The PGA Tour will travel to St. Simmons Island, Georgia for the RSM Classic. This is the last tournament of the fall portion of the PGA Tour schedule and the last article I will write until the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. There is a lot on the line this week as the golfers try to earn a spot on the PGA Tour for the regular season. It would be a good idea to focus your picks on the golfers who have a chance to earn full-time status on the PGA Tour with good performance in Georgia.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
The RSM Classic has been played on the Plantation Course at Sea Island Resort since 2010, but this year the tournament will be played the Plantation and the Seaside Course for the first two days. Then the Seaside Course will be used on Saturday and Sunday. The Seaside Course plays 7,055 yards and is a par 70. It is a Thomas Fazio designed course with a lot of water. This is a second shot course, since the fairways are wide. We need golfers who are accurate from 100-175 yards with their irons and can putt on Bermuda greens.
If you are playing Single Day Showdown Contest, make sure you select your golfers from the Plantation Course. It is easier than the Seaside Course.
Click here to see the course: Sea Island Resort (Seaside Course)
KEY STATS FOR RSM CLASSIC
– Shots Gained Tee-to-Green
– Shots Gained Approach (100-175-yards)
– Accuracy Off the Tee
– Strokes Gained Putting (Bermuda)
– Birdie or Better %
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
TOP 30 GOLFERS RSM CLASSIC
CORE GOLFERS FOR RSM CLASSIC
RSM CLASSIC STRATEGY
This is a plotters golf course. It is more important to be on the right side of the fairway then it is to have length off-the-tee. For that reason I will be playing the golfers who are locals and know this course well. There are a lot of them in the field this week. I also want the golfers who are accurate off-the-tee.
Ludvig Aberg is no doubt the best golfer in the field. His price is too high on DraftKings for a play that has not competed in a PGA Tour event in three months. I will fade Aberg on DK, but his price is more negotiable on FanDuel, so I will have some shares of Aberg on FD this week.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST LINEUP
HARRIS ENGLISH ($8,900): English grew up 2 hours from Sea Island Resort in Valdosta, Georgia. He knows this course well. English has played this tournament 12 consecutive seasons. He enters the tournament with some of the best form in his career. English finished 14th, 9th and 6th in his last three tournaments on the fall schedule. His short game is his secret to success, but he should be able to plot his way around this course too this week.
LUCAS CLANTON ($8,600): I really like Clanton this week. I am hoping that his price will chase some people away. He is a native of Sea Island, Georgia. Clanton ranks No. 1 in Ball-Striking, No. 5 in Accuracy Off-the-Tee, No. 3 in SG Approach and No. 8 overall in the Key Stats. Ludvig Aberg won this tournament last year as an under-the-radar rookie. I would not be surprised if Clanton does the same Sunday.
J.J. SPAUN ($8,400): Spaun is the golfer who should be a lock for all Cash Contest lineups this week. He checks all of the boxes… Spaun has made 7 of his last 8 cuts in this tournament. That includes top-15 finishes the last two seasons. He has also made his last 4 cuts on the fall schedule. Spaun ranks No. 15 in the Key Stats, so the numbers suggest he should be a lock for a top-15 finish Sunday. That is good enough for your Cash Contest lineup.
LUCAS GLOVER ($8,200): Sea Island Resort is a ball-strikers paradise and Glover is the best in the field (by the numbers). He ranks No. 1 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 1 in SG Approach and No. 1 overall in the Key Stats. Usually we do not get a golfer with those numbers for $8,200. Glover has made 8 of his last 9 cuts in this tournament. He has a high floor and a high ceiling this week. That makes Glover a great pick for all lineups.
ANDREW NOVAK ($8,100): Novak finished 2nd last week in Bermuda. His ball-striking has kept his inside the top-20 on the fall schedule. Novak ranks No. 7 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 8 in Accuracy Off-the-Tee, No. 9 in SG Approach and No. 25 overall in the Key Stats. His only downside is with the flat stick. These greens are not tough to read, so Novak should score well if he can putt half-way decent this week.
ADAM SVENSSON ($7,800): I have not heard many people talk about Svennson this week and that surprises me. He won this tournament in 2022 and Svensson finished 5th last year. He obviously has the course history to score well this week. Svensson made the cut in his last two tournaments on the fall schedule, so the form is decent too. Svensson ranks No. 28 in the key stats and No. 18 on similar courses. I just need a top-25 from Svensson Sunday. I think I can get it with this Canadian.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
BEN GRIFFIN ($9,300): Griffin is my pick to win Sunday. He leads the PGA Tour in rounds under 70 this year, so his form is fantastic. Griffin also has some good course history. He finished 8th at the RSM Classic last year and 8th last week in Bermuda. His strong iron game should give Griffin a good chance to win the trophy this week.
SEAMUS POWER ($9,200): Power has been playing some pretty consistent golf on the fall tour. He finished three of his four tournaments in the top-13. Power also has some good course history He finished 5th at the RSM in 2022 and 4th in 2021. Power ranks No. 4 in the Key Stats this week, so I will play him in the Tournament Contest lineup.
ERIC COLE ($7,800): The 2022-2023 rookie of year gets to tee it up at a course he has had a lot of success at. Cole finished 3rd in the RSM Classic last year and 39th in his rookie year (It was one of his first starts on the PGA Tour). Cole finished 6th in his last tournament at the ZoZo Championship in Japan, so the form is there too. Cole should finish near the top of the leaderboard again this week.
JUSTIN LOWER ($7,700): Lower is a tough golfer to get a read on this week. Do we play him because of his recent form or fade his because of his course history. Lower finished 5th last week at Bermuda and 2nd the previous week WWT Championship. He also missed the cut at the RSM Classic three years in a row. I am hoping that people will fade Lower based on his course history and he shows up with the form to score well this week.
JACOB BRIDGEMAN ($7,600): Bridgeman is a rookie who I will be playing a lot this year if his price stays in the mid-$7K price range. Bridgeman finished 12th, 14th, 29th and 11th so far this fall. He has not scored any top-10 finishes, but Bridgeman has been knocking on the door. He ranks No. 5 in SG Putting and No. 2 in Scrambling. This course is pretty easy tee-to-green, so Bridgeman should light it up once he gets on the dance floor.
GREYSON SIGG ($7,300): Sigg is one of my favorite golfers at the bottom of the $7K price range this week. He made his last three cuts on the PGA Tour and that includes a 9th place finish last week in Bermuda. He also finished 8th in the RSM Classic last year and 15th in 2022. Sigg ranks No. 6 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 11 in Accuracy Off-the-Tee and No. 10 overall in the Key Stats. Sigg has everything he needs to score well for your DFS lineup this week.
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contest: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
ONE & DONE PICK: BEN GRIFFIN (RSM CLASSIC)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: Nico Echavarria (29TH), Harris English (14TH), Beau Hossler (56TH), Tom Kim (MC), Keith Mitchell (MC), Ben Griffin (37th)
BEST BETS FOR RSM CLASSIC
SEAMUS POWER (30-1)
BEN GRIFFIN (30-1)
ERIC COLE (35-1)
ANDREW NOVAK (35-1)
LUCAS GLOVER (40-1)
LUCAS CLANTON (40-1)
Good Luck This Week!!!!
Follow my on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR