The Heritage Betting Tips: 5 Panel Selections From Hilton Head

Masters champion Rory McIlroy may be missing from this week’s trip to South Carolina, but a quality 82-man field has assembled for The Heritage.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, runner-up at Augusta, is the 4/1 favourite on betting sites to win the latest Signature Event at the Pete Dye-designed Hilton Head which has narrow tree-lined fairways and some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour.

Although the course has once again been lengthened to 7,423 yards, it’s still a fairly short par-71 and natural bombers will be forced to adopt a more strategic approach if they are to taste success.

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Just two of the world’s top 30 are missing this week (Hideki Matsuyama has predictably joined McIlroy in skipping the event), so we should be in for an excellent four days, even if the tournament fails to hit the heights of The Masters.

The Panel enjoyed a profitable week at Augusta thanks to Tyrrell Hatton finishing as top LIV golfer at 8/1 and Russell Henley delivering a full each-way place at 66/1.

Hopefully, the team enjoy similar success with this week's four each-way selections, two of which were not involved in the drama at Augusta, and one top 20 for their Heritage betting tips.

The Heritage Betting Tips: Spieth Stands Out

Taming Hilton Head requires creative thinking, something that former champion Jordan Spieth has in spades.

Spieth won here in 2022 and a year later went close to a successful title defence when he lost a dramatic play-off with Matt Fitzpatrick.

The three-time major champion continued his consistent start to the season with an excellent display at The Masters where he crept close to the world’s top 50 with a 12th-placed finish.

That was his fourth top 12 in six outings and with just one missed cut in nine appearances, Spieth is heading in the right direction to enter the winner’s circle for the first time since his victory here four years ago.

Spieth was fifth in the Strokes Gained: Approach standings at Augusta and eighth from Tee-to-Green, skills which should serve him well.

Of those that made the cut, Spieth was sixth in the Around the Green rankings which is highly encouraging considering how important scrambling will be this week.

He’s up against a tough assembly of golfers, but the 2017 Open champion is clicking into gear even if his putting remains a work in progress.

At 30/1 with SpreadEx, Spieth kicks off this week’s Heritage betting predictions.

The Heritage Betting Tips 1: Jordan Spieth 30/1 (Each-Way) - With SpreadEx (Six Places)

The Heritage Betting Tips:

• Jordan Spieth 30/1 (Each-Way) - With SpreadEx (Six Places)
• Sepp Straka 45/1 (Each-Way) - With SpreadEx (Six Places)
• Sahith Theegala 60/1 (Each-Way) - With BetMGM (Six Places)
• Austin Smotherman 160/1 (Each-Way) - With Bet365 (Eight Places)
• Andrew Putnam 5/1 Top 20 - With Unibet

The Heritage Tips: Course Suits Straka

Sepp Straka is a player that makes regular appearances in The Panel’s golf tips and he is back again at a track which fits his game much more than Augusta where he has never finished inside the top 25 in five attempts.

The Austrian’s lack of length off the tee should not be a problem in Harbour Town where he has finished inside the top five twice in his last four visits and was 13th here 12 months ago.

Despite a mid-table finish last week, Straka’s iron play was one of the strongest among the field (12th SG: Approach) and he should not be discouraged by finishing 41st on a course where he has had little success in the past.

Hilton Head, though, is right up his street, just like the Dye-designed Sawgrass where Straka finished eighth last month.

Straka has been solid from tee-to-green this season, aside from the Texas Open, and looks a decent prospect at 40/1 with one of the betting apps.

The Heritage Betting Tips 2: Sepp Straka 45/1 (Each-Way) - With SpreadEx (Six Places)

The Heritage Predictions: Take Rested Theegala To Thrive

The next two Panel selections are players that were not involved at Augusta, starting with Sahith Theegala, who has a decent record at Hilton Head.

Theegala broke into the world’s top 100 on the back of top-10 finishes at PGA West and Torrey Pines at the start of the year.

The American followed up those performances with sixth at Bay Hill and 10th in Houston which was his last outing.

With two weeks off, Theegala’s batteries should be fully charged for another assault on a course where he finished in the top five in 2023 and was runner-up to Scheffler a year later.

Theegala is an excellent scrambler which will come in handy when inevitably missing the dome-shaped Bermudagrass greens on the odd occasion, and his approach play has been solid all year. 

He’s up against an elite field, but he showed he can excel at Signature Events like the Arnold Palmer Invitational and stands out at 60/1 with BetMGM, which is offering six places.

The Heritage Betting Tips 3: Sahith Theegala 60/1 (Each-Way) - With BetMGM (Six Places)

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The Heritage Betting Tips: Smotherman A Dark Horse

The last of the outright selections is Austin Smotherman, who can generally be backed at 200/1, although The Panel are taking the 160/1 with Bet365 for eight places. 

Smotherman, like Theegala, had last week off and he is making only his second visit to Hilton Head.

His first came in 2023 when the best that can be said is that he made the cut.

This season has been a mixed bag and he withdrew from the third round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a back injury in March.

Since then, he finished 13th at Sawgrass and it should not be forgotten he had top 10s at PGA National and PGA West before that.

Smotherman does not come without risk, but he is inside the top 15 from Tee-to-Green and is fifth for Approach using the Strokes Gained measure.

The Heritage Betting Tips 4: Austin Smotherman 160/1 (Each-Way) - With Bet365 (Eight Places)

The Heritage Top 20 Tips: Pick Putnam

Tom Hoge has finished inside the top 20 in two of his last visits and looks an interesting prospect at 8/1 for a third, but his form means he is ruled out.

Instead, the Panel favour Andrew Putnam in the same market at 5/1 with Unibet.

Putnam’s first four visits to Hilton Head were the stuff of nightmares, missing the cut on each occasion, but he is gradually getting used to this tricky course.

In his last appearance in 2024, he finished 18th and he was fifth in his previous outing at the Texas Open.

The American is just outside the top 50 for both Approach and from Tee-to-Green, but encouragingly he ranks sixth for scrambling – a useful skill for the inevitable missed GIR.

The Heritage Betting Tips 5: Andrew Putnam 5/1 Top 20 - With Unibet

Who do you think will win The Heritage? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!