Golf expert fading Rory McIlroy at Harbour Town

The PGA Tour will hold its fifth of eight signature events of the season when play begins at the 2024 RBC Heritage beginning on Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C. As a signature event, the RBC Heritage will feature a limited, 69-player field with top players and increased prize money. The tournament will not have a cut and the winner will earn $3.6 million. 

Coming off his victory in last week’s Masters, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the overwhelming favorite in the 2024 RBC Heritage odds at +400. Xander Schauffele, who finished eighth at the Masters, is the +1000 second choice. Rory McIlroy (+1200), Ludvig Aberg (+1200) and Patrick Cantlay (+1400) round out the top five choices in the RBC Heritage 2024 field. Before locking in any 2024 RBC Heritage picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad.

Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He’s had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets and in betting head-to-head matchups. He also has been solid with his head-to-head matchups since last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, going 39-27-2 and returning 8.31 units over that span. That’s a $831 profit for $100 bettors since May 2023.

Nejad also nailed 75-1 longshot Wyndham Clark as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship. In 2023, SportsLine debuted “The Early Wedge,” and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners.

Now, Nejad has focused his attention on the 2024 RBC Heritage field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. See who they are at SportsLine.

Top 2024 RBC Heritage expert picks

One surprise: Nejad is completely fading Rory McIlroy, even though he is one of the favorites at +1200. Ranked No. 2 in the world, McIlroy has not played like vintage McIlroy this season. He ranks 123rd in strokes gained: around the green (-0.119), which could be detrimental at a course like Harbour Town. Harbour Town’s greens are the second smallest on the PGA Tour, behind only Pebble Beach. 

That helps explain why he has only one finish better than 19th in seven PGA Tour starts this season, a third-place showing at the Valero Texas Open two weeks ago. Last week at the Masters, he never was in serious contention and finished 22nd. “I have no interest in betting Rory McIlroy at a short number,” Nejad told SportsLine.

However, Nejad is high on the chances of Will Zalatoris, who’s listed as a +2800 longshot. The 27-year-old from Dallas has one runner-up finish, three top-10s, and four top 25s in eight events this season. He enters the 2024 RBC Heritage off a T-9 finish at the Masters.

Nejad likes how Zalatoris’ approach play fits at Harbour Town, with its narrow fairways and small greens. Zalatoris ranks eighth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach (+0.720). “He can absolutely contend at Harbour Town,” Nejad said. See which other golfers to back at SportsLine.

How to make 2024 RBC Heritage picks

Nejad has locked in his best bets for the 2024 RBC Heritage and is backing several longshots, including one that is priced at more than +4000. This player is a “great course fit” and is a longshot who could surprise. You can see Nejad’s PGA Tour picks only at SportsLine.

So which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 RBC Heritage, and which player in the RBC Heritage 2024 field could bring a huge payday at more than +4000? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sia Nejad’s top picks for the 2024 RBC Heritage, all from the expert who is 39-27-2 on his last 68 head-to-head picks.

2024 RBC Heritage odds, field

See Nejad’s picks, best bets and predictions here.

Scottie Scheffler +400
Xander Schauffele +1000
Rory McIlroy +1200
Ludvig Aberg +1200
Patrick Cantlay +1400
Tommy Fleetwood +1800
Collin Morikawa +1800
Max Homa +2200
Matt Fitzpatrick +2200
Will Zalatoris +2500
Cameron Young +2500
Wyndham Clark +3000
Si Woo Kim +3000
Sahith Theegala +3500
Russell Henley +3500
Jordan Spieth +3500
Shane Lowry +3500
Sam Burns +4000
Tony Finau +4500
Tom Kim +4500
Justin Thomas +4500
Denny McCarthy +4500
Corey Conners +4500
Brian Harman +4500
J.T. Poston +5000
Chris Kirk +5000
Cameron Davis +5000
Sepp Straka +5500
Lucas Glover +5500
Jason Day +5500
Harris English +5500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +5500
Akshay Bhatia +5500
Taylor Moore +6000
Byeong Hun An +6000
Sungjae Im +6500
Brendon Todd +6500
Matthieu Pavon +7000
Adam Hadwin +7000
Eric Cole +7500
Adam Schenk +7500
Tom Hoge +8000
Kurt Kitayama +8000
Keegan Bradley +8000
Emiliano Grillo +9000
Thomas Detry +10000
Stephan Jaeger +10000
Austin Eckroat +10000
Andrew Putnam +10000
Nick Taylor +11000
Mackenzie Hughes +11000
Erik Van Rooyen +11000
Rickie Fowler +13000
Adam Svensson +13000
Justin Rose +15000
Patrick Rodgers +18000
Lee Hodges +18000
Webb Simpson +18000
Seamus Power +25000
Peter Malnati +25000
Nick Dunlap +25000
Jake Knapp +25000
Erik Barnes +30000
Chandler Phillips +30000
Brice Garnett +30000
Alejandro Tosti +30000
Gary Woodland +30000
Grayson Murray +35000
Kevin Kisner +150000