Patton Kizzire won his first PGA Tour event last week by holding off Rickie Fowler, and now the Tour will head to Georgia for the RSM Classic, the last event before the Tour takes a few weeks off. The RSM Classic was first played in 2010 and it is held at Sea Island Golf Club; it has been played on two courses since 2015. Mackenzie Hughes is the defending champion.
Details
Event: RSM Classic
Category: PGA
Date: November 16th – 19th
Location: Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside and Plantation courses), Saint Simons Island, Georgia
Kizzire edged out Fowler by a stroke, with Si Woo Kim coming in third, and Charles Howell III and Martin Piller finished T-4. At the RSM Classic in 2016, Hughes won a five-man playoff over Blayne Barber, Billy Horschel, Henrik Norlander and Camilo Villegas.
Past Five Winners
2017: Mackenzie Hughes -19
2016: Kevin Kisner -22
2015: Robert Streb -14
2014: Chris Kirk -14
2012: Tommy Gainey
The Field
When you’re picking a golfer this week, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind: approach, ball striking and strokes gained in the wind. Webb Simpson fits that mold as he might be the best ball-striker in the field. He also has a couple of Top 20 finishes this year. Charles Howell III fits the mold for strokes gained as he has done a better job of that than anyone else at this event. He had a Top 5 result last week and comes in with momentum.
If you’re looking at a longshot, consider Mackenzie Hughes in some props. He had a good showing at this event last year and might rekindle that magic again. Brandt Snedeker is back from a rib injury and might be somewhat overlooked in this field.
What To Know About The Course
The Seaside course is a par-70 that is 7,005 yards, and the Plantation course is a par-72 that is 7,058 yards. The Seaside course will host the final two rounds as the field splits up to play each course on Thursday and Friday. Holes 10-12 rank in the bottom six in terms of difficulty, so these are the holes players have to take advantage of. They also have to be careful of the par-5 seventh hole, which was the third-most difficult hole last year.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Charles Howell III over Brandt Snedeker
Howell III is rolling right now as he is coming off a T-4 at Mayakoba, and he has three top-20 finishes in a row. Howell III is also a Georgia native (there are a lot of them in the field this week) who really likes playing here as he has made the cut in all seven years he has played here, posting a trio of top-10 finishes and he was T-13 here last season. Snedeker is making his season debut and the last time he teed it up came at the Travelers Championship in June, where he finished T-14. However, Snedeker has battled injuries during that time, so it is good to see him back out before the break. Snedeker finished T-45 in this event last year, so take Howell III with the hot hand.
Top-Five Pick: Matt Kuchar
Kuchar is another Georgia native who is playing this week, and he finished T-31 at the WGC-HSBC Championship in China in his last start. Kuchar has finished in the top 25 six times in this event, although he has just one finish better than a T-20. However, you know what you’re going to get with Kuchar, which is solid golf from tee to green, and he’ll be a bit inspired as he missed the cut here in 2016. That definitely won’t happen in 2017, so go with Kuchar to have a big weekend at Sea Island.
Odds To Win 2018 RSM Classic
Brian Harman +1550
Kevin Kisner +1650
Webb Simpson +1850
Brandt Snedeker +2550
Matt Kuchar +1850
Charles Howell +2250
Bill Haas +2250
Patton Kizzire +2250
Chesson Hadley +2550
Ollie Schniederjans +2850
Zach Johnson +3050
Jamie Lovemark +3550
Jason Kokrak +4050
JJ Spaun +4050
William McGirt +4550
Scott Brown +4550
Graeme McDowell +5050
Luke Donald +5050
Bud Cauley +5500
Whee Kim +4550
Kevin Streelman +4550
Chris Kirk +6550
Russell Knox +5500
Andrew Johnston +8550
Martin Laird +6550
Beau Hossler +6550
Bubba Watson +6550
Hudson Swafford +6550
Patrick Rodgers +6550
Ryan Armour +7050
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