BlogThe RSM Classic Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

About the rest of the year:

This is the 47th and final event on the PGA Tour for the 2024 season. For the second time, the new autumn format seems to have worked and we’ve seen some marquee players playing in some events that we thought wouldn’t happen. Still, the interest in playing only autumn events to earn PGA Tour cards for the following season is not as widespread as it was with the wraparound season with a new year starting in September.

I still prefer to start the season in September and end the year at the Tour Championship.  The way it’s played now, the autumn events seem to get lost in the shuffle and don’t seem to have the overall impact that they did at the start of the season.

There is a week off for Thanksgiving, so the marquee names get to relax on a sunny beach somewhere. Then there is the Hero Challenge, which returns to the Bahamas, but it looks like Tiger Woods will not be playing this year.   In addition to the absence of Tiger, the field for the PNC Championship has been announced (father/son), and there is no Tiger/Charley match-up.  In a way it makes sense, Tiger underwent his fifth microdisectomy surgery in mid-September and is not ready to play.

Otherwise, we are entering a quiet period in the game, and there will be very little interest between now and the Sentry Championship in the first week of January. The European Tour wrapped up its 2024 season in Dubai last week, with Rory McIlroy winning to give him some satisfaction after a frustrating year.

It was a special week for ten players playing in the DP World as they earned PGA Tour cards for 2025.  Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard topped the list, and by doing so, Hojgaard qualifies for The Players Championship and two early Signature Events in the 2025 season, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. Hojgaard will be exempt from PGA Tour reshuffles in 2025, with the remaining nine players joining Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Q-School graduates in a PGA Tour Priority Ranking category subject to periodic reshuffles.  The other nine qualifiers are Thriston Lawrence, Paul Waring, Jesper Svensson, Niklas Norgaard, Matteo Manassero, Thorbjorn Olesen, Antoine Rozner, Rikuya Hoshino and Tom McKibbin.

Well, it was a very successful year. Six of the ten will keep their cards for 2025, and two, Robert MacIntyre and Matthieu Pavon, have won for 2024. One player, Adrian Meronk, joined LIV Golf, while three of the graduates lost their cards. Thorbjorn Olesen, Alexander Bjork, and Jorge Campillo finished outside the top 125. Olesen regained his card via the DP World Tour this season.

The DP World Tour is set to unify a semi-wraparound schedule as it heads into the 2025 season with the Australian PGA Championship. The event has been part of the European Tour since 2015 and has a field that includes Cameron Smith and Geoff Ogilvy. Next week, the DP World has the Australian Open and three African events to end the 2024 season.

So, how does Rafael Campos win in Bermuda?

We have seen this story before, an unknown player who has struggled, suddenly finds his game and wins a tournament.  On Sunday, we saw the miracle of miracles as Rafael Campos beat the odds to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.  Campos, 36, from Puerto Rico, turned professional in 2011 and has played on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and PGA Tour.  This year was his second year with a PGA Tour card, he also had a PGA Tour card for 2021 but lost it when he made just seven cuts in 25 starts and finished 151st in the FedExCup rankings.  He regained his card for 2024 but had a terrible year.  Apart from a T-9 finish in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, it’s been a struggle, with only seven cuts in 23 starts.  Since the Nelson Campos had played in 14 events and made just one cut, a T-13th at the Procore Championship.  Things looked bleak after he missed last week’s cut at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.  He returned home to Puerto Rico for the birth of his first child with his wife, Stephanie.  The baby girl, who they named Paola, arrived on Monday, and after his family returned home on Wednesday, Campos caught a flight to Boston, spent the night there, and then caught a 7 am flight that arrived in Bermuda at 10:12 am, two and a half hours before his 12:58 pm tee time.  Everything went perfectly, and he arrived at the course 90 minutes before his tee time.  With no preparation, he went out and shot a 70.  He followed that up with a 65-62-68 to win by three shots over Andrew Novak.

So how does a player whose game has been in total disarray for months go out and win?  As he said on Saturday after shooting a 62: “If I end up losing my job, I’ve got a beautiful daughter and a beautiful wife at home waiting for me, hopefully, to hug me.  Now, we see this story play out once or twice a year.  We saw a similar story last year in Bermuda when Camilo Villegas came to Bermuda with very little chance of saving his PGA Tour card, but won in Bermuda to save the day.

