2026 RBC Heritage: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 3
The 2026 RBC Heritage continues on to the weekend, with past champion Matt Fitzpatrick holding a 1-stroke lead over Viktor Hovland as we head into the weekend. With Round 2 in the books, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 3 gets underway on Saturday. Conditions have been calm thus far, but we should expect the course to get firmer and more difficult as the week continues.
With a similar forecast in store for Saturday, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 3 breakout.
Take a look at some of the best pillar players for Masters DFS contests and live betting opportunities.
DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy
DraftKings Golf Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.
Round 3 RBC Heritage Showdown Pillar Plays
At the 2026 RBC Heritage, there is a particular focus on players who are accurate shot-shapers, particularly since the tournament gained Signature Event status in 2023. From a statistical standpoint, Driving Accuracy, SG: Approach, Scrambling, and performance on positional comp courses continue to be of premium importance. Identifying value players who check each of these boxes can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 3 Showdown lineups for these reasons.
Collin Morikawa ($9,300)
The state of Collin Morikawa’s health undoubtedly led to a discounted pre-tournament price in both DFS and betting markets. While he’s doing his best Kirk Gibson impression limping around the course, his golf game does not seem to be affected by the back injury that forced his early withdrawal from The Players back in March.
Morikawa finished T7 at The Masters last week and currently sits T14 (-7) at the halfway point of the RBC Heritage. It seems Morikawa is learning how to manage his golf swing at less than 100%, so I don’t expect his condition to get worse for the duration of this tournament. If he is in fact healthy, there are few better setups for Morikawa’s game on the PGA Tour than Harbour Town. He ranks 11th in SG: T2G through two rounds, and is positioned well to make a charge over the weekend.
Sahith Theegala ($7,800)
When assessing buy-low opportunities mid-tournament, my first step is often to find the players who are off to a strong start tee-to-green, and who simply have not been able to hole putts in the early going. That tends to produce the highest floor and upside for the weekend rounds to come. Theegalafits that description perfectly through the first two rounds at the RBC Heritage, as he ranks 1st in SG T2G and 80th in SG: Putting.
Theegala is a volatile putter, but he is capable of catching lightning in a bottle on the greens. He’s gained 5+ strokes putting at this event in two of his last appearances, and finished top-5 in both instances. Theegala was in great form before just narrowly missing qualifying for The Masters. With two top-10s over his last four starts, he has a chance to play himself into contention if the putter cooperates on Saturday.
Akshay Bhatia ($7,500)
Approach play is the most important skillset one can bring with them to Harbour Town Golf Links, one of the most positional venues on the PGA Tour. Bhatia has certainly brought it, ranking 3rd in SG: APP through two rounds, and 1st in SG: APP on Friday. That’s an encouraging sign for Bhatia, as his form was in question entering this week off back-to-back missed cuts.
Like Theegala, a cold putter has held Bhatia back, but he’s still currently T19 despite ranking 77th in SG: Putting. Bhatia entered this week top-15 in the field in SG: Putting, so we should expect the putts to start dropping over the weekend. If they do, Harbour Town is an excellent fit for his game as an approach marksman and expert shot-shaper.
Live Bets To Consider After Round 3
Si Woo Kim To Win Outright
Best Available odds:
My outright card is in a solid place at the moment with Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka each in striking distance, so I’m not proactively looking to add on exposure. If I were to, however, Si Woo Kim’s current odds strike me as the best value at present.
There’s no question Si Woo loves himself a Pete Dye Course, picking up wins earlier in his career at The American Express and The Players. That makes sense, considering his prowess as an accurate ball-striker and crafty scrambler. The only concern about Si Woo leading into this week was his putter, and it’s looked much improved to start; he ranks 23rd in SG: Putting through two rounds. If the putts continue to fall, Si Woo’s tee-to-green form remains elite enough to contend in this tournament.
Round 3 Head-to-Head Matchup: Austin Smotherman over Marco Penge
Best Available odds: -112 (DraftKings)
Neither of these players has inspired much optimism heading into the weekend, currently a combined 9-over-par. But purely from a course fit standpoint, Smotherman seems to be far more capable of turning his round around over the weekend at Harbour Town. Smotherman entered this week top-5 in SG: Approach over the last 36 rounds, the most important stat for scoring at Harbour Town.
Penge, by contrast, has seen his greatest strength neutralized at Harbour Town. As one of the longest hitters in this field, accuracy is not a part of Penge’s game, and that deficiency has been exploited thus far; he ranks 50th in SG: OTT through the first two rounds. Assuming Smotherman’s approach form returns, his ceiling to rebound in round 3 is higher to me than Penge’s.
Best of luck with your RBC Heritage DFS lineups and bets!
Photo Credit: AP/Ashley Landis
