Time to fire back that final shot, pay your tab, and GET INTO THE TOP 125 or THE NEXT 10!
Read more: LAST CALL – RSM CLASSICRSM Classic
Sea Island Golf Club
Seaside (host) course
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Weekly Readers:
Horses for Courses – click here
Betting Stat Pack – click here
Expert Picks – click here
Odds Outlook – click here
Chalk (via Bet365.com)
My thoughts on the top 10 players
Ludvig Aberg (11/1): Listing him as the favorite in a field with 11 of the top 50 in the OWGR tells you what the book thinks! This is an event where first-time winners have flourished over the last 13 years.
Russell Henley (14/1): I’m never crazy about backing a guy who hasn’t played in almost three months in a shootout. One quiet round this week to knock the rust off might be too much to overcome. With the wind in play in Round 1, he might find the perfect storm.
Brian Harman (20/1): No current resident has ever won.
Cameron Young (22/1): With the way he hits it, he would prefer windy conditions all four days.
Corey Conners (25/1): Looking to become the third Canadian winner, he’s never cashed better than T10 in four trips.
Eric Cole (25/1): It’s time. Hop on. Bermuda expert.
J.T. Poston (28/1): Already a winner twice in shootouts, his red-hot form is hard to ignore.
Si Woo Kim (33/1): Hasn’t posted a top 10 since June and has MC in his last three visits here. Hits it great tee-to-green so I better throw a top 10 ticket on here just in case!
Denny McCarthy (33/1): Almost three months to the day since his last competitive round. Not many roll it better on the greens.
Adam Svensson (35/1): Reigning champion defends for the first time. Yeah, I’m out.
Alex Noren (35/1): White hot form. Once I back him, you shouldn’t. I’ll give you an early Xmas present by fading him.
NOW PLAYING:
Host Course | Seaside |
Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,006. |
Par: | 70 (35-35). |
Greens: | TifEagle Bermuda; 7,200 square feet on average. |
Stimpmeter: | 12.5. |
Rough: | Ryegrass overseed at 2 inches. |
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 47/14/13 |
Architect(s): | Colt & Alison (1929); Tom Fazio (1999). |
Defending Champion (event): | Adam Svensson (-19). |
Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Robert Streb (2014, 2020). |
Course Record (last): | 60; Set twice in 2021 (both not entered); Tommy Gainey 2012, Round 4. |
72 Hole Tournament Record (last): | 260 (-22); Talor Gooch (2022); Kevin Kisner (2015). |
Fact of the Week: | Oldest TifEagle Greens on TOUR. |
Fact of the Week II: | 19-under or better is the winning score over the last SIX editions. |
Notes:
- Field of 156.
- The OWGR is represented by 11 of the top 50.
- FINAL EVENT of the FedExCup Fall.
- $8.4 million – $1.512 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.
Season Winners
2022-2023 Season Winners
Event | Winner |
Fortinet Championship | Max Homa |
Sanderson Farms Championship | Mackenzie Holmes |
Shriners Children’s Open | Tom Kim |
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Keegan Bradley |
CJ CUP at CONGAREE | Rory McIlroy |
Butterfield Bermuda Championship | Seamus Power |
Mayakoba Championship | Russell Henley |
Cadence Bank Houston Open | Tony Finau |
The RSM Classic | Adam Svensson (first TOUR win) |
Sentry Tournament of Champions | Jon Rahm |
Sony Open in Hawaii | Si Woo Kim |
The AMERICAN EXPRESS | Jon Rahm (2) |
Farmers Insurance Open | Max Homa (2) |
AT&T Pebble Beach | Justin Rose |
WM Phoenix Open | Scottie Scheffler |
The Genesis Invitational | Jon Rahm (3) |
The Honda Classic | Chris Kirk |
Arnold Palmer Invitational | Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win) |
THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
Valspar Championship | Taylor Moore (first TOUR win) |
Corales Puntacana | Matt Wallace (first TOUR win) |
WGC – Dell Technologies MP | Sam Burns |
Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners |
Masters | Jon Rahm (4) |
RBC Heritage | Matt Fitzpatrick |
Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each) |
Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau (2) |
Wells Fargo Championship | Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win) |
AT&T Byron Nelson | Jason Day |
PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka |
Charles Schwab Challenge | Emiliano Grillo |
Memorial | Viktor Hovland |
RBC Canadian Open | Nick Taylor |
U.S. Open | Wyndham Clark (2) |
Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley (2) |
Rocket Mortgage Classic | Rickie Fowler |
John Deere Classic | Sepp Straka |
Genesis Scottish Open | Rory McIlroy (2) |
The Open Championship | Brian Harman |
3M Open | Lee Hodges (first TOUR win) |
Wyndham Championship | Lucas Glover |
FedEx St. Jude Championship | Lucas Glover (2) |
BMW Championship | Viktor Hovland (2) |
TOUR Championship | Viktor Hovland (3) |
Fortinet Championship | Sahith Theegala |
Sanderson Farms Championship | Luke List |
Shriners Children’s Open | Tom Kim |
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Collin Morikawa |
World Wide Technology | Erik van Rooyen |
Butterfield Bermuda | Camilo Villegas |
Recent Winners – RSM Classic
Italics – not entered this week.
Year | Winner | Notes |
2022 | Adam Svensson (-19) | Wins by two for first victory on TOUR. |
2021 | Talor Gooch (-22) | Matched tournament scoring record; wins by three for first victory on TOUR. |
2020 | Robert Streb (-19) | Defeated Kisner in a playoff to become the only two-time champion. |
2019 | Tyler Duncan (-19) | Defeated Webb Simpson in a playoff to win for the first time on TOUR. |
2018 | Charles Howell III (-19) | Defeated Patrick Rodgers in a playoff for his first win since 2007. |
Angles
The Seaside course, covering 7,005 yards and Par-70, will be used in three of the four rounds.
The Plantation course, stretching to just 7,060 yards and playing to Par-72, will be used once before the 36-hole cut.
Both courses are tee-to-green Bermuda grass and TifEagle Bermuda greens.
Svensson is the only winner to sign for a round over 70 on the scorecard. He opened with 73 last year.
Winners here annually rank in the top 10 GIR, SG: Putting, and Scrambling.
Kevin Kisner is the only player in the field this week to post 22-under as a winning total, equaling the tournament scoring record.
The last six winning totals have been 19-under or better. Go low!
The field of 156 contains 11 of the top 50 OWGR.
Stretching
Justin Suh (40/1) will enjoy the generous landing areas and inviting Seaside greens as targets. A super putter, he rolls into town after T10 and a career-best solo fourth in Mexico in his last two starts.
Sea Island resident Davis Thompson (55/1) has been watching this event for as long as his father, Todd, has been running it. Making his fifth appearance, he should be ready to contend on the weekend.
Chesson Hadley (55/1) has cashed T7 in his last two starts on TOUR on resort courses in Las Vegas and Mexico. No point overthinking it.
Sleepers
Will Gordon (100/1), T15 and T21 in his last two on TOUR, is top 10 GIR, and that plays this week. … 2017 winner Austin Cook (150/1) has cashed T10 and T13 in his last two starts on TOUR. … If Kevin Kisner (175/1) is going to figure it out, it’s going to be this week.