To show you just how much of an underdog Campos was, of the 7,058 who played in the DraftKings game, only 18 paid 6,600, making Campos one of their six picks for the week.  But the bottom line is that there is no reason why Campos should play so well out of the blue.  For one thing, he grew up in Puerto Rico, and of his eight top-three finishes on the PGA and Korn Ferry tours, he won a Korn Ferry Tour event in Bermuda, finished T-2nd at Corales Puntacana in the Dominican Republic and third at the Puerto Rico Open, Bahama Exuma Classic and Corales Puntacana, so he tends to play well on islands in the middle of the ocean.  In addition to earning a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, the win will see Campos play in the Masters, the PGA Championship, the Players, and the season-opening Sentry in Hawaii.

My thoughts on the future of LIV golf

The interesting thing that will happen in the next few weeks is we will see what happens with LIV Golf.  Since June 2023, we have heard that there would be a solution with a possible merger between LIV, the PGA Tour, and possibly the European Tour.  But there has been nothing but rumors, and people are sick and tired of the whole situation.  Back in October, LIV completed its third year, and there’s been little talk of it since.  The tour has announced a schedule of ten events, with only three in the United States, but there is not the same buzz as last year.

My gut feeling is that we’ll never see LIV golf in its current form.  These are my personal opinions based on talking to people.  Many people don’t know that when LIV golf started in 2022, it was by the grace of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.  They funded the whole league, which was the brainchild of Greg Norman.  Supposedly, the Saudis financed the tour for three years, and all their deals with players, officials, and TV were for three years.  Many have said that the reason for the three years was to give the tour time to work out its finances and see if it could be self-sustaining.  The fact that no TV company came forward was a huge failure, forcing the tour to finance the TV coverage with very little money coming in.  At the same time, they committed to 48 players for the first year, many of whom were given three-year contracts.  On top of the total cost of running a tour in 14 different cities worldwide, they also paid the players to join the tour.  Phil Mickelson was rumored to receive $200 million; others such as Dustin Johnson, Bryson Dechambeau, and Brooks Koepka received between $100 and $125 million.  Even players in the sunset of their careers, such as Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, and Patrick Reed, received up to $30 million, and all signed non-disclosure agreements to ensure the money was never disclosed.  It was also rumored that Greg Norman had spoken to Tiger Woods, who turned down a deal in the high hundreds of millions, about the same as the Dodgers signing Shohei Ohtani for $700 million.  Throughout 2022, LIV Golf signed other players, including British Open champion Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann.  But the big signing came last December when Masters and US Open champion Jon Rahm signed a deal worth between $300 million and $500 million.  Tyrrell Hatton joined simultaneously for a reported $65 million appearance fee.

Despite all these players and the advent of team golf, the bottom line was that Saudi money was leaving, and LIV golf couldn’t support a tour.  At the same time, they were making it even harder for the PGA Tour and the European Tour to do business.  So when the proposed 2023 merger was announced, the thought was that something was happening to end the money madness.  But nothing seemed to indicate a merger, in fact it was announced at the end of 2023 that the PGA Tour would get a $3 billion investment from Fenway Sports Group.  So, nobody knows what happened with the June 2023 announcement other than it stopped all the litigation that would cost the PGA Tour up to $50 million.

So now that LIV golf has played for three years, the assessment is that LIV golf can’t find a way to pay for itself.  The Saudis are still bullish on golf, but without some agreement and partnership with the PGA Tour or someone else, including a lucrative TV deal, the Saudis may not want to invest any more money in LIV golf.  The Saudi Public Investment Fund has invested $1 billion in soccer, but in September, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Saudis were cutting back on soccer spending.  In addition to LIV golf and football, they have also become significant sponsors of tennis, cricket, horse racing, and car racing.  By the end of 2023, Saudi officials admitted they couldn’t sustain the investment.  Over the summer, the $1 billion spent on football signings was halved, and it was reported that the country was cutting back as spending increased and oil prices fell.

Nothing has been announced yet, but does this mean LIV Golf will be seriously cut back?  I think that is what is happening.  I also think that Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour have sensed this, which is one reason why there has been no resolution to this.  Why would Monahan want to take on LIV golf, it’s like owning a boat, it’s nothing but a deep money pit.  Again, like everyone else, I know nothing, but I feel this is a strong assumption.

