Nick Watney withdrew from the RBC Heritage on Friday prior to the second round after testing positive for COVID-19.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Nick Watney withdrew from the RBC Heritage on Friday prior to the second round after testing positive for COVID-19.
According to the PGA Tour, Watney indicated he had symptoms consistent with the virus. After consulting with a physician, he took a COVID-19 test which turned out to the positive.
Watney shot 74 in the first round before withdrawing on Friday.
Watney traveled privately to Hilton Head Island. He tested negatively on Monday here on the island.
He is the first PGA Tour player to test positive for the coronavirus.
Watney will isolate for at least 10 days nearby.
There were 369 tests of players, caddies, and essential personnel prior to the start of the RBC Heritage. There were no positive results.
The PGA Tour has begun implementing its response plan in consultation with medical experts including working with those who may have had close contact with Watney, including his caddie, Tony Navarro, and playing partners, Luke List and Vaughn Taylor.
Webb Simpson made 186 feet of putts and gained nearly 6 strokes on the field on the green during a second straight 65 at the RBC Heritage.
In golf, the putter is the great equalizer, and Webb Simpson was rolling his rock on Friday. He canned 186 feet of putts during the second round at Harbour Town Golf Links, including three putts of more than 20 feet, and shot a second straight 65 to grab a one-stroke lead over Bryson DeChambeau at the midway point of the RBC Heritage.
Simpson credited his silky-smooth stroke to a small change he’d made after his first round.
“The ball got too far back in my setup, so I just moved it up a little bit, and it helped my aim,” he explained. “I was aiming everything right, so I moved it up on the line that came back and started rolling it better.”
Did he ever. When told that his Strokes Gained: putting total for the day was an astounding +5.994, Simpson said, “I don’t know if I’ve hit in the sixes. I’ll ask my caddie. I think I have maybe one time, but, yeah, I guess it’s up there.”
Simpson began his round at No. 10 and sank a 14-foot birdie putt to set the tone for the day. But a pair of bogeys at Nos. 14 and 16 didn’t suggest it would be another banner day at the Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, seaside resort course that is beloved by Simpson. At 16, Simpson tugged his tee shot left into trouble and had to take a penalty stroke. On the walk to the next tee, caddie Paul Tesori, a former Tour pro who serves as Simpson’s de facto swing instructor on the road, provided a tip that made all the difference.
“I just asked Paul why I’m a little off with some of these shots, and he said my lower body wasn’t really firing like it normally does,” Simpson said. “So, I just tried to feel that fire position in my pre-shot routine or my practice swing, and I started hitting a lot better. I only hit one ball left after that.”
His putter took care of the rest. Simpson poured in a 22-foot birdie putt at 17 and a 38-foot birdie at 18 to make the turn in 33.
🎯 @WebbSimpson1 goes into the clubhouse with the outright lead at -12.
Simpson knocked approaches inside 10 feet at Nos. 1 and 3 and converted those putts before dialing in another long-distance birdie at the fifth from 27 feet. Simpson gave a stroke back at the par-3 7th, but closed with a pair of birdies to wrap up his round of 65 and a 36-hole aggregate of 12-under 130.
While DeChambeau grabs headlines for bulking up and blasting tape-measure drives, Simpson continues to prove that a singles hitter still can succeed on the PGA Tour. He already took down long-hitting Tony Finau to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a playoff in February. Simpson averages a “paltry” 300 yards off the tee, which ranks 84th on Tour this season.
“It’s very satisfying knowing like I’m not near as long as some of these guys and I’m able to kind of use my skills of distance control and shot shape to kind of pick me back up when I’m 40 yards or 30 yards behind these guys,” he said. “I would like to hit it farther. I set out on a journey three years ago to get stronger, hit it farther, but do it a lot slower than Bryson, but he’s made it look easy and seamless.”
Simpson’s journey meant getting in the gym and working on his overall fitness.
“I called him a skinny fat kid. Now he’s a skinny ripped kid,” Tesori said. (Simpson noted that he’s gained 20 pounds since he hit the weight room.)
Webb Simpson putts on the 17th green during the second round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links. Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
“He’s gained about eight yards in the air over the last two years. He’s stronger, more flexible,” Tesori added. “He can never do what [the longest hitters] do, but in his own way he’s worked as hard as he could not to keep up, but if they keep pushing it, we need to at least follow the push. If they get eight yards longer, we need to get eight too.”
Simpson said he’s seen an increase in his ball speed of 4-5 miles per hour in the three years while taking a more methodical approach to changing his body than DeChambeau.
“It’s getting there, and I want to keep going,” he said of his ball-speed gain. “I can get it to 172. I want to get it to 176, 177.”
Simpson knows gaining distance would allow him to better compete with the Tour bombers, but nothing tops a hot putter as he proved again on Friday.
