A former member of the game’s elite checks in at the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at the 2023 RBC Heritage. 2016 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker has signed for back-to-back rounds of 65 at Harbour Town Golf Links to command a three-stroke 36-hole lead at 12 under. Playing on his top 50 career earnings exemption in 2023, Walker will aim to add to his bank account and win total in a big way.
In order to do so, Walker will need to successfully fend off some of the biggest names in the sport. Scottie Scheffler has continued his strong play in his tournament debut and is one of Walker’s closest chasers at 9 under. In search of his third victory of the season, the Texan continues to look more and more comfortable as play progresses.
Scheffler is joined by Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose and is one stroke clear of Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Cantlay. Experiencing little-to-no major hangover from the Masters, this trio of stars have eyes on entering the winner’s circle for the first time this year.
Last year’s champion, Jordan Spieth, is putting up an admirable defensive effort through 36 holes and is five adrift at 7 under alongside Rickie Fowler, while world no. 1 Jon Rahm lurks only half a dozen behind Walker.
The leader
1. Jimmy Walker (-12)
On the brink of retirement, the 44-year-old received a massive break at the onset of 2023. Ending last year at No. 59 in career earnings, Walker was moved to 50th when nine players were removed from the list with their transition to LIV Golf. Utilizing his one-time top-50 earnings exemption to play on the PGA Tour this season, the former PGA Championship winner is making the most of his opportunity with back-to-back 65s in Hilton Head.
“I was 50 [in career earnings], and if I didn’t play, I’d never get it again,” said Walker. “I just wouldn’t. So when it happened, it was kind of like, wow, this is incredible. I immediately shifted gears and talked to my family and said, this is it. This is what we’re going to do. They were totally all about it. All my friends were all about it.
“I remember going into the first tournament, should I go practice? Should I just go out and start winging it? We winged it, and I played pretty damn good that first week. I think I led the field in birdies. It’s like, where has this been? Then I kind of got back into form how I’d been playing. Yeah, it’s cool to be back. Maybe I have a chance to really do something special.”
Other contenders
T2. Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele (-9)
T5. Mark Hubbard, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, Aaron Rai, Viktor Hovland (-8)
T10. Taylor Moore, Jordan Spieth, Emiliano Grillo, Patton Kizzire, Ben Griffin, Matt Kuchar, Brian Harman, Rickie Fowler (-7)
An added wrinkle in the PGA Tour’s designated events are players visiting golf courses they typically wouldn’t. Scheffler is making his tournament debut this week at Harbour Town, and has acquitted himself nicely around the tricky Pete Dye design. A winner on another Pete Dye design — TPC Sawgrass — last month, Scheffler is continuing his dominant tee-to-green exhibition and has combined it with a top-10 putting performance thus far.
“There’s a lot of nuances to this golf course, and I’m still kind of learning on the fly with it being my first time around this place,” said Scheffler. “If you’re hitting it really good, you can score anywhere, and you can hit the shots. It’s just those nuances kind of help when you’re not really playing your best. I feel like I put myself in a few spots this week that haven’t been great. But outside of that, I’ve played a lot of solid golf.”
Rahm rolling into the weekend
After carding for a 1-over 72 on Thursday, Rahm could have sleepwalked his way to a short week. On the heels of his historic win at the Masters, no one would have blamed the world No. 1. Just don’t tell the Spaniard that as he backed up a poor opener with a 7-under 64 — a career-best eight-shot improvement between rounds — on Friday to vault his name into contention. With a triumph, Rahm would have five victories before the fifth month of the year.
“It’s my job, right? I mean, people — it’s like I said in the press conference,” said Rahm. “People pay their hard-earned money to watch me perform. It’s my job to perform. They don’t care if I slept good or bad, I feel good or bad. It doesn’t matter. As a competitor, I’m not ducking anything in that sense. I’m going to go out and try to shoot low.”
Cantlay cards an ace; queue the slow-play jokes
Cantlay struck the shot of the second round when his tee shot on the par-3 7th found the bottom of the cup. The Californian has been at the center of some recent slow play discussion following his play in the penultimate pair of the final round of the Masters. The world No. 4 has mainly dodged the criticism and stated the entire field was slow on Sunday. Still, the internet will make its jokes no matter how unoriginal they may be.
“It was just a perfect 6-iron number, a little into the wind, high 190s to the hole,” said Cantlay. “A 1-yard cut that just came off perfect.”
2023 RBC Heritage updated odds, picks
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler: 16/5
- Xander Schauffele: 13/2
- Patrick Cantlay: 7-1
- Jimmy Walker: 9-1
- Viktor Hovland: 19/2
- Justin Rose: 12-1
- Jordan Spieth: 12-1
- Jon Rahm: 16-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 20-1
- Justin Thomas: 30-1
- Rickie Fowler: 30-1
Let’s assume for one minute that the true lead lies in the hands of those at 9 under. While Walker makes for a fantastic story, his staying power atop the leaderboard may be limited when the pressure gets ramped up. With this in mind, Rahm at 16-1, roughly double his pre-tournament price, is enticing. He is only three strokes behind Scheffler, Rose and Schauffele, and ranks third in strokes gained approach after two rounds. Justin Thomas at 5 under and 55-1 may be worth a look as well if in need of a bit more juice for your squeeze.
Rick Gehman is joined by Sia Nejad to recap the second round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.