mean strong. 

Every player teeing it up at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass either won a tournament in the past year, won a major championship in the past five years, earned enough FedEx Cup points last year or this season to date or has done well enough to reside within the top-50 on the World Golf Rankings. 

There are no pretenders. 

But there are those we consider the top contenders. 

To further commemorate the 50th Players, the Times-Union has picked the top-50 contenders, in five categories, with the best chance to win at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass beginning on Thursday. 

But someone no one considered a favorite is likely to be around the lead on Sunday afternoon. Bet on it. 

Oh, you’ve never heard of Craig Perks, Stephen Ames, Mark Hayes, Si Woo Kim or Tim Clark? 

Few, if anyone, gave them a chance before they won the PGA Tour’s biggest tournament for the richest cash haul in golf. 

Here goes, in order of our preferences in each category:  

Scott Scheffler heads Past Winners Flight 

Scottie Scheffler: No one has defended a Players Championship title. Since the first Players, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo have won back-to-back Masters; Curtis Strange and Brooks Koepka won back-to-back U.S. Opens; and Woods (twice) and Koepka have defended PGA titles; and Tom Watson, Padraig Harrington and Woods have done it at the Open Championship. Scheffler has been so consistent over the past two seasons he’s a threat to win anywhere, any time. And he looked dominant last week in winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

Rory McIlroy: Started playing well out of the gate at the DP World Tour events in the Middle East but has yet to finish among the top 20 this year in America. McIlroy has been kind of streaky in The Players — he missed his first three cuts; his 2019 victory was the fourth top 10 in seven starts and has missed two cuts and tied for 33rd in his past three starts. 

Justin Thomas: Last year's absence from the FedEx Cup playoffs was an aberration. There’s too much talent in that 165-pound frame. 

Jason Day: He’s been sporadic even when healthy but there’s a lot of gas left in the tank, evidence by three top 10s on the West Coast Swing. 

Si Woo Kim: If, for nothing else, we’d like to see a driver off the deck in crunch time again. 

Rickie Fowler: He’s got to get more self-confidence. If that happens, look out. 

Matt Kuchar: Don’t scoff about him being 45 years old. Just keep an eye on him. 

Webb Simpson: Anyone who can shoot 18-under for 72 holes at this course only six years ago will remain a threat if he can stick a tee in the ground. 

Adam Scott: He was the youngest to win the Players in 2004, a year before Fred Funk was the oldest. What’s the point? Scottie still has some steam left in his 40s.  

Under 30 Flight: Watch out for Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg: He’s got the perfect and mental makeup to have success at the Stadium Course ... to say nothing of all the shots. 

Will Zalatoris: Missed all of 2023 with a back injury but has returned and posted a couple of nice finishes on the Western Swing, then got in the mix at Bay Hill. 

Jake Knapp: Has burst on the scene during the Tour's spring schedule with a victory in Mexico. Some observers say he's got a similar swing to two-time Players champion Fred Couples. Sounds like that would work. 

Viktor Hovland: The defending FedEx Cup champion from Norway has tied for ninth and third in his last two Players starts. It may only be a matter of time. 

Nicolai Hojgaard: The 22-year-old Dane has won three times on the DP World Tour since he was 20, including last season's DP World Tour with a final-round 64 that beat back Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood. That's some stern stuff. 

Austin Eckroat: Another product of the Oklahoma State golf factory who broke through to win his first at the Cognizant Classic. 

Saith Theegala: Not much production in his first two Players, a missed cut and a solo 74th. But he snared his first Tour victory last fall and he's added two top fives since then. 

Tom Kim: He's made 10 of his last 11 cuts with four top-10s, including his third career victory. Plus, he'd be a live wire in contention on the weekend and an immediate crowd favorite. 

Cameron Young: He's been nibbling on the fringes of something special for the better part of three seasons now and had a good showing on the West Coast. 

Nick Dunlap: Went from Alabama sophomore to Tour winner in one week at The American Express. Goes deep and has all the shots. Hasn’t been on the Tour long enough to have much fear but since winning at La Quinta, he's struggled.  

Hideki Matsuyama leads a stout International Flight

Hideki Matsuyama: The muscular native of Japan and 2021 Masters champion had two top 10s in his last three Players starts and in the ill-fated 2020 tournament, canceled after one round, he tied the course record with a 63. Closed out a victory in the Genesis Invitational with a final-round 62 and said he didn't play his best. Wonder what that must look like? 

Nick Taylor: Became even more of a national hero in Canada when he made an eagle bomb to win the Canadian Open in a playoff against Fleetwood. Then he won the WM Phoenix Open with a birdie in a playoff against Charley Hoffman, after a first-round 60. 