Analyzing prop bets for the 2020 RBC Heritage, with odds, picks and best bets for the best match betting and placing options.
The 2020 RBC Heritage takes place this week at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C., with another loaded field. We’ve looked at the best bets and the top-30 fantasy rankings and below, we’ll look at the best prop bets for the RBC Heritage and make our picks.
Simpson has a better history at Harbour Town with a T-5 in 2018 and two other top 20s in the last three years, while Reed hasn’t played here since a missed cut in 2015. Simpson also ranks third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda greens. He looks to bounce back from a missed cut last week.
Xander Schauffele vs. Collin Morikawa (+115)
Morikawa has good value at plus-money coming off a runner-up finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He makes his debut at Harbour Town, but that situation hasn’t been an issue for him yet as he remains without a missed cut as a professional.
Gary Woodland (-133) vs. Jordan Spieth
Spieth received a lot more camera time than Woodland last week. The reigning US Open champion finished alone in ninth place, while Spieth was part of a large group at T-10. Play it safe with the more reliable Woodland. Spieth won’t have the same room for error off the tee this week and Woodland ranks 14th in the field in SG: Off the Tee.
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2020 RBC Heritage: Placing bets
Top 5: Sam Burns (+4500)
Burns finished alone in ninth at the 2019 RBC Heritage. He ranks fifth in this field in SG: Putting on Bermuda greens.
Top 10: Rory Sabbatini (+800)
Sabbatini was T-14 last week and he was T-10 here in 2019. He can avoid bogeys and will have plenty of scoring opportunities on the par 5s.
Lowest score Group D: Branden Grace (+400)
Grace’s lone PGA Tour victory to date came at the 2016 RBC Heritage. He returned to the European Tour’s winner’s circle for the ninth time at the South African Open in mid-January. He opened the Charles Schwab Challenge with three straight rounds of 66 before firing a Sunday 73 to finish T-19.
2020 RBC Heritage: Tournament specials
Leader after 1st round: Luke Donald (+10000)
Donald, a former world No. 1, had runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2017 while opening with a 65 and 66, respectively. He followed them up with a missed cut in 2018 and a T-33 in 2019, but he’s still among the best Bermuda putters in the field
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Analyzing the best fantasy golf options for the 2020 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
The PGA Tour shifts to Hilton Head, S.C., for the 2020 RBC Heritage this week at Harbour Town Golf Links. Last week saw Daniel Berger outlast Collin Morikawa in a playoff for his first win since 2017 in the PGA Tour’s return from a nearly three-month hiatus. Below, we’ll look at the fantasy golf power rankings for the 2020 RBC Heritage.
Jun 14, 2020; Fort Worth, Texas; Branden Grace lines up a putt at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. (Photo Credit: Raymond Carlin III – USA TODAY Sports)
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
30. Luke List
List will return to the PGA Tour after winning in a strong field on the Korn Ferry Tour last week. He has some confidence, and his sixth-place finish at last year’s PGA Championship shows he can contend in strong fields at the highest level.
29. Rory Sabbatini
Sabbatini’s T-14 last week was his best finish in North America since a T-6 at the 2019 Wyndham Championship. He’s excellent on par 4s, especially Harbour Town’s most common range of 400-450 yards, and he tied for 10th last year.
28. Sergio Garcia
Garcia missed the cut last week, but he’s a good fit to Harbour Town, with top-10 field ranks in Greens in Regulation Gained and Bogey Avoidance over everyone’s last 100 rounds.
27. Abraham Ancer
Ancer tied for 14th last week while gaining 1.66 strokes per round on the field from tee-to-green, according to Data Golf. He enters the week at 22nd in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings.
26. Corey Conners
Conners had a much better than usual putting performance last week at Colonial Country Club, as he gained 0.57 strokes per round on the greens. He has three missed cuts here in his career, but the putter is typically his main weakness.
Jun 12, 2020; Fort Worth, Texas; Scottie Scheffler lines up a putt at the Charles Schwab Challenge. (Photo Credit: Raymond Carlin III – USA TODAY Sports)
25. Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler’s Sunday round of 73 dropped him down the leaderboard to a T-55 finish after opening with three sub-par rounds. He has a well-rounded game and has the iron play to hit these small greens.
24. J.T. Poston
Poston tied for 10th last week while gaining 1.27 strokes per round tee-to-green and 0.92 strokes per round putting. He tied for sixth in this event last year, albeit in a much weaker field.
23. Shane Lowry
Lowry tied for third last year in his second career appearance at this event. The Open Champion is 10th in this field in SG: Off-the-Tee over everyone’s last 100 rounds.
22. Bubba Watson
Watson picked up a T-7 last week for his third top-10 result of 2020 to match his total from 2019. He gained 1.45 strokes per round tee-to-green and 1.23 putting.
