Simpson, 3 Others Tied Atop the Leaderboard at RBC Heritage

By Dave Shields

It’s going to be another fun Sunday on the PGA Tour.

After the third round of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., four players are tied atop the leaderboard at 15-under. Tyrell Hatton got their first after shooting a blistering 8-under par 63 on Saturday. He was joined by Abraham Ancer, who shot a 6-under 65 and Ryan Palmer, who carded a 5-under 66.

The final man to join them at 15-under was second-round leader Webb Simpson, who carded a 3-under par 68.

“It’s been a fun few days with no bogeys,” Simpson said after the round. “You know it’s difficult around the greens here. There’s a few chips or bunker shots that are really difficult, but in rough this long there’s an element of guesswork to it and its been nice because I’ve guessed correctly each time. And when I have left myself 7, 8, 9 feet for par, I’ve made them, so it’s been a fun few days with no bogeys.”

There was some fantastic golf being played on Saturday as 6 golfers shot 8-under, including Hatton. Carlos Ortiz, last week’s winner Daniel Berger, and Joel Dahmen each shot a 63 to move to 14-under, one shot off the pace. Jaoquin Niemann and Christ Stroud also posted 63s and improved to 13-under for the tournament.

Overall, 8 golfers were at 13-under. Along with Niemann and Stroud, Sergio Garcia, Erik Van Rooyen, Michael Thompson, Ian Poulter, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Corey Connors are all 13-under.

So, add it all up and there are 15 golfers within 2 shots of the lead and 21 golfers within 3 shots of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round. Among those at 12-under are some heavy hitters, including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Andrew Landry, Alex Noren, and Brice Garnett. Oh yeah, and Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose are lurking 5 shots back at 10-under.

It was a similarly top-heavy leaderboard last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, where Berger outlasted the field to win in a playoff, Berger is right there again with a chance to win back-to-back.

If you’re looking for odds, Simpson is the favorite with a 28.9% win probability, followed by DeChambeau at 17.8%, Fitzpatrick at 7.9%, Conners at 7.7%, Ancer at 3.9%, Koepka at 3.5%, Palmer at 3.2%, Poulter at 2.6%, Johnson at 2.2%, and Tony Finau at 1.8%.