Min Woo Lee: An Australian by birth and the son of Korean natives, Lee became an instant Stadium Course gallery favorite by contending through 54 holes last year, before finishing in a tie for sixth. He has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and 100,000 on TikTok. He can also play some golf and won the 2023 Australian PGA. 

Tommy Fleetwood: A winner of 10 worldwide events, the Englishman knocked on the Stadium Course door in 2018 and 2019 before tying for seventh and fifth.  

Byeong Hun An: The South Korean is playing pretty well this season and showed some pluck at Bay Hill when he rallied from a back-nine 40 in the third round and made six birdies in an all-hole span in Sunday for a 68 to move into the top 10. 

Justin Rose: That tie for sixth at The Players last year was no fluke. The steady veteran from England has won 25 tournaments worldwide, led by the 2013 U.S. Open, and remains a threat anywhere, anytime at the age of 43. 

Adam Hadwin: We're waiting for the reality show starring Hadwin, his wife Jessica and their adorable daughter. Jessica Hadwin's best social media posts involve her husband's lack of home repair skills. The native of Canada is a lot better with a golf club in his hand. He's got a 59 on his resume, has won in the U.S., Canada and Chile and has finished T22, T9 and T13 in his last three Players. Also, who can't love a guy who gets to the PGA Tour from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan? 

Corey Conners: The Canadian has three top-10s in the Masters and finished solo seventh in the 2021 Players. He sure loves San Antonio, Texas — both of his Tour victories are there in the Texas Open. 

Matthieu Pavon: He did what Jean van de Velde and Thomas Levet couldn't — he was the first native of France to win on the PGA Tour in 117 years when he captured the Farmers Insurance Open. Then he finished solo third at Pebble Beach. 

Christiaan Bezuidenhout: The South African has won 10 worldwide tournaments before turning 30 and hung around in last year's Players before a final round 74. He finished second to Dunlap in The American Express. His last name score in Scrabble is worth 24 points. 

Major Champions Flight: Watch out for Wyndham Clark

Wyndham Clark: Since he won his first Tour title at the Wells Fargo last May, he's won three in all and last week's runner up at Bay Hill put him second on the FedEx Cup points list behind Scheffler. 

Matthew Fitzpatrick: He's a proven winner with two on the PGA Tour and nine on the DP World Tour. One measure of the man is some of the players who have finished second when he's won: Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowery and Lee Westwood. 

Shane Lowry: Watch out for the native of Clara, Ireland. He was solo third at Bay Hill and tied for fourth at PGA National. His two PGA Tour titles are a major (the 2019 Open Championship and a World Golf Championship) and he's been pretty good at The Players in recent years. Also, no one seemed to enjoy a hole-in-one at No. 17 as much as he did. 

Collin Morikawa: Look at the total package and it's a game that should translate well to the Stadium Course, where he posted a tie for 13th last season. He's played solidly, if not spectacularly so far this season. 

Brian Harman: The St. Simons Island, Ga., resident has been a winner at the junior, college, amateur and professional level and last year grabbed the Open by the throat and won by six. Harman has three top 10s in The Players and has made seven of his last eight cuts. 

Keegan Bradley: Yeah, in retrospect, he probably should have been on the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year. A bulldog when he's in contention but still looking for the follow-hit to his 2011 PGA title when he became only the third player to win in his first major championship start. 

Jordan Spieth: Since contending deep into the weekend in his first Players start in 2014, the three-time major champion has missed five of eight cuts. You've got to think that luck will change at some point. 

Lucas Glover: The 2009 U.S. Open champion roared back from some tough years with two victories last fall. He's flashed at The Players with a third in 2010 and a tie for sixth in 2017 and has the experience of 15 starts behind him. 

Gary Woodland: Boy, would this be one of the greatest comeback stories of the last few years, winning The Players after undergoing brain surgery. It already was when he made his first start this year and then made the cut at the Genesis Invitational. 

Francesco Molinari: The past Open champion hung around the leaderboard in The Players during his first seven starts, with four top-10 finishes between 2010-2017. He's been outside the top-42 since then but has made three of five cuts and shouldn't be underestimated. 

Veterans (with no majors or a Players) Flight: Is it Patrick Cantlay time?

Patrick Cantlay: Yeah, he's a bit too deliberate for most tastes and has yet to win a major. But he's got a FedEx Cup championship and that's not nothing. 

Chris Kirk: A six-time winner and a nerveless putter when he gets it going. Kirk shared the 54-hole Players lead in 2015 but has yet to finish among the top 10. One of the more courageous comeback stories on the PGA Tour. 

Tony Finau: You've got to think a big one is going to come at some point. The big-hitting Utah native has 10 top 10s in major championships, with seven coming in a stretch of 11 starts. He hasn’t figured out the Stadium Course yet but his tie for 10th last year was a promising sign. 

