Paulie's Picks: 2026 RBC Heritage

What a Masters we were treated to last week. Year in and year out, Augusta National delivers some of the best golf of the year, but it leaves fans and players with a bit of a hangover. It’s difficult for a tournament to follow the Masters, and for the players, that challenge is amplified when you consider this week’s course is the polar opposite of its major predecessor. Augusta National has very wide fairways with rolling terrain and large, undulating greens. Harbour Town, host of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage, has narrow fairways with flat terrain and small, relatively flat greens. The Pete and Alice Dye design demands accuracy and precision moreso than strength and aggression. That opens the door for some tacticians to succeed this week. Let’s dig into a few players to target:

Patrick Cantlay: Top 20, -105

When you hear the phrase horses for courses, they are talking about Patrick Cantlay and Harbour Town. In his eight appearances, he has finished 13th or better seven times, including an astonishing five top-three finishes. Now that is not enough on its own to wager on Cantlay this week, but it’s a good start. Cantlay has gained at least seven strokes on the field average in his last two starts, a feat he hasn’t accomplished since June 2024. So we have a player, who is playing his best golf in the last two years, heading to a course where he has had the most success on Tour. Sign me up for a top 20 wager on Cantlay this week.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju: Top 40, -130

If you read this article weekly, then this pick shouldn’t come as a surprise. Sudarshan is once again being undervalued in the market. Now, yes, I understand this is a signature event, but there are only 82 players, and Yellamaraju is in great form. He has finished in the top 40 in each of his last five events, including four top 20s highlighted by a fifth place at the Players. During that stretch, he gained strokes off the tee, on approach, and putting in each event. That shows that his success isn’t just predicated on one part of his game. He is playing well all around and somehow remains undervalued.

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Brian Harman: Top 40, -150

Brian Harman has finished inside the top 40 in his last six starts at Harbour Town, including both limited-field signature events the last two seasons. Almost every year it seems that Harman comes into form in April after poor performances on many of the West Coast courses that heavily favor bombers. He is more comfortable and competitive on a Southeast track that rewards accuracy and precision over brute strength and aggression.