After an electric win from Scottie Scheffler at last week’s Masters, the current world number one will headline this week’s signature event, the RBC Heritage Open. With a field of 60 of the PGA Tour’s best players, more points and a big-time win are at stake. Here’s a look into this week’s RBC Heritage. 

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele is a popular name in my predictions, partially because it seems as if he could step into any field and win. He’s made every cut he’s played in this season and is coming off a top-ten finish at The Masters. He also has a tie for second place finish at The Players, a tie for third at The American Express, and a tie for fourth at The Genesis. With all of these high finishes at big-name tournaments, Schauffele seems bound to win a signature tournament. 

He also finished alone in fourth-place at this very tournament last season, ahead of Sahith Theegala, Hayden Buckley and others. He led the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green and second in strokes gained: approach shots. He was also fifth last weekend in approach shots. If his ball-striking remains solid, expect Schauffele to be at the top of the leaderboard. 

Si Woo Kim

Kim has struggled for top finishes besides his tie for sixth place at The Players, but Kim ranked fourth this season in strokes gained: tee-to-green which will cater to Harbour Links Golf Course. Despite his lack of results, Kim still ranks as the No. 26 player in the FedExCup standings. He has four previous victories, and with a course that caters to Kim’s playing style, a high finish or a win may be in the cards.

Denny McCarthy

Denny has proven himself as one of the best putters on the tour this season, ranking ninth in strokes gained: putting this season. People may remember McCarthy for his final-day charge at the Texas Open where he posted a nine-under, but ultimately chunked his second shot on the first playoff hole and lost to Akshay Bhatia. However, he posted three top-30 finishes earlier in the year. 

Many expected him to be a surprise top finisher at The Masters last week, but he only finished tied for 45th.. Despite his lackluster finish, he ranked third in strokes gained: putting. If McCarthy can string together some solid ball-striking days, he could finish in a top spot.

Scottie Scheffler

How can you not throw him in there? He’s the number one player in the world and is coming off a dominant showing at The Masters. He’s answered the questions about his putting and there have never been any questions on how well he can strike the ball. I do, however, have some alternative inquisitions.

Could Scottie hit The Masters hangover? Winning a signature event after securing a victory at arguably the world’s biggest and most well-known golf tournament can’t be easy. Scheffler has also only played in this tournament one time, posting a tie for eleventh last year. 

His wife, Meredith, also seems due to have their first child at any second. He told reporters that he would drop out of The Masters if he got the “phone call,” and given this will be nearly a week later, it’s increasingly likely that he could experience the birth of his first child this weekend. 

Collin Morikawa

Even after his best finish in what seems like years, Morikawa is still flying a little under-the-radar coming into this week. A tie for third last weekend catapulted him into No. 19 in the points list, as well as No. 13 in the World Golf Rankings. I speak for golf fans when I say having Morikawa back playing well is good for the game of golf. It’s now time to carry that momentum into the rest of the season.

He finished top-10 in four major statistical categories last weekend including putting, approaches, tee-to-green and total strokes gained. He was behind only Shane Lowry and Tom Kim in strokes gained, an area where he has struggled in the past. His iron and wedge play seemed better than it had been in recent memory, which is another green flag that Morikawa may be breaking out of this slump.

Sleepers

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes is playing his best golf of the season lately. In his last four starts, he has finished tied at 30, 26, 4, and 14th. He hasn’t played since the Houston Open, but coming off those four solid finishes, Hughes could look to climb back up the leaderboard this week.