Max Homa: He's got too much talent to have such a rotten record in major championships. The Players is another matter and he's improved from a missed cut in his first start in 2021 to a tie for 13th in 2022 and a tie for sixth last year. 

Billy Horschel: The hometown favorite has made a bunch of cuts at the Stadium Course but is still looking for his first top-10 finish. His performance in Cognizant Classic at PGA National (a tie for ninth, with bookend rounds of 66s) was a very good sign. 

Xander Schauffele: The consistency is there, with 41 consecutive cuts made, the longest active streak on the PGA Tour. He's got a game perfect for the U.S. Open, with six of seven top 10s and a tie for 14th. That kind of control should translate to a Players victory one day but he's struggled since tying for second in his first career start at the Stadium in 2018. 

Eric Cole: Years of laboring on minitours paid off last year when he finished among the top 10 in four of his last five starts and finished 31st on the money list and 43rd on the FedEx Cup points list. He's been steady this season and is 22nd on the FedEx Cup. 

Tom Hoge: He set the 18-hole record with a 62 last season. Sprinkle some of those birdies around the other three rounds and he might threaten to win this thing. 

Sam Burns: He was right there at the 54-hole mark in the 2022 Players. Still doesn't have a top 10 in a major or The Players but he did win the 2023 match play and thumped Cameron Young 6 and 5 in the finals. 

Harris English: He's missed the cut in his last seven Players starts for which he's been eligible. But the feisty Valdosta, Ga., native has a lot of game with four Tour victories and three top 10s in the U.S. Open. 

Russell Henley: Quietly putting together a good season with a couple of fourths (including last week at Bay Hill). A streaky putter who runs them off in batches once he gets his confidence. 

• CBSSports.com
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• CBS Sports Home
• Champions League
• Motor Sports
• High School
• Horse Racing 

Men's Brackets

Women's Brackets

Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy football, football pick'em, college pick'em, fantasy basketball, fantasy hockey, franchise games, 24/7 sports news network.

• CBS Sports Golazo Network
• PGA Tour on CBS
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League
• Italian Serie A
• Watch CBS Sports Network
• TV Shows & Listings

The Early Edge

A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast

With the First Pick

NFL Draft is coming up!

• Podcasts Home
• The First Cut Golf
• Beyond the Arc
• Eye On College Basketball
• NFL Pick Six
• Cover 3 College Football
• Fantasy Football Today
• My Teams Organize / See All Teams Help Account Settings Log Out

Top-10 Finishes

PGA TOUR Player Stats 2022-23

• Statistics are updated nightly
• AGE : Current age of player
• EARNINGS : Official money won
• CUP : FedExCup Points
• EVNTS : Tournaments played
• RNDS : Rounds played
• CUTS : Cuts made
• TOP10 : Top 10 finishes
• WINS : Wins
• SCORE : Scoring average per round
• DDIS : Driving distance (in yards)
• DACC : Driving accuracy %
• GIR : Greens In Regulation %
• PUTTS : Putts per hole
• SAND : Save Percentage
• BIRDS : Birdies per round
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Disney Ad Sales Site
• Work for ESPN
• Corrections

• FanNation FanNation FanNation
• Swimsuit SI Swimsuit SI Swimsuit
• Sportsbook SI Sportsbook SI Sportsbook
• Tickets SI Tickets SI Tickets
• Shop SI Shop SI Shop
• What's on TV
• Golf Golf Golf
• Home Home Home
• News News News
• Leaderboard Leaderboard Leaderboard
• Schedules Schedules Schedules
• SI Rankings SI Rankings SI Rankings
• Travel Travel Travel
• Instruction Instruction Instruction
• Gear Gear Gear
• Betting Betting Betting

SI Golf Ranks Its Top 36 PGA Tour Players Who Should Get Equity Shares

• Author: SI Golf staff

The PGA Tour's top players are about to get a lot richer.

But which ones?

The Tour announced in early February that $930 million of its investment capital from Strategic Sports Group would go to qualified members in the form of equity shares in the new for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises.

The bulk of that pot of gold—$750 million—will go to 36 players based on a formula that factors career performance, last five-year performance and Player Impact Program (PIP) results, according to the Tour.

Only current qualified Tour members are eligible (again, their rules, not ours), so none of these equity shares will go to Phil Mickelson , the second-winningest player of the last 30 years. Or to Jon Rahm , arguably the game’s best over the last five years. Or Jack Nicklaus , as there is another equity group of 36 players the Tour calls “instrumental to building the PGA Tour, based on career performance.” He’d surely top that list.

For qualified Tour members, we crunched some numbers. By compiling career wins, titles in the last five years plus FedEx Cup points and PIP scores (25 qualified players have received PIP bonuses in the three years of the program), SI Golf came up with its list of 36 players. “Loyalty” is not accounted for in our calculations; we’ll be curious to see if that factors in the Tour’s list.

