2022 RBC Heritage First Round Leader Odds, Picks: Target Tommy Fleetwood, Si Woo Kim, 2 Others

RBC Heritage FRL Odds

Odds via PointsBet, updated Wednesday morning.

Harbour Town is one of my favorite courses on the PGA TOUR. It is a beautiful course that requires strategy and shot making. More importantly, it is one of the stops on TOUR that provides the most value for bettors.

This year in particular, there are a handful of superstars in the field that have created some favorable odds for some golfers down the odds board who have serious win equity both in the outright market and the first round leader market.

Historically, shorter hitting and accurate golfers have had a great deal of success on this links track. Even in the star-studded 2020 field we saw prototypical “Harbour Town players” succeed. The players at the top of the leaderboard were Webb Simpson, Abraham Ancer, Daniel Berger, and Tyrrell Hatton. I believe there’s a chance that a similar type of leaderboard will present itself in 2022. 

The potential value the RBC Heritage provides starts with Thursday’s first round leader selections:

Tommy Fleetwood (+5500)

I really liked what I saw from Tommy last week at Augusta National. He finished in a tie for 14th, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. He did so by gaining 5.12 strokes from tee to green, including 4.40 off the tee.

There’s a chance that the Englishman can carry that momentum with him to a windy links track that should really suit his game. It’s always fair to question whether Fleetwood can win a golf tournament in America as he’s yet to do so, but in any given round he can go as low as anyone. 

Price available at:DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet

Si Woo Kim (+6500)

I bet Si Woo Kim to win the tournament outright, and I naturally like him to get off to a quick start too.

With Harbour Town being a Pete Dye course, where all three of his PGA TOUR wins have come, this course is perfect for the South Korean. He narrowly lost in a playoff here back in 2018. He’s also said in the past that his favorite course is Sedgefield Country Club, which has a number of similarities to Harbour Town. 

Price available at: DraftKings

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Mito Pereira (+7500)

Mito has been trending up, and there is reason to believe that Harbour Town could be a good spot for him. In a season where we have seen plenty of first-time winners and breakout stars come on the scene, it feels as though the Chilean could be next in line. 

With four top 30 finishes in his past five starts, the 27-year-old has been remarkably consistent. The early returns on his career thus far have indicated that Bermuda isn’t his preferred putting surface, and I’ve had reservations about backing him on Bermuda greens.

However, the longer he is on TOUR the more accustomed he will be to playing different green types and I believe he is starting to approach the territory where he can be backed on any surface. I still question whether he is ready to win in this type of field, as most of his success has come in weaker field events.

Despite those questions, I can see him racing off to a fast start on Thursday. 

Price available at: DraftKings, FanDuel

Charles Howell III (+8500)

“Three Sticks” is starting to show some form after a long stretch of time where he struggled to meet his usual standards. When he’s playing well, there are few courses on TOUR that suit Howell’s game as much as Harbour Town does.

The 42-year-old is an Augusta, Ga., native who lives close to the course and has a great deal of familiarity with the layout. In his most recent start at the  Valero he was absolutely fantastic, gaining 10.6 strokes from tee to green in his fourth-place finish.

Price available at: FanDuel