Scottie Scheffler 4/1 to win RBC Heritage

Scottie Scheffler is 4/1 to win this week’s RBC Heritage on the back of his resounding Masters win.

The world number one has been beaten by just one player in his last four tournaments, in a stretch that includes Signature Event wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship before landing his second major at last week’s Masters.
Only a missed putt on the final hole denied Scheffler a play-off at the Houston Open two weeks prior to the Masters, and the 27-year-old is a hot favourite to make it four wins in five events.

It’s a remarkable run that, since Tiger Woods’ peak, can perhaps only be matched by Rory McIlroy, who won two majors and a WGC in three consecutive events in 2014.

Even then, McIlroy missed the cut at the Irish Open that season, while Scheffler hasn’t missed a cut in 36 events, and he’s had just two finishes outside the top 12 in those 36 events dating back to August 2022.

Of course, having won the Masters last week, with his first child due by the end of the month, Scheffler’s attentions may not 100% be on Harbour Town, the venue for this week’s RBC Heritage, but if it is, the chasing pack will have their work cut out.

Though Scheffler doesn't have much course form at this week's venue, he did finish T11 in his debut appearance at Hilton Head last season, and it's not hard to see him bettering that this time around in the 65-man field.

Scheffler’s approach play down the stretch last Sunday catapulted him up the rankings in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach, but going into his final nine holes at the Masters, Scheffler actually ranked lower for approach play than the likes of Danny Willett and Phil Mickelson.

That’s perhaps what’s most concerning for the rest of the field this week; in what was actually quite a mediocre ball-striking effort from Scheffler, not ignoring his three dropped shots in two holes in the third round, the Texan had an arm in the Green Jacket before even getting round Amen Corner.

Scheffler is undoubtedly the best ball-striker in the world; even at his very worst he’s still around average on the PGA TOUR, and on a bad day he’s better than most on their good days. For Scheffler not to contend, it’s likely he’s going to have to have an off week with the putter – which can happen to the very best – but even the one club that limited him to just two wins last year is now cooperating.

Since switching to a mallet putter – as bemusingly recommended to him by McIlroy – Scheffler has gained strokes on the field putting in all four events, and his figures at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, if repeated over a whole season, would rank him as the best putter on the PGA TOUR.

In a sport as unpredictable as golf, there are virtually no certainties, but Scheffler at least contending for a tournament these days seems as close as we’ll get.

Liam Williams

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