The Scottie Scheffler Show steamrolls its way into South Carolina this week when the PGA Tour holds its next signature event, the RBC Heritage, at Harbour Town Golf Links.
When the field of 69 tees off on Thursday in Hilton Head Island, S.C., Scheffler will be the overwhelming favorite again, and deservedly so. The 27-year-old not only posted a four-shot win at the Masters on Sunday for his second green jacket in three years, but he has also gone first-first-T2-first in his past four starts on tour and has not shot an over-par round all season.
Scheffler said he made a commitment to playing the RBC Heritage and gave no thought to taking the week off. He celebrated his major championship with family and friends on Monday, then it was back to business.
“When I was first coming up on tour, I always wanted to compete with the guys that were playing the best,” Scheffler said. “I got excited for the events like this where the best players were there. Yeah, I think it would be enjoyable (for others) if I’m up there on the leaderboard on Sundays because I think guys want to beat players when they’re at their best.”
The field is stocked with players who hung with Scheffler at the Masters before fading. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg posted a solo-second finish in his major debut. Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood all tied for third and are taking another swing at it this week.
Count Homa among those who feel the gap between Scheffler and the pack is starting to become Tiger-esque.
“I think because of the Tiger era when he was just running through golf tournament after golf tournament and just annihilating everybody, it was probably more daunting because we had never seen anything like that,” Homa said. “Scottie is tremendously talented and a hard worker and sadly, a better person. I wish I could hate him. But it’s not utterly shocking what he does. He just does it over and over and over again. That’s amazing. I feel like he almost makes it seem very realistic that we should do that.”
Aberg has been on tour for less than a year, and this will mark his first time at the Heritage, yet the 24-year-old is in such strong form that he is one of the top four betting favorites at BetMGM, DraftKings and other books.
Aberg’s first PGA Tour win came last November at the RSM Classic in nearby Saint Simons Island, Ga., on a course that is similar to Harbour Town’s par-71, 7,213-yard track with Bermuda greens. Aberg has four top-10 finishes in his past seven starts.
“I think as a golfer, it’s always going to be an endless challenge of trying to get a little bit better, whether it’s your putting or chipping or short game or hitting balls or whatever it is,” Aberg said. “I think I’m always trying to make sure that the things that I’m working on are going in the right direction.
“Obviously I can’t do anything about Scottie. He’s an unbelievable player and a person, and I respect him so much.”
With a purse of $20 million up for grabs, 26 of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are competing. Matt Fitzpatrick of England defeated Jordan Spieth in a playoff last year, after Spieth beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff for the title in 2022.
“I feel like I’ve played much better since The Players (Championship),” Fitzpatrick said. “My game’s there or thereabouts, just think it needs a bit of momentum at certain times in the tournament that might spur me on to something a bit greater.”
–Field Level Media