So why does it look like there is some deal going on?  I feel that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund has a lot at stake, and maybe they can get the PGA Tour to save some of the tour and possibly put it in during the year.  Monahan also has to show some respect for the money the Saudis are bringing to the table.

It’s mid-November, and it’s time for all the players to show their cards.  LIV Golf is supposed to have its first event in just 80 days.  But it doesn’t look like the tour is getting ready.  All the LIV players seem confused as to what is going to happen.  Sure, Greg Norman could start the tour on the 6th of February, but he has no contracts with any of the players, officials, and, most importantly, TV.  I have a couple of friends who were part of the TV technical crew and all they know is that they want them back, but TV is still up in the air.  Nobody knows the status and it doesn’t look like they’re going to get any TV company to take on LIV Golf, so that means LIV or the Saudis are going to have to finance all the TV shows at a cost of around $10 million.  Also, no player has said anything, but will the existing contract that some of these players signed three years ago still be used, will the players get “appearance money” like they have over the years?  As much as players like Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka have shown their loyalty to the LIV, will they show up in Riyadh on the first of February for the first event?

In the last few days, nine LIV players, including Sergio Garcia and Tyrrell Hatton, have expressed interest in playing on the DP World Tour in 2025. No one knows what this means. However, not a single LIV player has expressed interest in returning to the PGA Tour, which does not allow LIV players to play on the PGA Tour.

As of today, everything is up in the air, but I think we will have a better understanding of what is going to happen in the next few weeks. My personal feelings are that I feel LIV golf is finished and won’t be playing in 2025. Again, these are just my thoughts, and I, like any other golf writer, have no knowledge of what will happen with this issue.

The end of the year

As for us, I am taking the next week off and returning for a preview of the Hero Challenge. We will also prepare for the 2025 season with some new stuff we will introduce at Kapalua. One personal note: I have a family outing over the weekend, so the RSM, the CME, and the Australian PGA Championship may not get updated until Monday afternoon.

This is your time to send ideas for things you want to see in the future. Remember, you can get me at Golfersal@aol.com or Sal@Golfstats.com.  If you wish, you can also write to Jason at Jason@Golfstats.com.

The RSM Classic

The RSM Classic is an event in a small resort town or, should we say, an island in Georgia, which has been well-received since it started in 2010. Davis Love III got behind it, and his charities are the benefactors of this event. Love gets behind the tournament to get his friends and fellow players to attend. The event also has a great sponsor in RSM, a tax and consulting firm. The good thing is that folks like Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Harris English, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner, and Brian Harman, who live in Sea Island, are playing. This event has been held at different times during the fall swing, but again, this year will be the last fall event for this fall season. Seven years ago, the field was increased from 132 players to 156 as another course (the Plantation) is used in the first two rounds, so players are on the Seaside Course for three rounds.

• Seaside Course information:
• Sea Island, Ga.
• 7,005 yards     Par 35-35–70

The Seaside course is one of the three courses at Sea Island Golf Club. The venue of the McGladreys, it is a classic Harry Colt and Charles Alison design from 1929. Tom Fazio completed a renovation in 1999. It’s another of those hidden gems that few people know about. It’s a proper Scottish links course near the Atlantic with ocean views that plays fast and firm.

The main challenge could be the greens, which are nearly impossible to read. The layout features other notable challenges, like the bunkering, which is old-fashioned and genuinely memorable. They offer various sizes and shapes, but they are strategically placed to deliver a formidable test for even the most experienced players.

The first nine goes out and back counterclockwise, while the second one follows a clockwise direction. Each of the four par-3s faces its unique direction, which is unique for any course, so players get a different feel on each par-3 when it’s windy. That is always the case at Sea Island.

The course meanders through marshlands and lakes, with water or marshes coming into play on most holes. There are only 40 sand bunkers on the course, but they are all in strategic spots to catch drives and wayward shots to the greens that are an average size of 7,000 square feet. The course has bermudagrass, with a 72.3 rating and a slope of 137.

It’s been the venue for some significant amateur competitions, including the US Senior Amateur and the US Senior Women’s Amateur.

