RBC Heritage 2013: Golf's Hottest and Coldest Golfers Heading into Tournament

Just a few days past the year's first major, it is already time to start getting geared up for the next one.

All but Adam Scott enter this week with their heads filled with what they have to improve upon in order to take the U.S. Open, which tees off on June 13 at the East Course of the Merion Golf Club. 

Most of these guys are also jumping right back into tournament play this week at the RBC Heritage. Check out the players scheduled to appear at PGATour.com. 

Anyways, let's take a look at the players who will simply hope to hold their current form, and those that need a drastic reversal of recent fortune if they want to contend. 

*All stats via PGATour.com.

Cold No. 3: Graeme McDowell

I'm going to be honest. I felt Graeme McDowell was headed towards a big year.

Early on, he validated that feeling by making the quarterfinals at the Accenture Match Play Championship, finishing ninth at the Honda and third at the Cadillac.

However, instead of keeping that hot hand rolling, he has hit a slump. McDowell was 45th at Bay Hill his last time out before the Masters, and then he fired a 73 and 76 to miss the cut at Augusta. 

The typically accurate McDowell has lost his way off the tee, and he is not a golfer that can succeed when he is missing fairways. 

Hot No. 3: Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia can't ever seem to hold it together for four rounds at a major. 

He was undone with a second-round 76 at this year's Masters. However, he still rallied to finish in eighth place at three-under. 

Garcia has been in solid form for the last year, and he is looking particularly good right now. Not counting his withdrawal at Bay Hill, Garcia has finished in third and seventh, to go along with his eighth at the Masters, in his last three Tour events. 

Garcia is driving the ball wonderfully, and he has been solid on the greens. I wouldn't be shocked at all to see him claim his first career major this year. 

Cold No. 2: Hunter Mahan

Hunter Mahan shows great glimpses of promise, but he can't seem to ever cross the hump by claiming a major, and he still suffers from prolonged stretches of bad play.

He is embroiled in one of those stretches now. Mahan fired a 76 and 82 en route to missing the cut at Augusta.

That was his second missed cut, as he failed to qualify for the weekend his last time out in Houston. 

Mahan has been solid off the tee in this bad stretch, but his approach shots have lost control. Also, he is typically an excellent putter, but he has been pedestrian on the greens in recent outings. 

Hot No. 2: Billy Horschel

Billy Horschel is on a great run. In his last two events—the Houston and Texas Opens—he finished in second and third.

Sure, he needed a win to qualify for the Masters, and he blew a final-round lead at the Texas Open, but that can't hide the fact that Horschel is coming into his own.

The 26-year-old is a steady and solid player. He is still looking for his first Tour win, but with his 31st ranked driving accuracy, and 23rd placement in strokes gained-putting, he is in a great position to earn that win in the near future. 

Cold No. 1: Luke Donald

Luke Donald has been posting some respectable results, but they aren't up to the former world No. 1's standards. 

He came in 25th at the Masters, and in his five Tour events this year, his highest finish is 16th. His lowest is 43rd at the Cadillac. 

The reasons for his struggles are easy to identify. He is just 76th in strokes gained-putting. Donald is typically one of the Tour's elite putters, and considering his lack of length and less than elite iron play, Donald is not going to succeed if he is not drilling his putts. 

Hot No. 1: Thorbjorn Olesen

We are going to be hearing a lot more about Thorbjorn Olesen in the future, and that is going to start in the very near future. 

With his sixth-place finish at the Masters pushing him to $485,700 in earnings this year, Olesen, as the Golf Channel informs us, has earned temporary membership on the PGA Tour.

Olesen is a magnificent ball striker, and one of the most talented drivers on Tour. He is 23rd in driving accuracy and 26th in distance.

Consider that the Masters was Olesen's first tournament appearance at Augusta, and that he fired a 78 in the first round, to realize how remarkable his run was there.

This wasn't a fluke either. Not counting his whiplash and ensuing withdrawal from the Houston Open, his last time out prior to the Masters he finished in seventh at Bay Hill. He was also ninth in last year's British Open, which means he has now finished in the top 10 in two of his four major appearances. 

Big things lay ahead for this talented, young golfer.