There could be no better complement to the recently concluded Masters than this week’s RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, which serves as the antithesis to the pressures of trying to win a green jacket, and its laid-back vibe provides the perfect dichotomy for this two-week Southeast swing.

We actually have a solid field, too, with five of the world’s top-10 players scheduled to compete and a bevy of Masters competitors making the short(ish) drive from Augusta (or even shorter flight).

That leads to the biggest annual question facing us at this one: Should we chase the players who are enjoying a Harbour Town chaser this week?

Since it was such a slow week — sarcasm font, guys — I dug into some research to answer that question. I went back over the past decade (2020 not included, since these events weren’t on back-to-back weeks) and examined how many of the top five on the RBC Heritage leaderboard had played the Masters one week earlier and where they’d finished.

What I found is that of the 53 players who have finished in the top five at Harbour Town, 30 had competed in the previous week’s Masters.

Of those 30, the Augusta results were mixed. Four had finished inside the top 10, 13 were inside the top 25 and 11 missed the cut.

All of which means the answer to whether we should chase those chasing a Masters start is inconclusive, though I’ll proffer that not all inconclusive data is immaterial. In this case, all of these numbers allow us a bit of a window into this week’s prognostications.

Essentially, we can select those who played in the Masters or those who didn’t, without favor toward either side. And if we’re selecting those who played, we don’t necessarily have to favor those who played well or didn’t play well.

Some players don’t need to build on results. There are guys who can miss 5-6 cuts in a row, then something clicks and they contend for a title. Then there are momentum players, those who tend to be streaky. The latter is a solid characterization of Na.

While he didn’t win last year’s Tour Championship, he did tie for the lowest 72-hole score, a performance which was preceded by a pair of runner-up finishes and nothing outside the top 25 in his previous five starts.

When he won the Sony Open, he hadn’t played much golf before that early-January event, but did have top 40s in his previous three dating back to the previous year. Na played well at last week’s Masters, though he struggled with the putter at times. That doesn’t bother me as much as the ball-striking entices me.

After posting solid numbers with the irons, he’ll return to a course where he owns five top 10s in 15 career starts, one which should suit his style as much as it ever has.

You’ve heard of the proverbial Best Player Who Hasn’t Won a Major and even Best Player Who Hasn’t Won a Masters, but how about this one: Best Player Who Didn’t Play the Masters.

OK, so McNealy wasn’t really that close to qualifying, ranking 71st in the OWGR last week, but he just might own that title. He’s made the cut in his last 12 starts and 21 of his last 22.

As I’ve often written of McNealy, such results show he owns an uncommonly high floor, though questions remain about his ceiling. If he is going to reach it, we’d have to imagine that will happen on a shorter course, the type where he’s seen his most success to date, with top fives at Pebble Beach, Silverado and here at Harbour Town over the past year-and-a-half.

If we’re looking for even more reason to be optimistic, last year’s fourth-place finish at this one was largely due to his short game and putting, as he finished right at the field average with his ball-striking. Expect a better performance with the irons this week, which could help him reach that inevitable ceiling.

If there are some stretches amongst my selections this week, then allow me to offer up your safe play in the form of Conners, who had another tremendous Masters outing. That’s now five straight results of 35th or better, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he parlays his world-class ball-striking skills and (I must admit) what looks like an improved putting stroke into a second career win this week.

I like him for all bets and in all formats this week, but a top-10 play is a conservative one that cashed here last year with a T4 finish.