Let us know your thoughts on the SI Golf X account.

36 PGA Tour Players Who Most Deserve Equity Shares From the New Investment

Illustration by Laura Angle/Sports Illustrated

1. Tiger Woods :  82 career Tour wins and No. 1 in all three years of the PIP. His record over the last five years has nothing of note beyond two wins in 2019, including a triumphant Masters . But there’s no doubt he will top this list and we’d guess command a nine-figure equity share.

2. Rory McIlroy :  24 career wins, 10 in the last five years, won two of the last five FedEx Cups. Also second-second-third in three years of the PIP. We’re not assigning dollar figures here, but would anyone be surprised if he also gets a nine-figure share?

3. Justin Thomas: Has never finished below eighth in the PIP (Woods, McIlroy, Thomas and Jordan Spieth are the only members to have ranked in all three PIPs), has 15 career wins including six in the last five years. Four straight top-five FedEx Cup finishes from 2019–22.

4. Scottie Scheffler :  World No. 1 has eight wins in last 25 months. Three top-six FedEx Cup finishes in last four years including runner-up in 2022. Two top-six PIP nods.

5. Xander Schauffele : Last five years include four wins, Olympic gold and unmatched consistency with no finish below fifth in the last five FedEx Cups. Also 11th and seventh in the last two PIPs. 

6. Jordan Spieth: Never below fourth in the PIP and 13 career wins are tied for fifth among active players. Two wins in the last five years.

7. Viktor Hovland : Six wins in the last five years including last year’s FedEx Cup. Seventh and 20th in last two PIPs.

8. Tony Finau:  Five wins in the last five years, top-20 finishes in last five FedEx Cups, 13th and 10th in last two PIPs.

9. Collin Morikawa: All six career wins in the last five years, 14th and 11th last two PIPs and four consecutive Tour Championship appearances.

10. Max Homa: All six career wins in last five years, ninth and 14th in last two PIPs, top-nine finishes in last two FedEx Cups.

11. Patrick Cantlay :  Seven wins in the last five years and the 2021 FedEx Cup, but 19th in the last two PIPs.

12. Billy Horschel:  Seven career wins with a FedEx Cup, three Tour Championship appearances in last four years, 15th in the 2022 PIP.

13. Rickie Fowler: Six career wins, sixth and 16th in last two PIPs, two top-20 FedEx Cup finishes in last five years.

14. Matt Fitzpatrick:  Two wins in the last two years, 15th and eighth in last two PIPs and ninth and 15th in last two FedEx Cups.

15. Justin Rose:  11 career wins with a major, a FedEx Cup and an Olympic gold medal. 18th in last year’s PIP.

16. Adam Scott:  Fourth in all-time wins among active players, two Tour Championship appearances in last five years, 17th in 2022 PIP.

17. Wyndham Clark:  Three wins in the last 10 months, 16th in the PIP last year and third in the FedEx Cup

18. Kevin Kisner:  Two career wins, two Tour Championship appearances in last five years, 13th in the 2022 PIP.

19. Hideki Matsuyama:  This is the part of the list where players fail to meet all three of the Tour’s criteria, and in Matsuyama’s case that’s zero PIP nods. But he has four wins in last five years and four Tour Championship appearances.

20. Jason Day:  13 career wins, 12th and 15th last two PIPs, 28th at last year's Tour Championship.

21. Chris Kirk :  Six career wins with a resurgence that includes two wins over the last year.

22. Keegan Bradley:  Six career wins, two wins in the last five years. Ninth in last year's FedEx Cup.

23. Shane Lowry:  One win and was 12th in 2022 PIP.

24. Sungjae Im: 24th or better in last five years of FedEx Cup and two wins.

25. Brian Harman:  Three career wins and 20th in last year's PIP.

26. Lucas Glover:  Six career wins and including two last year. 

27. Will Zalatoris: One win and ninth in the 2022 PIP.

28. Zach Johnson:  12 career wins, second-oldest player on this list behind Woods.

29. Webb Simpson:  Seven career wins, two Tour Championship appearances in last five years.

30. Sam Burns:  Five wins in last five years and three Tour Championship appearances.

31. Tom Kim:  Three wins in the last three years, T20 at last year's Tour Championship.

32. Gary Woodland:  Four career wins, one Tour Championship appearance in last five years.

33. Si Woo Kim:  Four career wins, two wins in last three years and T20 at last year's Tour Championship.

34. Nick Taylor:  Four career wins with three in the last five years.

35. Cameron Young:  2022 PGA Tour rookie of the year, 17th in last year’s PIP.

36. Matt Kuchar:  Nine career wins, 16th in 2019 FedEx Cup.

Also considered: Brandt Snedeker (nine career wins), Sahith Theegala (2022 Tour Championship appearance, one win), Tommy Fleetwood (10th 2023 PIP).

