The PGA Tour’s “Fall Swing” concludes with The RSM Classic, which begins Thursday in the popular golf haven of St. Simons Island, Ga.
The event will be played on the Seaside and Plantation courses, with all 16 PGA Tour members who live in the area in this week’s field. Our golf experts provide an event preview along with their best bets to win at the Sea Island Golf Club.
THE RSM CLASSIC
Location: St. Simons Island, Ga., Nov. 17-20
Course: Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside, Par 70, 7,005 yards; Plantation, Par 72, 7,060 yards)
Purse: $8.1M (Winner: $1.458M)
Defending Champion: Talor Gooch
FedEx Cup leader: Seamus Power
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. ET (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Twitter: @TheRSMClassic
NOTES
–Gooch will not defend his title after joining the LIV Golf series.
–Tony Finau withdrew on Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury. He had been the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 12. That distinction now goes to No. 26 Brian Harman.
–The best previous event finish by an area resident was a solo third by Michael Thompson in 2011.
–Zach Johnson is one of only two players along with Chris Kirk to have competed in every RSM Classic to date.
–Robert Streb is the only two-time winner at Sea Island (2014, 2020).
–Tournament host Davis Love III is making his 788th career start on tour. His only made cut in seven starts on tour last year was a 68th in this event.
–Tour rookie Davis Thompson is the son of RSM Classic tournament director Todd Thompson and will be making his fourth start in the event.
BEST BETS
–Harman (+1800 at BetMGM) has 25 top-10s since the start of the 2017-18 season, the most on tour among players without a win in that span. Despite being the highest-ranked player in the field, Harman has received modest support, with 3.7 percent of the total tickets and just 1.9 percent of the money backing him.
–Jason Day (+2200) is showing signs of becoming a factor again with four consecutive starts of T21 or better. The public sees it, too, backing the former major champion with 4.9 percent of the tickets this week, second-most at the sportsbook, while his odds have shortened after opening at +2500.
–Power (+2200) is in excellent form, following up his first career PGA Tour title with a T3 last week. He finished T4 at Sea Island last year. Power is BetMGM’s third biggest liability this week, having drawn 4.9 percent of the tickets and 7.3 percent of the handle.
–Tom Hoge (+2200) is the sportsbook’s biggest liability as he leads the field with 7.8 and 9.5 percent of the action, respectively. The 33-year-old’s lone PGA Tour win came earlier this year at Pebble Beach, and his odds have shortened considerably after opening at +3000.
–Taylor Montgomery (+2500) is coming off a T57, breaking a string of five consecutive top-15s to begin his rookie season. He is second on tour with 115 birdies made.
–Matthew NeSmith (+3300) is the second biggest liability as his odds have shortened from +5000 while drawing 7.5 percent of the money.
–Davis Riley (+4000) has gone T21-T27 in his past two starts as he seeks the form from his breakout rookie season.
–Justin Rose (+4000) was in contention last week before closing with a 72 to settle for T9. However, he has not been a popular choice this week as the Englishman has been backed by just 0.6 percent of the money.
–Sahith Theegala (+4000) is still seeking his first win on tour, but he has knocked on the door numerous times. That includes a pair of top-6s this fall.
–Field Level Media