• Plantation Course informational
• Sea Island, Ga.
• 7,060 yards     Par 36-36–72

The Plantation is the first course at Sea Island, it was a nine-hole course that opened in 1928. Built by Walter Travis, it opened when a ferry service was first introduced to bring people over to Sea Island. A year later, the Seaside course was built. The land on which the course was built was a working plantation. Some of the oak trees on the course were planted over 200 years ago. In 1998, Sea Island’s ownership brought Rees Jones to upgrade the original course. The course was turned into a “parkland by the sea” course as it has views of the Atlantic but is parkland in nature. It’s different than the Seaside Course, which links nature. The Plantation course will play at 7,060, with a 74.8 rating, a slope rating of 138, and a par of 72. It has wide-open fairways, but lakes come into play on 10 of the 18 holes, so that it will present a different challenge for players.

Let’s take a look at vital stats that are important for those playing at the Sea Island Resort:

This is based on the most vital stats from the Seaside course at the Sea Island Resort based on data from last year’s RSM Classic and data from all the players in the field with stats from this year.
The Seaside course at the Sea Island Resort has been the RSM Classic’s home since the tournament started in 2010. The Seaside course is one of those gems that has been around since the early 1930s and was renovated in 1999. It’s a true Scottish Links close to the Atlantic with plenty of ocean views and windy conditions that give the players something that isn’t experienced much on the PGA Tour. To get a full field of 156 players with limited daylight this time of year, the event used the neighboring Plantation Course for one of the four rounds, so 54 of the 72 holes are played on the Seaside Course. We will only use stats from the Seaside course for this statistical look. The course has bermudagrass, with a 72.3 rating and a slope of 137.

Last year, with the lack of wind, the Seaside Course was destroyed as it played to an average of 67.58 (two and a half shots under its 70 par) and was the sixth easiest of the 58 courses that held events in 2023. Now it was played twice in 2023 and the first time in November of 2022 the course played to a 68.99 average score and was the 35th toughest course of the 58 courses used for the 2023 season. The Plantation course, used for one round in November of 2023, played to a 70.42 average, a shot and a half under its 72 par, as it was eight easiest of the 58 courses. The first time played in November of 2022, the Plantation course played to a 69.76 average, but since it’s a par 72, it was over two shots under par and was the 50th hardest course). In 2022, the Seaside course played to a 68.97 average score (a full shot under its par 70) and was the 33rd toughest course of the 50 courses used in 2022. (the plantation course, used for one round, played to a 70.69 average and was the 36th hardest course) In 2021, the course played to a 68.69 average score (a full shot under its par 70) and was the 39th toughest course of the 51 courses used. (the plantation course, used for one round, played to a 71.34 average and was the 25th hardest course) The wind is an essential factor in whether the course will play tough. The wind blew 10 to 15mph daily in the last three years. In 2019, when the course played to a 68.84 average, the wind blew 5 to 10 mph on average. In 2018, the course played to a 69.24 average, and the winds blew 10 to 15 mph. In 2017, the course played to a 68.89 average, the lowest the course has ever played. One of the reasons for this is the benign conditions caused by the lack of wind. In 2014, when the wind blew, the course played to a 70.25 scoring average, the hardest it has ever played. Conditions for this week are calling for windy conditions each day, it being 13 mph Thursday through Saturday and calmer to 5 mph on Sunday. Conditions will be great with sun all four days, but temperatures will be mild as it will be between 61 and 67 each day.

This course is a lot like British Open rota courses. Like at Troon last summer, each day had 8 to 20 mph wind, making the course play more challenging. But if you can get the conditions like at Royal Birkdale in 2018, the lack of wind helps make the course a pushover for players since the fairways are very generous with very little rough. So, with the short yardage, the greens are easy targets, as many birdies are made on a course that only has two par 5s. In looking at this event’s 14 winners, except for last years winner Ludvig Aber and 2019 winner Charles Howell III, the other winners are short hitters to medium length off the tee. An example of that is the first 2023 winner, Adam Svensson. He is 62nd in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee for the year, ranking 130th in driving distance and 42nd in fairway accuracy. The year before, Talor Gooch in 2023 was 40th in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee, 64th in Driving Distance, and 69th in Fairways hit. In 2021, the winner, Robert Streb, really proved this point. For the year (2021) he was 164th in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee as he ranked T-139th in driving distance and 131st in fairway accuracy. In 2020, Tyler Duncan was T-87th in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee as he ranked 173rd in driving distance and 6th in fairway accuracy. The same for shotmaking, of the 14 past champions, only 2019 winner Charles Howell III is the only great ball striker. So basically, the course allows a person who hits it short and is an average shotmaker to win. But in looking at the stats, the thing that does strike out is that scrambling and putting have made most of the champions at the RSM Classic.
Looking at last year’s winner Ludvig Aberg, he was 1st in Strokes Gained off the tee, Strokes Gained tee to green, and Strokes Gained Total. As for driving distance for all drives, Aberg was 5th, averaging 296.8. He hit 46 of the 56 fairways, which ranked 6th. As for greens hit, Aberg hit 62 of 72 greens, which ranked T-5th. Aberg was T-4th in scrambling and 4th in Strokes Gained Putting.
We think that this is still important, so below is a look at the last eleven winners and how they ranked in those key stats on or around the greens for the week:

Scrambling:
2014 – Chris Kirk ranked 5th
2015 – Robert Streb was 25th
2016 – Kevin Kisner was 3rd
2017 – Mac Hughes was 2nd
2018 – Austin Cook was T-1st
2019 – Charles Howell III was T-70th
2020 – Tyler Duncan was 1st
2021 – Robert Streb was 5th
2022 – Talor Gooch was 4th
2023 – Adam Svenson was T-19th
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was T-4th

Strokes gained putting:
2014 – Chris Kirk was 11th
2015 – Robert Streb was 2nd
2016 – Kevin Kisner was 3rd
2017 – Mac Hughes was 3rd
2018 – Austin Cook was 13th
2019 – Charles Howell was 24th
2020 – Tyler Duncan was 14th
2021 – Robert Streb was 9th
2022 – Talor Gooch was 6th
2023 – Adam Svenson was 1st
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was 4th

Overall putting average:
2014 – Chris Kirk was 10th
2015 – Robert Streb was T-1st
2016 – Kevin Kisner was 3rd
2017 – Mac Hughes was 1st
2018 – Austin Cook was T-12th
2019 – Charles Howell was T-54th
2020 – Tyler Duncan was T-10th
2021 – Robert Streb was T-16th
2022 – Talor Gooch was T-16th
2023 – Adam Svenson was T-20th
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was T-9th

One-putts:
2014 – Chris Kirk was T-27th
2015 – Robert Streb was T-1st
2016 – Kevin Kisner was 3rd
2017 – Mac Hughes was 1st
2018 – Austin Cook was T-8th
2019 – Charles Howell was T-45th
2020 – Tyler Duncan was T-34th
2021 – Robert Streb was T-13th
2022 – Talor Gooch was T-16th
2023 – Adam Svenson was T-12th
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was T-12th

Putting inside 10 feet:
2014 – Chris Kirk was T-33rd
2015 – Robert Streb was T-6th
2016 – Kevin Kisner was T-8th
2017 – Mac Hughes was 26th
2018 – Austin Cook was T-34th
2019 – Charles Howell was T-53rd
2020 – Tyler Duncan was T-20th
2021 – Robert Streb was T-12th
2022 – Talor Gooch was T-23rd
2023 – Adam Svenson was 4th
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was T-38th

The average distance of putts made:
2014 – Chris Kirk was 10th
2015 – Robert Streb was 3rd
2016 – Kevin Kisner was 5th
2017 – Mac Hughes was 1st
2018 – Austin Cook was T-17th
2019 – Charles Howell was 17th
2020 – Tyler Duncan was 45th
2021 – Robert Streb was 13th
2022 – Talor Gooch was 6th
2023 – Adam Svenson was 3rd
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was 7th

One other stat that we feel is important is something that is rarely looked at but should on this course, Strokes Gained Total which looks at all the number of strokes for the player on the same course and event:
2014 – Chris Kirk was 1st
2015 – Robert Streb was T-1st
2016 – Kevin Kisner was 1st
2017 – Mac Hughes was T-2nd
2018 – Austin Cook was 1st
2019 – Charles Howell was T-13th
2020 – Tyler Duncan was 1st
2021 – Robert Streb was T-11th
2022 – Talor Gooch was 1st
2023 – Adam Svenson was 1st
2023 – Ludvig Aberg was 1st

So we see how a long hitter like Aberg and Howell has oddities and has changed things up a bit, but that happens in golf, and you have to believe that what has happened so many times in the past will happen again this year. The good scrambler and putter will be the guy to pick this week.

