The RBC Heritage tees off on Thursday in its usual slot the week after the Masters. The Heritage, played at Harbor Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, has long drawn a solid field despite its position on the schedule right after the Masters.
The Canadian contingent is usually strong, partly because of headline sponsor Royal Bank of Canada having many of the Canadians on tour as a part of its golf roster. This year is no different with seven Canadian golfers in the field, headlined by world No. 31 Corey Conners, who is coming off of yet another top-10 finish at the Masters.
A regulated and competitive Ontario sports betting market went live on April 4, just before the start of the Masters. Previously, the only legal option for sports betting in Ontario was through Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp.’s PROLINE+.
Despite the strong field at RBC, Conners finds himself near the top of the odds board, coming in at anywhere from +2500 (PointsBet Canada) to +2800 (bet365) for Ontario golf bettors.
At Bet365 Canada, Justin Thomas leads the way at +1400 with a strong group of players including Collin Morikawa, Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Cantlay following close behind.
After his sixth-place finish at the Masters, Conners has the momentum on his side to justify his spot on the odds board, and his history at this event is another green light for bettors. He has a fourth-place here a year ago and was 21st two years before in a stacked field in what was the second PGA Tour event coming out of the COVID pause.
RBC Heritage Odds
| ⭐ Justin Thomas | +1300 |
| ⭐ Collin Morikawa | +1400 | ⭐ Cameron Smith | +1600 |
| ⭐ Dustin Johnson | +1800 |
| ⭐ Patrick Cantlay | +1800 |
| ⭐ Matthew Fitzpatrick | +2000 |
| ⭐ Shane Lowry | +2000 |
| ⭐ Corey Conners | +2500 |
Success at Hilton Head
The solid finishes for Conners his last two times here make sense as Hilton Head has always been a course that rewards players who hit fairways as opposed to players who bomb the ball off the tee. Of the past five winners at this event, only Stewart Cink profiled as one of the longer players with their driver, as Webb Simpson, CT Pan, Satoshi Kodaira and Wesley Bryan were all far down the list if you sorted players by distance.
Conners exemplifies this skill more than most as he is one of the most accurate players off the tee in this field. He is not a short hitter by any means, but he won’t be near the top of any driving distance lists. His strong Strokes Gained: Off The Tee numbers are primarily propped up by his accuracy.
He also hits more greens than most of his opponents and was third in greens in regulation at this course en route to his fourth-place finish at this course last year. The biggest red flag for Conners has to be fatigue, as he has played a ton of golf lately, but he continues to be successful each and every week.
Other Canadians to Watch
Fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin is also playing really well at the moment, with three straight top-10 finishes in his most recent PGA Tour events. He, too, is an exceptionally accurate player, but he hasn’t been able to translate his skillset to this event, with a missed cut and two finishes in the 40s in his last three starts here.
Hadwin can be found at odds as good at +6000 (DraftKings Sportsbook Ontario). Mackenzie Hughes, also coming off of a made cut at the Masters, can be found further down the odds board in the +15000 range.
Hughes has made three consecutive cuts at this event but with no notable finishes. Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, Roger Sloan and Michael Gligic round out the Canadians at the event and all are considered longshots. Svensson’s game seems to be tailored to this course the best as he is an accurate but short driver of the ball who hits a lot of greens in regulation. He can be found at odds of +30000 (On DraftKings, he’s +10000 on bet365, a huge discrepancy).
The RBC Heritage will be especially tough to win this year with the strong field, but Conners keeps putting himself in position to have success. With his results continuing to improve week by week, a win sometime soon would be no surprise and this course fits his game perfectly. Look for Conners to be one of several Canadians to make the cut and be in contention come Sunday afternoon.
