2020 RBC Heritage Preview

2020 RBC Heritage Preview

Dates: June 15-21, 2020
Where: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Course: Harbour Town Golf Links (71/7,099)
Defending champion: C.T. Pan
Purse: $7,100,000 ($1,278,000/winner)
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Field size: 151
Format: 72-hole stroke play

Things to Know

• After initially being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RBC Heritage was placed back on the schedule as the second tournament back from a 12-week hiatus
• 113 players in the field have won on the PGA TOUR, the most of any tournament since 2000
• For the second consecutive week, the top five players in the Official World Golf Ranking are set to compete
• World No. 1 Rory McIlroy returns to Harbour Town Golf Links for the first time since 2009, making just his second tournament start
• Following his third PGA TOUR victory at the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge, Daniel Berger seeks his fifth consecutive top-10 for the first time in his career

COVID-19 and the RBC Heritage

• Originally scheduled to be played April 13-19, the week after the Masters Tournament
• Announced as canceled on March 17 along with three other tournaments
• Rescheduled for June 15-21 on April 17; flexibility allowed by the postponement of 2020 major championships

Notes on the Field

• 113 PGA TOUR winners, the most of any tournament since 2000 (field data goes back to 2000)
• First time in tournament history that each of the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking are playing
• 24 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings
• 12 past RBC Heritage winners: C.T. Pan (2019), Wesley Bryan (2017), Branden Grace (2016), Jim Furyk (2010, 2015), Matt Kuchar (2014), Graeme McDowell (2013), Brandt Snedeker (2011), Brian Gay (2009), Aaron Baddeley (2006), Stewart Cink (2000, 2004), Davis Love III (1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2003), Glen Day (1999), Bernhard Langer (1985)
• Nine of 11 FedExCup champions: Vijay Singh (2008), Jim Furyk (2010), Bill Haas (2011), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018), Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019)

A look back at the 2019 RBC Heritage

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	C.T. Pan	71	65	69	67	272 (-12)
2	Matt Kuchar	69	69	68	67	273 (-11)
T3	Patrick Cantlay	67	72	66	69	274 (-10)
T3	Shane Lowry	65	68	71	70	274 (-10)
T3	Scott Piercy	67	70	68	69	274 (-10)

• C.T. Pan earned his maiden PGA TOUR victory in his 79^th career start
• Pan became the 14^th player to post his first TOUR victory at the RBC Heritage
• RBC Ambassador Dustin Johnson held a one-stroke lead entering the final round, but closed with a 6-over 77 in the final round to finish T28
• Matt Kuchar recorded his 12^th career runner-up finish, notching one of eight top-10 finishes in the 2019-20 season

RBC Heritage and the FedExCup

• 24^th official FedExCup event in the 2019-20 season
• 7 of the 13 winners of the event have advanced to the season-ending TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era
• Jim Furyk (2010) is the only player to win the RBC Heritage and go on to win the FedExCup in the same season

Current FedExCup standings

• The top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season will be recognized through the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program and be well-positioned entering the FedExCup Playoffs
• After taking the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Sungjae Im retained his position at the top following a T10 at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge

Pos.	Player	Points	Wins	Top-10s	Pts. Behind	Starts	Projected Bonus
1	Sungjae Im	1,526	1	6	–	15	$2 million
2	Justin Thomas	1,471	2	6	55	9	$1.5 million
3	Rory McIlroy	1,201	1	6	325	7	$1.2 million
4	Patrick Reed	1,165	1	5	361	9	$1.1 million
5	Brendon Todd	1,110	2	3	416	15	$1 million
6	Webb Simpson	1,083	1	4	443	6	$850,000
7	Marc Leishman	1,059	1	3	467	10	$700,000
8	Lanto Griffin	1,026	1	3	500	17	$600,000
9	Sebastian Munoz	1,006	1	3	520	16	$550,000
10	Xander Schauffele	938	0	4	588	9	$500,000

2020 Charles Schwab Challenge champion Daniel Berger (FedExCup No. 11, World No. 31)

• Earned his third PGA TOUR victory at the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge after recording his 28^th consecutive round of par or better, the longest active streak on TOUR
• Victory at Colonial Country Club marked the first time in his career with four consecutive top-10s (T9/Waste Management Phoenix Open, T5 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T4/The Honda Classic, Won/Charles Schwab Challenge)
• Enters the week No. 11 in the FedExCup standings, his highest position since 2017
• Making third start at RBC Heritage (T72/2015, T33/2019)

World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy

• Finished T32 at the Charles Schwab Challenge after a 4-over 74 in the final round, snapping a streak of seven consecutive starts with a top-five finish or better (longest streak of his career)

Tournament	Finish
2020 Charles Schwab Challenge	T32
2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard	T5
2020 WGC-Mexico Championship	5th
2020 The Genesis Invitational	T5
2020 Farmers Insurance Open	T3
2019 WGC-HSBC Champions	Win
2019 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	T3
2019 TOUR Championship	Win

• Returns to RBC Heritage for the first time since 2009, making his second tournament start (T58/2009)
• Owns one win (WGC-HSBC Champions) and five additional top-fives in seven starts this season

RBC Ambassador and South Carolinian Dustin Johnson (FedExCup No. 115, World No. 5)

• Missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge with rounds of 71-71
• Making fifth start at RBC Heritage (MC/2008, MC/2009, T16/2018, T28/2019)
• 20-time PGA TOUR winner (tied for 34^th all-time)
• In search of first victory of the season; active streak of wins in 12 straight seasons to start his career is the fourth- longest of all-time (17/Jack Nicklaus, 17/Arnold Palmer, 14/Tiger Woods)

Bryson DeChambeau (FedExCup No. 13, World No. 12)

• Finished a stroke out of the playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge (T3), recording his fifth top-five finish in eight starts of the 2019-20 season
• At Colonial Country Club last week, led the field in Driving Distance (340.4 yards), Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (1.830 per round), Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (2.649 per round) and Scrambling (80.0%)
• Currently leads the PGA TOUR in Driving Distance at 323.8 yards; single-season PGA TOUR record: 321.4 yards (Hank Kuehne, 2003)
• In four previous starts at RBC Heritage, finished inside the top five in 2016 (T4) and 2018 (T3), while missing the cut in 2017 and 2019

Jordan Spieth (FedExCup No. 88, World No. 55)

• Finished T10 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, his best finish since a T9 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February
• Led the field by making 456 feet, 1 inch of putts at Colonial Country Club and co-led with seven putts made over 20 feet
• In four previous starts at RBC Heritage, has never missed the cut (T9/2013, T12/2014, T11/2015, T54/2019)

Defending Champion C.T. Pan (FedExCup No. 173, World No. 102)

• Making fourth career start at the RBC Heritage, where he has improved in each of his last three starts (T44/2017, T23/2018, Won/2019)
• Missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge with rounds of 72-70
• Wife, Michelle, will be on the bag as a caddie this week
• At the 2019 Presidents Cup, became the first player from Chinese Taipei to qualify for the International Team, finishing with a 2-1-0 record

Tournament records

• Lowest 18-hole score: 61 (David Frost/R2/1994, Troy Merritt/R2/2015)
• Lowest 36-hole score: 129 (Phil Mickelson/2002)
• Lowest 54-hole score: 197 (Justin Leonard/2002)
• Lowest 72-hole score: 264 (Brian Gay/2009)
• Largest margin of victory: 10 strokes (Brian Gay/2009)
• Playoffs: 14 (most recent: 2018/Satoshi Kodaira def. Si Woo Kim)
• Best come-from-behind win: 9 strokes (Stewart Cink/2004)

via PGA TOUR