So, in looking at our four categories, we are putting a lot of efficiency in those stats around and on the greens. Our first stat is Strokes Gained Putting because this is the most crucial stat, and everyone has figures showing who is putting the best. Now, courses don’t average Strokes Gained stats, so we looked at the overall putting average for the seaside course, and last year it ranked 5th on the PGA Tour in 2023 (stats from the November 2022 event) and 4th on the PGA Tour in 2022. Our 2nd stat is scrambling because again, the past winners showed the importance of this stat, and it ranked 24th best on tour in 2023 and 20th best on the PGA Tour in 2022 (remember, that means players do very well in getting it up and down). The third category that we are using is greens hit, this shows the importance of making sure to hit greens, it ranked 50th in 2023 on the PGA Tour and 47th last year (again showing a lot of players hit greens, only three courses, so more greens hit). Our last category is birdie average because it’s important to make a lot of them last year the Seaside course averaged 3.68 birdies per round and ranked T-27th in 2023. In looking on the Seaside course in 2022 it averaged 3.66 birdies per round and ranked T-25th for the year.

*Strokes Gained Putting: A way to see how many strokes gained or lost putting.

*Scrambling: Who gets it up and down the most of anyone in the field.

*Greens in Regulation: How many greens are hit from the fairway.

*Birdie Average: Who has the lowest average of birdies per tournament.

111 of the 156 Players from this year’s field with stats from this year:

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

DraftKings tips

*Here are the guys that cost the most on DraftKings this week:

• Ludvig Aberg – $11,200
• Davis Thompson – $10,400
• Denny McCarthy – $10,000
• Brian Harman – $9,800
• Si Woo Kim – $9,600
• J.T. Poston – $9,400
• Ben Griffin – $9,300
• Seamus Power – 9,200
• Maverick McNealy – $9,100
• Matt Wallace – $9,000

It is not the greatest of field, but a lot better than the last two weeks. First, I have mixed emotions about Ludvig Aberg at $11,200. The negative is that Aberg has not played since the Tour Championship, he had knee surgery right afterward.  Supposedly, Aberg said he was away from the game for a month, so the good news he has played and practiced for the last month.  Still I can’t see picking him, even with him as defending champion, I want to see some reps to make sure he has no problems with his game.  Davis Thompson at $10,400 has played great since the U.S. Open, he hasn’t missed the cut since Canada ten events ago.  He was T-5th at the Shriners, yes it bothers me that he hasn’t played well at the RSM but feel he will do good this week.  Denny McCarthy at $10,000, has a good record at the RSM, including finishing T-5th last year.  A bit worried that he is priced very high and, despite being a great putter, struggles from tee to green.  For Brian Harman at $9,800, this is a home game for him, and he has had some good weeks, finishing T-2nd in November of 2022.  Hasn’t played since the BMW Championship, I just question his price and the fact that he could be a bit rusty.  I say no to Si Woo Kim at $9,600, yes he was T-6th at the Zozo Championship but he isn’t a great putter and has struggled from tee to green maybe the reason he has missed three of five cuts at the RSM.  J.T. Poston at $9,400 is worth looking at, he hasn’t played well in this event but he won in Las Vegas, his last start so maybe he will continue to play well.  Ben Griffin at $9,300 is a very good choice, he has done well at the RSM including T-8th last year and has played well in his last three fall events.  I think he is ready to bust out.  Seamus Power at 9,200 is a good choice was T-5th last year at the RSM and T-4th the year before.  Has had a solid fall, think he is also ready to bust out.  Maverick McNealy at $9,100 looks good on paper, yes his RSM record is spotty but has played well in the fall.  Matt Wallace at $9,000 doesn’t have the greatest of records at the RSM, but it’s good enough.  Like that he has played in Europe since the end of August and has done well, played great in Abu Dhabi and DP World, could be a great pick this week.

*Players in that $7,500 to $8,900 price range, which ones are worth the money?:

I am intrigued by Harris English at $8,900.  He is hit or miss at the RSM but has played well in his last three fall starts, including T-6th at Black Desert.  Mackenzie Hughes, at $8,800, is a must-take pick, he has won and finished runner-up twice at the RSM.  Has had a great fall, look for his to contend this week.  Eric Cole at $8,700 is a toss-up pick, played great last year at the RSM finishing T-3rd, has been pretty good since the Travelers in June.  Austin Eckroat at $8,500 is a good choice for this event.  He was T-8th last year and has won twice this year on courses that are close to Sea Island in style and windy conditions.  J.J. Spaun at $8,400 is a good pick despite his high cost.  He makes a lot of cuts, has played well in the fall, and is good at the RSM.  Lucas Glover at $8,200, is a good pick because of his great play in the Fall, including T-3rd at the Sanderson Farms and Black Desert.  Patrick Rodgers at $8,000 has been very consistent in the fall and could continue that good play this week.  Matt McCarty at $7,800 is a good pick after a great year.  Jacob Bridgeman at $7,600 is a good pick due to his consistent and great play in the fall.