21. Jason Kokrak
Kokrak put together weekend rounds of 65 and 64 for a T-3 finish last week. He has gained 0.80 strokes per round across 25 career rounds at this venue.
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20. Jordan Spieth
Spieth was able to somewhat tame his driver last week, but he lost 0.35 strokes per round on approach while gaining 2.15 strokes putting. His T-10 finish was promising, but he’s still too erratic to trust on a weekly basis.
19. Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton returns to play following his first PGA Tour win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He looks to follow the lead of Berger in picking up his pre-break form.
18. Gary Woodland
Woodland faltered to a Sunday 70 for a ninth-place finish last week. He’s ninth in this field in SG: Off-the-Tee, and he gained 2.20 strokes per round on approach last week.
17. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama had a T-5 at the Genesis Invitational and a T-6 at the WGC-Mexico Championship before a T-56 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He can avoid trouble and hit these greens.
Jun 12, 2020; Fort Worth, Texas; Sungjae Im lines up a putt at the Charles Schwab Challenge. (Photo Credit: Raymond Carlin III – USA TODAY Sports)
16. Sungjae Im
One of Im’s eight missed cuts in his last 44 international events came at this venue last year, but he’s coming off a T-10 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he also missed the cut in 2019. He’s 16th in this field in Bogey Avoidance and will score on the par 5s.
15. Tony Finau
Finau’s best trait for Harbour Town is a field rank of seventh in Greens in Regulation Gained. He gained 1.08 strokes off-the-tee last week while finishing in a tie for 23rd.
14. Brooks Koepka
Koepka will make his debut at Harbour Town amid one of his worst stretches in recent memory. The former world No. 1 enters the week 19th in the Golfweek rankings, but he’s ninth in this field in Bogey Avoidance and proximity from the key distance of 175-200 yards.
13. Daniel Berger
The reigning PGA Tour champ has made seven straight cuts with four consecutive top-10 finishes. He’s also riding a Tour-best streak of 28 rounds of par or better.
12. Dustin Johnson
Johnson tied for 16th here in 2018 and 28th last year. He’s second in the field in SG: Off-the-Tee and is a good bet to bounce back from last week’s missed cut.
11. Webb Simpson
Simpson also missed the cut last week, and slipped to No. 6 in the Golfweek rankings. He has gained 1.30 strokes per round over 38 rounds at Harbour Town, and he tied for fifth in 2018.
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10. Patrick Reed
Reed finished T-7 last week with four rounds in the 60s highlighted by Saturday’s 63. He was in great form before the break with a win at the WGC-Mexico Championship and seems to have picked right back up.
9. Justin Rose
Rose gained 1.59 strokes per round tee-to-green and 1.34 strokes per round with the putter last week. He’s an excellent ball-striker and avoids trouble areas.
8. Collin Morikawa
Morikawa was without weakness last week before losing to Berger in a playoff. Debuting at tough courses hasn’t proven to be an issue yet, as he continues his streak of no missed cuts as a professional.
7. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar, the 2019 runner-up, has three other top-11 finishes here in the last five years with nothing worse than a T-23. He played a field-high 60 rounds at Harbour Town while gaining 1.76 strokes per round on the field.
Jun 13, 2020; Fort Worth, Texas; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after putting for an eagle at the Charles Schwab Challenge. (Photo Credit: Raymond Carlin III – USA TODAY Sports)
6. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau received plenty of air time last week due to his new, beefed-up look, but it certainly worked as he gained a tournament-best 2.65 strokes per round tee-to-green and 1.83 strokes per round off-the-tee.
5. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele gained 0.91 strokes per round with the putter, but you wouldn’t know it with his 17th-hole lip out costing him a chance at a playoff. He was among the best in the field off-the-tee and from tee-to-green. He’ll play here for the third year in a row.
4. Jon Rahm
Rahm was a disaster on the greens last week en route to a missed cut. He’s accurate off-the-tee and precise with the irons and is another good bet to bounce right back.
3. Justin Thomas
Thomas hasn’t played here since finishing T-11 in 2015 and 75th in 2016. It was his play off-the-tee last week which cost him, but he was able to gain 1.75 strokes per round on approach.
2. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy hasn’t played here since a 58th-place finish in 2009. He faltered with a plus-4 74 in Round 4 last week, but he leads this field in SG: Off-the-Tee, Bogey Avoidance and Greens in Regulation Gained over everyone’s last 100 rounds.
1. Branden Grace
The 2016 champ tied for seventh in 2015 and 11th in 2017. He opened the Charles Schwab Challenge with three straight rounds of 66 before Sunday’s 73 dropped him to T-19 to inflate his odds at Harbour Town.
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