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For a brief moment it appeared any player through to the weekend would have a realistic chance to don the tartan jacket come Sunday. With the lead stalling at 6-under for most of the afternoon, those on the even-par cut-line were licking their chops at the potential of making an early Saturday run.
It was only then when this thought vanished as the reigning FedEx Cup Champion and Player of the Year, Patrick Cantlay, put his foot on the gas. Carding a 5-under 66 in Round 1, the unbothered California kid was dealt with the more difficult conditions on Friday.
Taking some time to collect himself, Cantlay finally found his stride coming home at Harbour Town Golf Links. Connecting on four consecutive birdies to cap off his second round, the world No. 6 signed for a 4-under 67 to stand at a two-day total of 9-under 133.
When asked about his finish, Cantlay said, “Yeah, obviously that’s a dream finish. I finally rolled in some putts, and that was really nice to see going into the weekend. It was a tough day out there, and I figured any round under par or around even par would be a win for today. So, finishing how I did puts me in a great spot for the weekend.”
Seizing control of the RBC Heritage, Cantlay is in search of his first victory since this past summer when he caught the attention of the entire golf world. Catching fire in the FedEx Cup playoffs, the 30-year-old proved capable of playing his best when the lights were the brightest.
Commanding a two-stroke lead over Robert Streb at the halfway mark, Cantlay was asked about his mentality for the upcoming weekend to which he replied, “I wouldn’t say turn anything on more. I think we’ll get some more weather. It always tends to blow a little bit here. I think just staying with my game plan and continue to leave the golf ball in the right spots, which is paramount around this place, I think is the key.”
Down to +150, Cantlay has now become the heavy favorite at PointsBet Sportsbook. At a venue where he has experienced past success, the six-time winner will have his work cut out for him as Joaquin Niemann, Jordan Spieth, and many others are well-positioned in the chaser role – a spot Harbour Town has historically rewarded.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+150: Patrick Cantlay
+1400: Joaquin Niemann
+1800: Jordan Spieth, Shane Lowry
+2000: Aaron Wise, Cameron Tringale, Cameron Young, Erik van Rooyen
+2200: Joel Dahmen
+2500: Corey Conners, Matt Kuchar, Robert Streb
+2800: Mito Pereira
+3300: Billy Horschel, Sepp Straka
+4000: Adam Hadwin, Collin Morikawa, Jason Kokrak
+5000: Chad Ramey, Tyrrell Hatton
+6600: Harold Varner III, Kevin Na, Matthew NeSmith, Patton Kizzire, Si Woo Kim
+8000: Sungjae Im, Justin Thomas, Troy Merritt
+10000: Alex Noren, Daniel Berger, Hudson Swafford, Ian Poulter
Round 3 Plays:
We are in a decent place in the outright department with four players within six-strokes, three of whom are within four. Instead of pushing the envelope, let’s see if we can keep the momentum rolling with the props as Tiger Woods treated us very kindly in Augusta.
C.T. Pan +330 to finish inside the top-20 (0.91 units):
As mentioned, it is a rather tight leaderboard when not taking into account the two men at the top. Those should allow for plenty of movement in the mid-section with Pan being a player identified as one capable of making a weekend move. While winning the RBC Heritage again may be out of the question, a top-20 result is more than doable.
Having arrived to Hilton Head Island sneakily in form, the Olympic Bronze Medalist was a player I was hoping to play in some capacity. This should be a favorable spot to do so as he currently ranks fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, primarily due to a strong iron performance (fifth in SG: Approach) and a nifty around-the-green effort (41st in SG: Around-the-Green).
This is nothing new for Pan as this has been his M.O. for the majority of 2022, lagging behind the competition with both the driver and putter in hand. As is the case this week, Pan sits at 2-under in a tie for 34th-place.
Unable to take advantage of the par-5s up to this point, what Pan did do on Friday was improve drastically on the greens. Losing close to three-strokes with the flat stick on Thursday and nearly drawing even to the field on Friday, if this trend continues on the up, Pan should find the top-20 of the leaderboard by Sunday evening.
Props YTD: +1.10 units, +14.67%
Total YTD: +44.64 units, +40.55%
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