Latest News

A ‘Very Engaged’ Tiger Woods Hosted PGA Tour/PIF Bahamas Meeting and Played Golf With Yasir Al-Rumayyan

Fact or Fiction: This is Rory McIlroy’s Best Chance to Win a Green Jacket

TV Times: How to Watch the Valspar Championship, LPGA in California

Masters Champion Jon Rahm Expects to Be Nervous Early in the Week, Then All Business at Augusta

Power Rankings: Take Precision Over Distance at Valspar Championship

Compare ranking performance for up to four players over various periods, from a single season to their whole careers.

View the historical Ranking archives

Share your OWGR personalized widget on your website.

Advertisement

Rory mcilroy tops tiger woods in player impact program standings as top 20 share $100 million in pga tour bonus money, share this article.

Rory McIlroy may not have ended his major-less streak in 2023 but he did end Tiger Woods’s reign as the winner of the Player Impact Program.

In a memo sent to PGA Tour membership on Wednesday, McIlroy was revealed as driving the most engagement this season, banking $15 million out of a pot of $100 million distributed to the top 20 finishers.

The PIP was first introduced in 2020-21 and designed to reward members who – through objective measurement criteria – are shown to generate the most positive interest in the Tour. “The scoring model for the program is intended to be as objective as possible with the goal of quantifying the impact each player has on the PGA Tour,” Jason Gore, the Tour’s executive vice president and chief player officer, wrote in a memo.

Woods, who had won the PIP in the two previous years despite hardly playing at all, earned $12 million for finishing second and Jon Rahm, the winner of the Masters, finished third and made $9 million. Collin Morikawa, who had finished 11 th in the previous two years, dropped to No. 14 but still made the same amount as No. 11 ($3 million). See the full list below.

Players will receive the first 75 percent of their money with their Sentry purse payment in January, and the remaining 25 percent will be distributed once a player completes his Player Impact Program Service Fulfillment, according to the memo.

For the 2022-23 season, MVP Index and Q-Score were removed and replaced by MARC General Population Awareness and MARC Golf Fan Awareness survey data in determining the rankings. The PIP was administered by and the results were certified by Grant Thornton.

The Tour announced in March that next year’s PIP will be reduced to $50 million, paid to the top 10 players, down from $100 million and 20 players, with the difference to be reallocated to the FedEx Cup bonus, Comcast Business Tour Top 10 and other player programs.

None of this sat well with Tour veteran Nate Lashley, who posted the memo on social media and wrote, “How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is? Would love to hear from golf/PGA fans if they think this $100 million was spent well? There’s 150-200 members of the PGA Tour and they just spent $100 million on 20 players. Seems a little ridiculous. Time for new leadership on the PGA Tour. This is an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nathan Lashley (@nlashley001)

2022-23 PIP standings and earnings

• Rory McIlroy — $15 million
• Tiger Woods — $12 million
• Jon Rahm — $9 million
• Jordan Spieth — $7.5 million
• Scottie Scheffler — $6 million
• Rickie Fowler — $5.5 million
• Viktor Hovland — $5 million
• Justin Thomas — $5 million
• Tommy Fleetwood — $5 million
• Max Homa — $5 million
• Xander Schauffele — $3 million
• Jason Day — $3 million
• Tony Finau — $3 million
• Collin Morikawa — $3 million
• Matt Fitzpatrick — $3 million
• Wyndham Clark — $2 million
• Cameron Young — $2 million
• Justin Rose — $2 million
• Patrick Cantlay — $2 million
• Brian Harman — $2 million

More PGA Tour

Justin thomas thinks it's 'weird' that scottie scheffler plays with high-numbered golf balls, rbc heritage 2024 sunday tee times, pga tour pairings and how to watch, scottie. scheffler. oh, and much more from saturday at the rbc heritage 2024, rbc heritage 2024 saturday tee times, pga tour pairings and how to watch.

See more equipment: Best drivers for 2024 | Best irons for 2024 | Best putters for 2024 | Best golf balls for 2024

Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and more highlight deep field for 2024 Zurich Classic

Collin Morikawa might be back, Scottie Scheffler won't go away and more from Friday at RBC Heritage 2024

YouTube star Wesley Bryan is rocking a mustache, has a new putter and, oh, is winning this week

J.T. Poston has his own 'Scottie' good-luck charm among first-round takeaways from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Most popular, stephanie sparks, host of golf channel's reality series 'big break,' dies at age 50, best affordable putters in 2024: 12 great putters for less than $200, photos: lpga star so yeon ryu through the years, lexi thompson among 13 big names to miss the cut at 2024 chevron championship, taylormade p·770, p·790 copper irons.

