Tag: RBC Heritage

PGA Tour 2023: Who’s the Boss

Jon Rahm: New Sheriff in Town

Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm have been battling it out for the top spot on the PGA Tour Power Rankings and the World Golf Rankings since the season began. With his win at The Masters, Jon placed some distance between he and Scottie for the #1 position–but that could be reversed in a heartbeat depending on what happens at Hilton Head this weekend.

Rahm is leading on the strength of 4 Tour wins including a major at Augusta last week, while Scheffler has recorded 2 wins including The Players and a T10 at The Masters. Scottie however, has the advantage in cut percentage and top ten percentage, so if he were to win this weekend at the RBC Heritage, and Rahm were to miss the cut, Scottie would move back to the top spot on the 2023 Power Rankings.

Rahm and Scheffler: Season Long Duel

On the other hand, if Rahm were to win this week and have 5 wins by April, he would not only open up a substantial lead on Scheffler, he’d be putting together a mega-season not seen since Tiger was prowling at the height of his powers.

One thing is for sure, watching Rahm and Scheffler each week is starting to feel like Arnie and Jack back in the early 60’s—and it just can’t get any better than that.

Harbour Town Golf Links, SC

RBC Heritage Update

Now that the RBC Heritage has been given the mantel of “Designated Event” by the PGA Tour, with a total purse of $20 million (even higher than The Masters), the field is among the strongest of the year. Nine of the top ten in the 2023 PGA Tour Power Rankings will be competing (and six of the top ten in the World Golf Rankings).

After opening with a 3 under round of 68 on Thursday, Scottie Scheffler charged to within a few shots of the lead at -9 with a 65 on Friday. Jon Rahm, coming down from the high of last week’s dramatic win at Augusta, posted a listless +1 round of 72 on Thursday, needing a solid round on Friday just to make the cut.

Rahm delivered a sizzling 64, rocketing up the leaderboard to finish at -6 and keep Scottie (along with the other leaders) clearly in his sights.

And with Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantley, Xander Schauffele and Victor Hoveland all among the top ten heading into Saturday, this weekend promises to be one heck of a show.

2023 PGA Championship: Oak Hill, Rochester NY (May 18-21)

Looking Ahead

Following the RBC Heritage the Tour heads to TPC Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 20-23) and then to Vidanta Vallarta for the Mexico Open (April 27-30).

In May the Tour heads north for the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, NC (May 4-7), and then to Texas for the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney.

The second major of the season is next with the PGA Championship at famed Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY (May 18-21) and then moves back to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth (May 25-28).

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PGA Tour Schedule Update

Image from the Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, SC that includes the famous lighthouse and view of the 18th hole.
Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, SC

Up-coming Tour Schedule

Now that the PGA Tour is back, I’m sure we’re all excited to watch golf on a weekly basis again.  COVID-19 and the cancelation of nine events from March through May has forced the Tour schedule to be completely reorganized. Let me take you through what the next few months of tournament play will look like. Following this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links is up next. There’s a chance that Tiger may make Hilton Head his first tournament back (his yacht is reportedly headed there), but tournament officials have had no official commitment from Woods thus far on whether he will be playing. Not to worry, there will be plenty of big names teeing it up regardless. Stars like four-time major winners Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy, John Rahm (ranked 2 in the world), Justin Thomas (fourth ranked), Dustin Johnson (fifth ranked) have already committed, so all of the top 5 players in the world will be there. After that comes the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands, where Koepka, McIlroy, Thomas, Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, and Jason Day will be competing. The Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club is next, with Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson having made firm commitments so far. With fields like these, packed with superstars, tour fans should be gearing up for some great golf in the next month. After that, Muirfield Village and Jack will be hosting two consecutive tournaments, a newly sponsored event called Workday, Inc., and the Memorial Tournament—taking place from July 6 to July 19.

The fans come back!

The governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, recently announced that the Memorial will have spectators, so golf fans get ready to grab your tickets, but also be safe, and remember to follow the rules for social distancing. To be extra safe, the tour is also planning to have mandatory temperature readings. While this may sound like a pain in the neck, it’s the prudent way to keep everybody safe while cheering for our favorite pro. The 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minneapolis, MN will be held the week after (July 23-26) followed by the FedEx St. Jude Classic (now a WGC event) and The Barracuda Championship (the same week). Then comes the PGA, the first major of the year. The Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro North Carolina is after the PGA, followed by the FedEx Cup playoffs. The playoffs will be held in similar fashion as previous years, with the Northern Trust, BMW Championship, and the Tour Championship taking place from August 23 through September 7. After that, the Safeway Open is scheduled to play at Johnny Miller’s Silverado Country Club in Napa, California.

The Majors

Unfortunately, the R&A has decided that The Open Championship will not be held this year (The Memorial will be played that week instead). The PGA Championship will be held from August 6-9 at TPC Harding Park, a renowned municipal course in San Francisco, CA. The PGA has not been held on the west coast since Sahalee in 1998, and it will be interesting to see how the players fare in the moist and cool conditions of San Francisco. The U.S. Open will be played from September 17-20 at historic Winged Foot in Westchester, NY, and in addition to the notoriously tough track there is no doubt that fatigue will be a factor, with such a rigorous FedEx Cup playoff schedule leading up to it—although all of the players are welcoming the challenge (at least for now). Winged Foot is a course that demands perfection and is arguably the hardest course in the open rotation. The USGA strives to make the Open a test of mental strength as much as shot making skill, and this year’s schedule is likely to provide exactly that. The Masters will be played from November 12-15, so the players will have a little time to recover. It will be fascinating to see how Augusta plays in the fall, with cool and windy conditions. Also, the course will play much longer than the players are accustomed to (while the greens should still be nearly as fast). Something tells me that that the scores may be quite a bit higher than we’ve seen in the Spring, and it will be fun to see how the players approach the different challenges.

Ryder Cup

If the Open at Winged Foot isn’t enough excitement for golf fans, the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, WI follows the very next week. Many changes are taking place for the Ryder Cup this year, as Captains will now be allowed six picks—up from the usual four due to the short season with many players not accumulating enough points to qualify in the normal way. Those who have qualified for the U.S. team so far include Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland, Xander Schauffele, and Webb Simpson. For the Europeans, only four players have qualified thus far with Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Victor Perez, and Rory McIlroy securing their spots. As of right now, it’s still up in the air on whether patrons will be allowed to attend. This has caused a bit of early controversy, as the Ryder Cup has come to be synonymous with rowdy, patriotic fans, and a whole lot of heckling. Brooks Koepka in particular has been vocal in opposing a Ryder Cup with no patrons, and has alluded to a player boycott if fans are not allowed to attend (and other stars, including Rory McIlroy, have expressed the same sentiment). Steve Stricker, the Captain for the U.S. team and Wisconsin native, has assured fans that a compromise can be reached, suggesting that a Ryder Cup with 50% patron capacity would be fine by him. We’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but one this for sure—the next six months are going to be fun for golf fans.

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