Alright, everyone, have we all remembered how to breathe after that thrilling Masters Sunday?
I don't think I have ever felt more emotionally drained just from watching a round of golf in my life, and I would undoubtedly do it all over again. That final round at Augusta National will go down in history as an all-timer, and Rory McIlroy will confidently end his career as one of the top 10 golfers to ever live.
Now, though, we must put Magnolia Lane in the rearview and head to Hilton Head for this week's RBC Heritage. The fifth of eight Signature Events on the PGA Tour schedule, there is a lot of crossover from the field at The Masters at Harbour Town.
Of course, we've also got the alternate-field Corales Puntacana Championship occurring down in the Dominican Republic, so here's a quick list of five guys we like there: Joel Dahmen, Ben Griffin, Mac Meissner, Keith Mitchell, and Aldrich Potgieter.
As you may remember, we hit another winner last week with McIlroy, getting us up to five winners on the year thus far, even if three of them are Rory, who is not in the field this week, by the way. Let's keep the juices flowing with this week's rankings for the RBC Heritage.
Honorable Mentions: Aaron Rai, Jason Day, Andrew Novak, Shane Lowry, Russell Henley
9. Sepp Straka
I was very disappointed in Sepp Straka's performance this past week at Augusta, as he had a 5-7 finish on Friday to miss the cut.
The Austrian has definitely cooled off over the last month following a hot start to his 2025 season, but he sets up well for Harbour Town. He has finished in the top five in this tournament in two of the last three years, and Straka feels ready to right the ship in front of the lighthouse this week.
8. Jordan Spieth
Things are starting to feel closer and closer to being fully back for Jordan Spieth, who's coming off of back-to-back top-15 finishes at the Valero Texas Open and The Masters.
I feel comfortable in saying we'll never see 2015 Spieth again (or 2017 Spieth, for that matter), but he seems to be hitting his stride post-injury.
The 31-year-old has played well at Harbour Town in his career, posting five career top-12s, including a win here in 2022. Playing another course where he feels comfortable, Spieth should be able to keep his good vibes rolling.
7. Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas felt stuck in neutral all week at Augusta, as he wasn't able to string anything together en route to a T36 finish.
Much like Ludvig Åberg, JT's distance off the tee should help him against the rest of the field this week at Harbour Town.
Thomas has been knocking on the door of victory this year, and he'll have to hope Hilton Head is the spot where he can avenge his mini-collapse at the Valspar a few weeks ago.
6. Denny McCarthy
Denny McCarthy's putting seems to have returned to his 2024 levels, and the rest of his game is coming with it.
Six of McCarthy's 10 events this season have resulted in top-25 finishes, and his short game-focused skill set is tailor-made for Harbour Town.
A course that doesn't require length off the tee and rewards strong performance around the green lines up well for McCarthy to break through for his maiden win.
5. Ludvig Åberg
When that moment hit where Ludvig Åberg was briefly tied for the lead at The Masters before Rory's shot into the 15th at Augusta, it clearly threw the Swedish star for a loop.
I haven't been able to time Ludvig correctly this season, but coming off of another strong Masters, it feels like he has found his stride again. Åberg tied for 10th at Harbour Town a year ago, and his strong all-around play and length off the tee should lend itself to another high finish this week.
4. Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa is ready for a win in 2025.
In six starts this season, the world No. 4 has finished no worse than T17, including two solo-second-place finishes.
It doesn't make any sense why Morikawa hasn't won more often, with only four trophies to his name and none since 2023.
Having played well at Harbour Town last year, taking solo ninth, we're reaching a point of reckoning with Collin and his standing, and he needs to put more wins on his resume to be considered truly great.
3. Xander Schauffele
It feels like Xander Schauffele has worked through his injury issues from earlier this year with a pleasantly surprising T8 at Augusta.
I'm sure no one is more frustrated with the timing of his injury than Xander himself, but we've come out the other side with a healthy Schauffele going into the spring and summer months.
2. Scottie Scheffler
Our defending champ at the RBC Heritage, Scottie Scheffler managed a solo fourth at The Masters when he couldn't keep the tee ball on the planet through most of the week.
The top-ranked player in the world is going to break through for a win this year at some point; it's a matter of when.
I feel more confident after Augusta in Scottie's post-injury game than before, and Harbour Town is as good a spot as ever for Scheffler to get everything to fully click into place for 2025.
1. Patrick Cantlay
Downside: Patrick Cantlay has missed the cut before at the RBC Heritage.
Upside: Outside of the one MC in 2021, he has never finished outside of the top seven at Harbour Town in seven starts.
How Cantlay doesn't win more is astonishing and frustrating at the same time. He unsurprisingly had an average T36 finish at Augusta, but his current ball-striking form and his strong history at Harbour Town should lead to his first PGA Tour victory since the 2022 BMW Championship.