More From Forbes

Rbc heritage 2024 golf betting preview, odds, pga picks and props.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

2023 RBC Heritage winner Matt Fitzpatrick hands his ball off to his caddie during the first round of ... [+] the RBC Heritage golf tournament, Thursday, April 13, 2023 at Harbour Town Golf Links, in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Following world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler ’s dominating win at The Masters for his second green jacket and third PGA Tour title in 2024, the top golfers head about 140 miles Southeast to Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. Scheffler is right back on the tee as prohibitive betting favorite for a Signature Event at Harbour Town Golf Links. The tournament and $20 million purse drew an elite field for the second straight year, and note that this is a no cut event with all golfers playing 72 holes. The field includes just 69 players and all but two of the top-30 in the Official World Golf Rankings (Matsuyama and Hovland out).

Betting favorites and top players continue to take a bulk of the betting action when wagering to win, and bettors also include many of those players in other types of bets like top finishing position (top 5, 10, 20) and other prop bets like Round 1 birdies or better. Most players have an over/under of 4.5 for birdies or better with different odds. For example, FanDuel Ambassador and 2022 Heritage champion Jordan Spieth is -150 for under 4.5 birdies or better, and +105 for over . The 2023 Heritage winner of the plaid jacket who beat Spieth in a playoff was Matt Fitzpatrick , who is -140 for under 4.5 birdies or better and +100 for over . The two tournament favorites, Scottie Scheffler is -175 to go over 4.5 birdies or better in Round 1 while Rory McIlroy is -140 over. Patrick Cantlay also has four top-3 finishes in six starts at Harbour Town plus a T7. He’s -115 to make more than 4.5 birdies in Round 1 and an over/under score of 68.5 (-140 over ) at FanDuel Sportsbook .

Harbour Town Golf Links

A players favorite on the Pete Dye design, Harbour Town Golf Links is a Par 71 tree-lined track that plays to 7,213 yards for the RBC Heritage event. Experience helps as players navigate a claustrophotic course where water is in play on all 18 holes. Golfers shape shots into tiny greens that average 3,700 square feet - second smallest on the PGA Tour. The perennial ryegrass rough is down from last year’s cut of 2.5 inches.

The doglegs around the trees and penalty areas don’t allow for the big hitters to separate themselves off the tee, as players often hit to similar target areas with more approach shots from 175 yards range.

Scottie Scheffler finished T11 here last year in his tournament debut shooting 68-65 before falling over the weekend with 69-70. Scheffler commented in the press room Tuesday before the 2024 event about the difference in coming from Augusta National to a completely different golf course here at Harbour Town.

Bitcoin Suddenly Braced For A 35 Trillion Halving Price Earthquake

New google play biometrics warning issued to all android users, apple watch series 9 hits all time low special offer price.

“Yeah, it's very different. I think sometimes when you're coming from Augusta — we were talking about it today, the green at No. 14 just looked so small. I'm sitting there with a 6-iron looking at this small green, and Augusta everything is really big at times and then you come here and everything is really, really small it seems like,” Scheffler said.

Harbour Town Golf Links - Hole By Hole

“It's a great golf course, and it's a lot of fun to play. I think it's very interesting,” Scheffler added. “I think for some people, distance debate type people if they're ever looking at golf course design and how to combat people only trying to hit the ball really far, they need to come here and do a case study on this golf course because it's really, really good. You've got to curve the ball both directions, and you have to control your distance. You have to control where the golf ball is going. It's not just a place where you can go bomb it.”

RBC Heritage Golf Odds And Favorites

Leading favorites and contenders golf odds from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting.

• +450: Scottie Scheffler
• +1200: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
• +1400: Ludvig Aberg
• +1600: Patrick Cantlay
• +1800: Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa
• +2500: Matt Fitzpatrick
• +2800: Max Homa
• +3000: Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young
• +3500: Si Woo Kim, Wyndham Clark
• +4000: Sahith Theegala, Russell Henley
• +4500: Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry
• +5500: Tom Kim, Sam Burns, Corey Conners
• +6000: Tony Finau, Akshay Bhatia, Brian Harman
• +6500: Chris Kirk, Jason Day, J.T. Poston
• +7000: Denny McCarthy
• +7500: Byeong Hun An, Harris English, Cam Davis
• +8000: Taylor Moore, Sungjae Im, Lucas Glover
• +8000: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Sepp Straka
• +9000: Brend0n Todd, Matthieu Pavon
• +11000: Eric Cole, Kurt Kitayama, Stephan Jaeger
• +11000: Adam Hadwin, Keegan Bradley, Adam Schenk
• +12000: Tom Hoge, Emiliano Grillo

72 Hole Winning Score (Par 71): 266.5

Top 5 and Top 10 Finish

• +110 Top 5, -200 Top 10: Scheffler
• +260, +120: Schauffele
• +280, +130: McIlroy
• +300, +140: Aberg
• +350, +160: Cantlay
• +360, +160: Fleetwood
• +360, +175: Morikawa
• +500, +230: Matt Fitzpatrick
• +550, +240: Homa
• +600, +260: Zalatoris

Those 10 top players all have odds from -110 to -230 to finish Top 20 with Scheffler -550 to finish Top 20.

