Three Lesser-Known Golfers to Keep an Eye on at the 2026 RBC Heritage
This year’s RBC Heritage field heads to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to compete for the coveted tartan jacket. Almost every top golfer on the PGA Tour is in this field, but amongst the stars lie the diamonds in the rough. For some, the RBC Heritage presents yet another opportunity to improve upon their already solid Official World Golf Ranking. For others, this is their first signature event of the year and a rare opportunity to accrue major money and FedExCup points. Thanks to a successful 2025 and current form, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Chandler Blanchet, and Karl Vilips aim to make waves at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju
This past October, Yellamaraju barely snuck into the top 20 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Nevertheless, the young Canadian, who learned to play golf from YouTube videos, earned a full-status PGA Tour membership for the 2026 season thanks to a successful season the previous year. After logging a solid T-13 finish at this season’s first tournament, the Sony Open in Hawaii, Yellamaraju hit a slight skid; a missed cut at The American Express and two narrowly made cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open did not compound upon the early momentum from Hawaii. However, since Phoenix, the 24-year-old bounced back in a major way, posting four top-20 finishes in his last five starts. Most notably, Yellamaraju logged a tied-fifth finish at The Players Championship, bolstering his confidence and solidifying his name amongst the young stars on Tour. “I know I can compete and contend,” Yellamaraju said after his improbable performance at The Players. “I have a lot of belief in myself, but that results-based confidence is something you can’t match.”
A T-14 finish at the Valero Texas Open has Yellamaraju rolling heading into his first signature event of his young career; after finishing in ninth place in the latest edition of the Aon Next 10 rankings, he secured a spot in this week’s field. While Yellamaraju is the 120th-ranked golfer in the world, his résumé and game pick up the slack. So far this season, Yellamaraju has gained 0.47 strokes in relation to the field on his approach shots and 0.62 strokes in relation to the field with the putter in his hand; he ranks 26th and 13th in these respective categories in comparison to the rest of the PGA Tour. While Harbour Town Golf Links puts a premium on straight tee shots, sticking the ball close to the pin is always beneficial. In fact, the two playoff participants at last year’s RBC Heritage, Justin Thomas and Andrew Novak, placed within the top 10 for the tournament in terms of strokes gained on approach shots. Clearly, Yellamaraju’s second-shot precision should translate well to Harbour Town.
Chandler Blanchet
Similar to Yellamaraju, Blanchet also secured a full PGA Tour membership for the 2026 season. However, he did it in a different fashion. Unlike his Canadian counterpart, Blanchet did not have the same pressure down the stretch in terms of his PGA Tour future; he finished second on the Korn Ferry Tour points list at the end of last season. The 31-year-old American experienced a plethora of emotions after earning his full-status PGA Tour card, propelling him to continue to strive for success on golf’s premier tour. Despite his intentions, golf has an unkind way of bringing some back down to Earth; Blanchet missed his first five cuts to begin his first fully-exempt year on Tour. However, a runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open and a T-18 finish at the Valspar Championship were a nice change of pace.
In addition to Blanchet’s aforementioned similarity to Yellamaraju, he also did not earn his way into any signature events prior to the RBC Heritage; some full-status PGA Tour memberships only include exemptions into full-field events, not signature or limited-field events. The FedExCup points that Blanchet earned from his notable finishes in Puerto Rico and at the Valspar Championship pushed him into the Aon Swing 5 points list and, in turn, into this week’s RBC Heritage field. In order to succeed at his first signature event, the seasoned American will need to rely on his accuracy to navigate the demanding Harbour Town Golf Links. While on the shorter side, measuring at just over 7,200 yards, Harbour Town makes up for its lack of distance with a plethora of hazards off the tee. From impending marsh to lush oak and pine trees, trouble lurks just beyond the fairway. Thankfully for Blanchet, he currently ranks 14th in driving accuracy percentage on the PGA Tour, hitting 64.87% of the fairways he looks at. Big numbers can be made all over Harbour Town, but if Blanchet can keep it in the short stuff, he can surely navigate his first-ever signature event.
Karl Vilips
Arguably the most well-known of the bunch, Vilips is a past PGA Tour winner; his past victory at last year’s Puerto Rico Open has afforded him numerous opportunities since. Despite a victorious history, Vilips is the lowest-ranked of the three golfers mentioned. A lowly 154th ranking in the OWGR outlines the recent woes the young Australian has faced since his win. After only posting three top-20 finishes to go along with nine missed cuts to finish the crucial part of the PGA Tour’s 2025 season, Vilips decided to play in four FedExCup Fall events. His decision paid off, not missing any cuts in said events; Vilips was unable to keep up this trend to begin this season, however. After two top-40 finishes to begin 2026, the 24-year-old has since missed four cuts in his last six events and opted not to defend his title at the Puerto Rico Open.
Regardless of his lackluster beginning to the season, Vilips finds himself in this week’s RBC Heritage field thanks to win last year. Last season, ‘Koala Karl’ actually played in the RBC Heritage, logging a T-54 finish. He lost strokes to the field in every major category except for approach to the green, placing within the top 15 golfers in the field. While Vilips is an average wedge player by PGA Tour standards, he does rank seventh on Tour in average length to the hole from outside of 100 yards, boasting a 31-foot average proximity. The Australian also tends to wield a hot putter, coming in at the 10 spot on tour in terms of strokes gained putting and one-putt percentage. For Vilips, the equation is simple: knock it close, make the putt; he surely has the stat profile and game to do just that.
A deeper look reveals each golfer's statistical strengths, but also their weaknesses. As Yellamaraju, Blanchet, and Vilips prepare for Harbour Town Golf Links, they become well aware of how their games stack up, what to emphasize, and where not to miss. They can prepare all they want, but it comes down to actually doing it. Mike Tyson said it best: “Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.” Harbour Town has a knack for punching even the best PGA Tour contestants in the mouth; for the aforementioned trio, it will be about how quickly and efficiently they can respond and recover. For the RBC Heritage’s Thursday round one action, Blanchet tees off at 7:05 a.m. EDT, Vilips tees off at 8:20 a.m. EDT, and Yellamaraju tees off at 2:10 p.m. EDT.
