10 who can win the RBC Heritage

You won’t find many bombers, not on our list.

Jason Day would qualify as one: He’s long off the tee. But he’s more than just a power player. The world’s No. 1 golfer can, well, do it all.

Branden Grace is another. Aside from Day, he’s the only player on our list who ranks in the top 50 in driving distance on the PGA Tour. And Grace has played well lately at majors, because of his accuracy.

Accuracy — and shotmaking — will be prized attributes of any player hoping to contend at Harbour Town. At 7,101 yards, the Pete Dye-designed course is one of the shortest on the tour.

It rewards players who can hit the ball straight.

It punishes golfers who miss the fairway.

So, when we started narrowing down our list of contenders — one of whom will go home with more than $1 million and a plaid jacket — we focused on shotmakers.

And we factored in some other things:

▪ We looked for golfers who are hot at the moment, folks such as Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker and Kevin Kisner.

▪ We selected some dark horses, an up-and-comer such as Bryson DeChambeau, a veteran such as Scott Brown — who’s trying to be up-and-coming.

▪ We leaned on players who’ve won — Snedeker, Matt Kuchar — and who’ve come close. Luke Donald: so close, so many times.

Here are 10 of the 132 golfers in this year’s field who we definitely think have a shot to win this year.

Scott Brown

Heritage scoring average: 70.50

Best finish: T-5th (2014)

2015 finish: T-37th

Why plaid suits him: Brown is ranked 134th in the world. He’s got one tour victory over his five-year PGA Tour career. He shot a 79 in the final round and finished 71st at his last tour event. But he’s got South Carolina connections — he went to USC-Aiken — and was born in Georgia. (A town called Augusta.) Oh, and halfway through the 2016 season, he’s already matched his career-high total (four) of top-10 finishes. Almost half of his rounds at Harbour Town have been in the 60s.

Jason Day

Heritage scoring average: 70.36

Best finish: T-9th (2011)

2015 finish: N/A

Why plaid suits him: The world’s No. 1 player opted for a late start to the 2016 PGA Tour season — Day wanted to spend some time with his new daughter, Lucy. Still, he’s already won over $3 million in prize money, and he’s finished in the top 25 in all but one of six tour events. He also won his last two starts prior to the Masters. Day shot a 65 in the second round of the 2011 Heritage, so scoring isn’t an issue. The question: Can he go low in the final round to stay in contention?

Bryson DeChambeau

Heritage scoring average: N/A

Best finish: N/A

2015 finish: N/A

Why plaid suits him: The 22-year-old DeChambeau is making his professional debut at Harbour Town. He’s played in a total of four tour events and missed the cut twice. But — but! — he just shot a final-round 66 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He also won last year’s NCAA championship and the U.S Amateur — Tiger, Lefty and the Golden Bear pulled off that feat, too.

Luke Donald

Heritage scoring average: 69.78

Best finish: 2nd (2011, 2014)

2015 finish: T-15th

Why plaid suits him: Donald hasn’t done great on the tour this season. He’s played 10 events. Missed two cuts. Has a lone top-25 finish. He’s close to falling out of the top 100 in the World Golf Rankings. His tour money earnings have dropped for four straight years. But he’s posted five top-three finishes at Harbour Town in the past seven years. What’s that old cliche: Past performance is the best predictor of future success? Something like that.

Branden Grace

Heritage scoring average: 68.00

Best finish: T-7th (2015)

2015 finish: T-7th

Why plaid suits him: It’s Grace’s first full year on the tour. That No. 13 World Golf Ranking? Compliments of two top-5 finishes at majors in 2015. At Harbour Town last year, Grace had a strong debut, including middle rounds of 67 and 66. If the 27-year-old South African can get off to a better start this time around, he could find himself in contention for his first-ever tour win.

Bill Haas

Heritage scoring average: 71.42

Best finish: T-24th (2013)

2015 finish: T-31st

Why plaid suits him: Haas’ record at the Heritage ain’t great. He had to withdraw in 2014. He’s missed the cut five times in 11 starts at Harbour Town. He has a lone top-25 finish. But a lot of those missed cuts were early in his career. And so far, in nine tour events this year, Haas has four top-10 finishes. If nothing else, 2016 will be his 12th straight year at Harbour Town. You could say he’s familiar with the course.

Zach Johnson

Heritage scoring average: 71.26

Best finish: 2nd (2012)

2015 finish: Cut

Why plaid suits him: Johnson missed the cut last year. He’s missed it three times in 11 attempts. His Heritage scoring average is one of the highest in this group. And yet he’s come so close to winning the event a couple of times. Johnson’s off to a good start this year, finishing in the top 10 in a third of his nine tour events. His two top-10 finishes include a fifth-place result at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Kevin Kisner

Heritage scoring average: 69.40

Best finish: 2nd (2015)

2015 finish: 2nd

Why plaid suits him: The South Carolinian and Georgia Bulldog is smokin’ hot right now, having already posted a win and a second-place finish this season. He’ll come to Harbour Town after making his Masters debut. Kisner missed the cut in his Heritage debut in 2011 but almost won the tournament last year. His 2015 Heritage final round — a 64 — should inspire confidence ahead of this year’s event.

Matt Kuchar

Heritage scoring average: 70.26

Best finish: 1st (2014)

2015 finish: 5th

Why plaid suits him: Kuchar, a past champion, is an easy pick. He’s played Harbour Town with confidence the past two years, and he’s missed just one cut this season while finishing in the top 10 twice. Three out of the past four years he’s entered the Heritage after strong showings at the Masters.

Brandt Snedeker

Heritage scoring average: 71.08

Best finish: 1st (2011)

2015 finish: T-26th

Why plaid suits him: Another past champion, Snedeker played strong at last year’s event ... after a disastrous opening-round 77. Still, a respectable finish. And, at this very moment, “The Affable Tennessean” has the best tour record of this bunch, having earned over $2.5 million and picking up a win at the Farmers Insurance Open. The veteran is a regular at Harbour Town — he’s only missed it once in the past 11 years.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 9:09 AM with the headline "10 who can win the RBC Heritage."