Looking at recent course history, 11 players have multiple Top-15 finishes over the last five years: Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Corey Conners, Cam Davis, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo, Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, J.T. Poston and Jordan Spieth.

Team RBC ambassadors include: Sam Burns, Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, Sahith Theegala and Cameron Young.

RBC Heritage Golf Picks

Leading golf analysts and contributors picks to win and top finishing position include:

• Golf Digest - Tommy Fleetwood (2), Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, Si Woo Kim, Cam Davis
• SportingLife: Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and longshots Tom Kim, Adam Hadwin, Eric Cole
• Golf Bet - Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris and longshots Cam Davis, J.T. Poston and Lucas Glover. Top 10’s Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Akshay Bhatia
• FanDuel - Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim and longshots Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Each of the last five RBC Heritage winners have been top-11 in Strokes Gained : Tee-to-Green.

Tournament Matchups

Additional golf betting odds from FanDuel and leading online sportsbooks are updated and adjusted througout the tournament along with props and tournament matchups .

• Rory McIlroy (-125) vs. Patrick Cantlay (+105)
• Max Homa (-140) vs. Wyndham Clark (+110)
• Collin Morikawa (-140) vs. Matt Fitzpatrick (+110)
• Will Zalatoris (-120) vs. Jordan Spieth (+100) - bet Zalatoris
• Tommy Fleetwood (-165) vs. Cameron Young (+130)
• Xander Schauffele (-125) vs. Ludvig Aberg (+100)
• Justin Thomas (-125) vs. Sam Burns (+100)
• Corey Conners (-110) vs. Tom Kim (-110)
• Brian Harman (-115) vs. Denny McCarthy (-105)
• Xander Schauffele (-115) vs. Rory McIlroy (-105) - Round 1
• Ludvig Aberg (-120) vs. Collin Morikawa (-105) - Round 1
• Wyndham Clark (-120) vs. Justin Thomas (-105) - Round 1 - bet Thomas
• Patrick Cantlay (-115) vs. Tommy Fleetwood (-110) - Round 1

Despite Jordan Spieth winning here in a playoff in 2022 and finishing runner-up last year in a playoff, the 30-year-old is not likely to find as much success this week with his game in a poor place. Spieth has missed the cut in three of his last four events including in The Players Championship which requires precision iron play. Spieth has lost strokes Tee-to-Green in four of his last five tournaments and his Approach stats rank outside the top-100 over his last 24 rounds.

Meanwhile, Zalatoris has continued his elite ball striking while also averaging 4+ strokes on the field Tee to-Green over his last five events. That includes a T9 last week at The Masters, T4 at the Arnold Palmer Inviational and T2 at The Genesis Invitational .

How To Watch The RBC Heritage

All times Eastern. Tournament April 18-21

• Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
• Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

Thursday and Friday pairings and tee times .

Featured Groups

Thursday PGA Tour Live on ESPN+

• 1:40 pm hole #1: Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg
• 1:50 pm hole #1 : Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa
• Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg
• Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth
• Will Zalatoris, Akshay Bhatia
• Harris English, Tom Kim

Featured holes Par 3’s at No. 4, 7, 14, 17

Check out more golf stats, performance charts and tournament news , picks and information you can bet on for the RBC Heritage and weekly golf events. The PGA Tour and leading U.S. golf courses are leading the way in technology and sustainability . The top online sportsbooks are leading the way in wagering options as betting on golf continues to be most popular with fans firing for more fairways and greens.

You can bet on it.

MORE FROM FORBES

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

2024 RBC Heritage prop bet picks and PGA Tour predictions

T he top players in the world won't have much of a break following the Masters because up next on the schedule is the 2024 RBC Heritage , a signature event with a loaded field. The 1st round from Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C., begins on Thursday.

Below, we search for the best value prop bets among the 2024 RBC Heritage odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions .

Scottie Scheffler , fresh off his Masters victory, remains the No. 1 player in this week's Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Xander Schauffele , who's also in the field, comes in at No. 2, followed by Rory McIlroy , Ludvig Aberg and Patrick Cantlay – all of whom are playing the RBC Heritage. Last year's champion Matt Fitzpatrick is Golfweek's 20th-ranked player.

