RBC Heritage Notebook: Jordan Spieth Ready for Rest, Patrick Cantlay Shines Again at Harbour Town
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Jordan Spieth has won 13 times and on Sunday he had hoped to grab another, but it was not to be.
Defending a title for the 13th time in his career, it seemed almost ordained that Spieth, who was two back of Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick at the start of Sunday, would make a run behind his success and knowledge around Harbour Town.
After all, Spieth was three shots back of Harold Varner III last year and eventually won in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay.
This time Spieth got in another playoff, but it was Fitzpatrick who prevailed after three extra holes.
“With Matt (Fitzpatrick) playing tremendous golf coming in, I had a couple putts I had to make to get into that playoff, and then I don't know how the one on the first playoff hole didn't go in,” Spieth said after a $2.18 million playoff loss. “I think if I hit the same putt 10 times, it goes in eight times. It should go left at the very end there on the grain. It just wasn't meant to be.”
Starting with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February, Spieth has played 10 out of 12 weeks and now is ready for a rest.
Over that stretch Spieth did not win, but earned $5.263 million.
“At least two weeks off,” Spieth said when asked what's next. “I'm up in the air on Charlotte [Wells Fargo Championship] as the next event or Dallas, but probably Charlotte.”
Cantlay's Alley
The RBC Heritage should be nicknamed "Cantlay’s Alley."
In seven appearances, save for a missed cut in 2021, Cantlay has recorded five top 3s and a T7, earning $3,130,178.
The top-3 finish on Sunday could have been a win, but consecutive bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes made Cantlay a sort of bridesmaid.
“It was a good fight,” Cantlay said. “It was tough with the wind how it was, and birdies were tough to come by, but overall, I played well. I hit a lot of really good shots and made a lot of nice putts. Just one short.”
With eight career wins, Cantlay has had other chances with nine runner-up finishes and seven third-place finishes.
It's an impressive resume, though Cantlay is hopeful that more wins will come.
“I've been playing well for a while now and haven't really got any victories,” Cantlay said. “Sometimes they come in bunches, so hopefully that happens soon.”
Rahm Shows Up and Shows Out
Masters champion Jon Rahm was spent after his second major win last week.
Yet he showed up and played relatively well with a T15 that included overcoming a 1-over 72 in Thursday’s first round with three rounds in the 60’s, including a 7-under 64 on Friday to surge into the weekend. But at some point it was clear the energy was not there.
“I can't help but be proud of what I've done this week,” Rahm said. “To come here, I know the expectations weren't really high to the public, but in my mind every time I tee it up I'm going to try to do my best. After a shaky first round, to play as good as I have—I played really good on the weekend, I just didn't make the putts, and give myself a chance to even get close to the top 10, it's great.”
Rahm’s experience was a bit unprecedented, as he was unsure what to expect of himself and how he'd feel mentally or physically.
“I'm incredibly proud of finishing with a bogey-free Sunday on a very difficult golf course with that birdie on 18,” Rahm said. “It's all smiles for me today, and I'm going to go enjoy my afternoon off.”
Tidbits
- Cantlay (third) and Xander Schauffele (fourth) both finished in the top five and will defend their title at next week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
- Taylor Moore (T11) finished the week with 99 putts, the fewest of any player.
- World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler (No. 2 SIWGR) finished T11, his 11th consecutive finish of T12 or better.
- World No. 1 Rahm (No. 1 SIWGR) finished T15 and was the first player since Spieth in 2015 to play on Tour the week after winning the Masters.