Golf Glance: Webb Simpson defends at RBC Heritage

Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: The Masters (Hideki Matsuyama)

THIS WEEK: RBC Heritage, Hilton Head, S.C., April 15-18

Course: Harbour Town GL (Par 71, 7,121 yards)Purse: $7.1 million (Winner: $1.278M)

Defending Champion: Webb Simpson

FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. (GC); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS)

PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3-6 p.m. (Featured Holes)

NOTES: The event returns to its traditional post-Masters spot after being rescheduled as the second event following the Tour's coronavirus hiatus last year. ... Each of the past eight event winners are in the field, including two-time champion and Champions Tour player Jim Furyk. ... Harbour Town was designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus and has played host to a PGA Tour event since 1969. ... Simpson seeks to become the first repeat champion since Boo Weekley in 2007-08 after setting the tournament scoring record at 22-under 262 last year.. ... Fan capacity will be limited to 20 percent due to COVID-19 safety precautions. ... Five of the past 11 RBC Heritages have been decided in a playoff. ... Forty-two players who competed at Augusta National entered this week's field.

BEST BETS: Simpson (1100 at DraftKings) is the pre-tournament favorite. Along with last year's win, he has a runner-up and five other top-20s at Harbour Town. ... Dustin Johnson (1250) is a South Carolina native. He also hasn't finished better than T22 in his past four events, including an MC last week, and hasn't posted a top-15 finish in five previous RBC Heritages. ... Patrick Cantlay (1700) went T3-T7-T3 at the event from 2017-19. ... Tyrrell Hatton (2200) and Daniel Berger (2300) finished T3 last year. Hatton has six top-20s in eight worldwide starts this year. ... Abraham Ancer (3000) finished second after sharing the 54-hole lead with Simpson last year. He's second on Tour in fairways hit, and Harbour Town places an emphasis on driving accuracy. ... Will Zalatoris (2300) will make his event debut coming off his second-place finish at the Masters. ... Tommy Fleetwood (5500) offers longshot odds for the 24th-ranked player in the world who finished T5 at the Match Play two starts ago.

NEXT WEEK: Zurich Classic of New Orleans, April 22-25

LPGA Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: ANA Inspiration (Patty Tavatanakit)

THIS WEEK: LOTTE Championship, Oahu, Hi., April 14-17

Course: Kapolei Golf Club (Par 72, 6,563 yards)

Purse: $2 million (Winner: $300,000)

Defending Champion: Brooke Henderson

Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Wednesday-Saturday, 7-11 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Livestream: Wednesday-Saturday, 7-11 p.m. ET (NBC Sports App, GolfChannel.com)

NOTES: The event returns after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. ... The 144-player field will be cut to the top-70 and ties after 36 holes. ... Cristie Kerr holds the tournament scoring record of -20 268 set in 2017. ... Tavatanakit is the only one of five winners on Tour in 2021 not in this week's field. She is spending time at home in Orlando after winning the first major of the year at the ANA inspiration. ... Inbee Park leads the Tour in scoring average at 69.0, while Nelly Korda leads the money list with $607,657. ... Danielle Kang leads the Team USA Solheim Cup points standings with 360.50 points, followed by Korda (342.50) and Lexi Thompson (193.00). ... Inbee Park has competed in every LOTEE Championship since the event debuted in 2012. She has four top-4 finishes but has yet to win.

NEXT EVENT: HUGEL-AIR Premia LA Open, April 21-24

Champions Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: Cologuard Classic (Kevin Sutherland)

THIS WEEK: Chubb Classic, Naples, Fla. April 16-18

Course: Tiburon Golf Club (Black Course)

Purse: $1.7M (Winner: $240,000)

Defending Champion: Scott Parel

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Sutherland

TV: Friday, 12-2:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 3-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)

NOTES: The tour resumes following a six-week break in the schedule. The Champions has competed in Naples since 1988, but moves to the Tiburon Golf Club for 2021. ... Five-time Champions winner Sutherland has posted 13 consecutive rounds under par on tour. ... Steve Stricker has finished no worse than T7 in his past four Champions starts. ... Bernhard Langer is a three-time event champion and lost to Miguel Angel Jimenez in a playoff two years ago. ... Alex Cejka won the Monday qualifier for the second time this year.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands, Texas, April 30-May 2

--Field Level Media