Harbour Town is one of the shorter courses on tour and emphasizes accuracy off the tee and ball-striking with irons. The greens are also some of the smallest on the PGA Tour, so it's essential for players to be accurate when approaching the greens. It's a par 71 and 7,213 yards, slightly longer than it was last year.

WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+

RBC Heritage – Top-5 picks

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook ; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Patrick Cantlay (+300)

Cantlay is Mr. Top 5 at the RBC Heritage. Since 2017, he's played this event 6 times. He finished inside the top 5 on 4 occasions, missed the cut once and came in 7th another time. If there's ever a tournament to bet Cantlay to finish in the top 5, it's this one.

Collin Morikawa (+350)

Morikawa has yet to finish in the top 5 at this event, but he came close in 2021 when he came in 7th. Since then, he's had finishes of 26th and 31st, proving to be a good fit at Harbour Town with his accuracy off the tee and iron play.

RBC Heritage – Top-10 picks

Tommy fleetwood (+160).

Fleetwood has notched back-to-back top-10 finishes in his last 2 starts, including a tie for 3rd at the Masters. He's finished 15th, 10th and 25th in 3 of his 4 career starts at this event (MC in 2021), so he's played well at Harbour Town in the past. He could legitimately win this tournament on Sunday.

Shane Lowry (+300)

Lowry is poised to bounce back after a dreadful putting performance at the Masters. Harbour Town is a ball-strikers course and Lowry ranks among the best on tour this season. He's finished in the top 10 here in 3 of his last 5 starts.

Cam Davis (+375)

Davis still has long odds despite his course history (7th, 3rd, 25th) and 12th-place finish at the Masters. His length won't be a big advantage this week because it's not a bombers course, but he's played well here in the past and should do so again.

Other T10 contenders ( in order from longest odds to shortest ):

• Russell Henley (+250)
• Ludvig Aberg (+125)

RBC Heritage – Top-20 picks

J.t. poston (+150).

Poston has been feast or famine at the RBC Heritage. He finished 3rd in 2022, 8th in 2020 and 6th in 2019, but he missed the cut in his 2 other starts in 2023 and 2021. He's one of the best putters on tour (even if his numbers don't reflect that this year) and has the course history to finish near the top again this week.

Corey Conners (+120)

In the last 4 years, Conners has finished 31st, 12th, 4th and 21st. He seemingly loves this course and has had success here in the past, and we're probably getting a little bit of a discount after a disappointing week at the Masters.

Matthieu Pavon (+170)

Pavon has proved he can compete with the best players in the world, winning at Torrey Pines earlier this year. In his last 2 starts this season, he's finished 5th and 12th, so his current form is good despite his lack of course experience (no previous starts here).

RBC Heritage – Matchups

Suggested play is golfer in bold .

Cameron Young (-120) vs. Jordan Spieth (-105)

Spieth looked out of sorts at the Masters and he's now missed the cut in 3 of his last 4 starts. He won here in 2022 and lost in a playoff last year, but he's not playing nearly as well right now. Give me Young, who finished 3rd here in 2022.

RBC Heritage – Top Canadian

Corey conners (+200).

Conners is the favorite to be the top Canadian, ahead of Adam Hadwin  (+300), Mackenzie Hughes and Nick Taylor (both +400). Conners is the best course fit and has the better track record at Harbour Town.

RBC Heritage – Top Australian

Cam davis (+110).

Davis and Jason Day (-135) are the only two Australians in the field, yet it's Davis who's the underdog. Day hasn't played here since 2020 and he missed the cut that year, while Davis' course history is noted above.

RBC Heritage – First-round leader

Patrick cantlay (+2200).

Cantlay ranks 2nd only to Scheffler in Round 1 scoring average this season (67.5) and he's now coming to a course where he's finished 7th or better in 5 of his last 6 starts.

Xander Schauffele (+1600)

Schauffele is on fire right now, with his worst finish in his last 5 starts being 25th. Otherwise, he's had 4 top-5 finishes. He's 9th in 1st-round scoring average this year and opened with a 67 here last season.

More expert prop bet predictions

Group c winner: cameron young (+320).

In this group are Russell Henley (+333), Si Woo Kim (+333), Spieth (+375) and Sahith Theegala (+400). Young is the slight favorite and understandably so with the way he's playing right now coming out of the Masters.

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now !

For more sports betting picks and tips , check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW .

• Scottie Scheffler celebrated his Masters victory at a Dallas dive bar
• What is AimPoint Express? And why are so many PGA Tour pros using the green reading system?

Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X . Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook .

This article originally appeared on USA Today Sportsbookwire: 2024 RBC Heritage prop bet picks and PGA Tour predictions

RBC Heritage

Harbour Town Golf Links

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina • USA

Apr 18 - 21, 2024