The RSM Classic begins Thursday at the Sea Island Resort on St. Simons Island in Georgia. It is the home to numerous PGA Tour players and serves as the final event on the 2021 tour calendar.
Field Level Media’s golf experts preview the event along with betting odds and best bets for the $7.2 million event.
THE RSM CLASSIC
Sea Island, Ga., Nov. 18-21
Course: Sea Island Golf Club; Seaside, Plantation Courses (Par 70, 7,005 yards)
Purse: $7.2M (Winner: $1.296M)
Defending Champion: Robert Streb
FedEx Cup Leader: Sam Burns
HOW TO WATCH
TV: Thursday-Friday, 12-3 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel)
PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups)
NOTES
–The PGA Tour season will resume at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January.
—Both of Streb’s PGA Tour victories have come at Sea Island, the first being in 2014.
–Among the numerous tour players who reside in Sea Island are Harris English, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Brian Harman, Patton Kizzire, Keith Mitchell and J.T. Poston.
–Team USA Presidents Cup captain Davis Love III is the tournament host. He is also playing after sitting out last year due to a neck injury. Love and his brother Mark redesigned the Plantation Course in 2019, while the Seaside Course was renovated by Tom Fazio.
–Sponsor exemptions including Vaughn Taylor, Camilo Villegas, Ludvig Aberg and Davis Thompson. Villegas lost in a playoff in 2016 and finished T6 last year; Aberg plays for Texas Tech and is the third-ranked amateur in the world; Thompson is the son of tournament director Todd Thompson; Davis played for the United States in this year’s Walker Cup.
BEST BETS
–Scottie Scheffler (+1000 at DraftKings) shot a course-record 62 in the second round last week following a fourth-place finish in Mexico the previous week. Still seeking his first career PGA Tour victory, Scheffler is not among the 10 most-bet on players at the sportsbook.
–Cameron Smith (+1400) has four top-10s during a streak of nine consecutive made cuts and is coming off a T15 last week.
–Louis Oosthuizen (+1600) is the top-ranked player in the field at No. 9. He has put together an excellent year, but one lacking a win thus far. He is being backed by 3 percent of the bets and 4 percent of the money at DraftKings.
–Webb Simpson (+1800) lost in a playoff at Sea Island in 2019. He has slipped to No. 26 in the world but did finish T14 in his most recent start at The CJ Cup.
–English (+2500) knows the course well but hasn’t finished four rounds in an event since the Tour Championship. He is among the leaders with 3 percent of the bets backing English.
–Adam Scott (+3500) is making his event debut and offers appealing odds. He is coming off a T54 following a T5 at The CJ Cup.
–Kevin Kisner (+4000) set the tournament scoring record of 260 in 2015 and finished second last year in a playoff. He has been backed more than twice as much as any other player with 5 percent of the bets and 10 percent of the money wagered at DraftKings.
–Mackenzie Hughes (+5000) won his lone tour event to date at Sea Island in 2016, winning a four-way playoff that finished on Monday due to darkness.
–Max Homa (+6500) offers longshot odds for a player who has already won twice in 2021, including earlier in the “Fall Swing.” He is second at the sportsbook with 2 percent of the bets and 4 percent of the money backing him.
NEXT TOURNAMENT
Hero World Challenge, Albany, New Providence, Bahamas, Dec. 2-5
–Field Level Media
