On Monday evening, the PGA Tour announced the featured groupings for the first and second rounds of the RBC Heritage. You can catch every shot and hear some pretty decent player-caddy conversations from these groups. For the cost of (I think) 60 bucks you’ll definitely get your money’s worth in my opinion.
And without further ado…
Let’s go! Lots to unpack here.
Rory McIlory, Rickie Fowler and CT Pan
– You might be asking yourself “WTF is CT Pan doing with these guys?” Well you’re not alone. But, he did win this event last year. He is also the guy who refused to play at the Player’s Championship over concerns of COVID-19. So I’m sure that will get brought up at least once.
– Rickie is coming off a missed cut. He never really looked on his game last week in Fort Worth. His moustache was in top form though. Interested to see if he’ll be wearing a mic again during his rounds. I’m assuming no.
– McIlroy has been a fast starter this season, but struggled on Sunday. He’s shot a combined eight-over-par his last two Sunday’s when he entered the day within three of the lead. TOUGH. But, watching him smoke driver is awesome.
Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed
– Burgermeister Meisterburger (Shoutout to Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town…instant classic). Am I the first person to give Daniel Berger this nickname? I think so! Anyway, he won last week thanks to shooting seven-under-par (67-66) on the weekend.
– Brooks Koepka historically doesn’t care or particularly try to hard in non-majors. His most recent win on tour came at the WGC in Memphis last July in a stacked field. Can he make another run this week?
– Patrick Reed is an asshole. If you came to this website to hear anything positive about that rule-breaking, sandbagging SOB than you were sorely mistaken.
John Rahm, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas
– Rahmbo is an absolute loose cannon. Watching him play is fun. Whether you’re getting the good or the bad he’s must-see-tv.
– Justin Rose switched away from those god awful Honma clubs prior to last week. He’s back playing the clubs that helped him reach No. 1 in the world rankings. Can’t knock the guy for chasing that money with Honma. Rose also loves MASTERCARD. Look at his kits and try and find the Mastercard logo is like walking around Disney searching for the hidden Mickey’s.
– JT is my spirit animal. Little Ryder Cup vibe with Rahm and Rose playing against (or alongside) JT.
Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama and Gary Woodland
– I want to just get inside Dustin Johnson’s head and just spend an afternoon there. I bet his heart rate stays the same whether he’s sitting on his couch watching TV or standing over a putt for a major. I just don’t think he cares about anything. He mashes the ball and has taken his game to a new level with his wedge play lately.
– Hideki Matsuyama directly translates to consistent (I think). The guy is just there. All the time. I feel like he’s been on tour for an eternity but he’s only 28 and in his seventh year. His pause or hitch or whatever you want to call it is what he’ll always been known for.
– Gary Woodland went from looking like Christian Bale in Batman to Christian Bale in the Machinist. Maybe not that extreme, but the guy dropped a ton of weight during quarantine. Wish I was able to do that. He’ll be lacing stingers all over the place which are even more awesome on top tracer.
Some big names are missing here so there should be some pretty solid other groupings.
Which one of these groups will create the most fireworks during the opening two rounds?