The PGA Tour moves to South Carolina this week with The Heritage beginning on Thursday at the Sean Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island. It’s one of the shortest courses on tour and Luke Donald is the outright favorite.
Donald should do well on The Heritage course, which is less than 7,000 yards with short greens. The World No. 3 is the top-ranked player in the field after nine top 10 finishes in his last 10 events. He tied for third here last year and was runner-up in 2008.
Second in the odds is Matt Kuchar. The World No. 10 has six top 10 finishes in 2011 but is still looking for his first tour win of the year. He finished 14th at The Heritage last year and his career-best finish in the tournament is seventh. With even better value may be Heritage defending champion Jim Furyk. He has finished in the top 25 in his last three events but has only top 10’s and two missed cuts already this year. But this is a good course for him with two runner-up finishes.
Australian Aaron Baddeley has a decent record at the Heritage. He won it in 2008 and came in second in 2006. He finished 47th in the Masters and is hoping to get back on track in South Carolina. Brian Gay won here in 2009 and six top 10 finishes this year, including two in the top 10, give him some value. Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter are also worthy longshot bets.
The Heritage Outright Odds (provided by Party Bets)
Luke Donald: 8/1
Matt Kuchar: 14/1
Jim Furyk: 16/1
Aaron Baddeley: 20/1
Rickie Fowler: 25/1
Jason Day: 28/1
Graeme McDowell: 28/1
Francesco Molinari: 33/1
Brian Gay: 33/1
Bo Van Pelt: 33/1
Brandt Snedeker: 33/1
Stewart Cink: 40/1
Ricky Barnes: 40/1
Ian Poulter: 40/1
Ernie Els: 40/1
Zach Johnson: 40/1
Charles Howell: 40/1
Fredrik Jacobson: 40/1
Brendon De Jonge: 50/1
Webb Simpson: 50/1
Spencer Levin: 50/1
Scott Verplank: 50/1
Steve Marino: 50/1
Bill Haas: 50/1
Trevor Immelman: 50/1
Mark Wilson: 50/1