*Some of the “bargains” this week at the RSM Classic:

Vince Whaley at $7,300, has done ok at the RSM and has been good this fall, including t-5th last week in Bermuda.  Alex Smalley at $7,100 has played well in the fall, was T-5th at the RSM in 2021.  Pierceson Coody at $7,000 is a good enough putter and hits a lot of greens which is required at Sea Island.  Joel Dahmen at $6,800 has had his moments at the RSM including T-5th last year, he is looking for a great finish to protect his PGA Tour card for 2025.  Ryan Moore at $6,700 was T-8th last year at RSM and been good in the fall.  Tyler Duncan at $6,600 is a past RSM champion who is playing well right now.  Taylor Montgomery at $6,400 is a great putter who does well at the RSM.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at The RSM Classic:

Key stat for the winner:

This is a true links course, so players must be able to play firm, fast fairways and be good in the wind. Hitting into the greens tends to be tricky, and getting it up and down is critical for those who miss them. Looking at the first three winners, they aren’t among the leaders in scrambling. Slocum in 2010 was T20th, Crane in 2011 was T41st, and Gainey was T35th in 2012. But the three have one big stat in common, and that is they all led the scrambling from the fringe stat, while 2014 winner Chris Kirk, was 5th in scrambling, the 2015 winner Robert Streb, was 25th, the 2016 winner Kevin Kisner, was 3rd, 2017 winner Mac Hughes was 2nd in scrambling and 1st in scrambling from the fringe and 2018 winner Austin Cook was T-1st in scrambling so this is an important stat. In 2020, Tyler Duncan was 1st in scrambling, so that is a good stat; 2021 winner Robert Streb was 5th in scrambling. 2022 winner Talor Gooch was 4th, while 2023 Adam Svensson was T-19th in 2023 and defending champion Ludvig Aberg was T-4th. For those wondering if I forgot 2019 winner Charles Howell, he was the worst of the winners, ranking T-70th in scrambling. In going to the page on Golfstats It’s the leaders from this year’s scrambling category. Look, and you will see guys like Denny McCarthy, one of the favorites. But here are some sleeper picks who scramble well: Henrik Norlander and Greyson Sigg are in the top ten; they could be sleeper picks for this week.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

One of two stats is critical: you either have to hit many greens or putt well. Look at the 13 winners, Slocum in 2010 was T7th in greens hit and 39th in Strokes Gained putting. Crane in 2011 was T26th in greens hit but 2nd in Strokes gained putting, while Gainey in 2012 was T23rd in greens hit but 3rd in Strokes Gained putting. In 2014, Chris Kirk was T15th in greens hit and T11th in Strokes Gained putting, while in 2015, Robert Streb was T-47th in greens hit but 2nd in Strokes Gained putting. In 2016, Kevin Kisner was T-9th in Greens hit and 4th in Strokes Gained putting, while Mac Hughes was T-11th in greens hit and 3rd in Strokes Gained putting in 2017.  2018 champion Austin Cook was T-2nd in Greens hit, and 13th in Strokes Gained putting. 2019 winner Charles Howell III was 1st in Greens hit and 24th in Strokes Gained putting, So you can see what is essential to win this week.  2021 winner Robert Streb hit 60 of 72 greens and ranked T-7th, 2022 winner Talor Gooch was T-4th in Greens hit and 6th in Strokes Gained Putting, while 2023 winner Adam Svensson was T-4th in Greens in Regulation and 1st in Strokes Gained Putting. Last year Ludvig Aberg was T-5th in Greens in Regulation and 4th in Strokes Gained Putting.

All 14 winners had one thing in common: the ability to play the par 4s. In 2010, Slocum was 11 under on them. The next closest player was 9 under. In 2011, Crane was 12 under, the next closet was 11 under, and in 2012, Gainey was 12 under. The next closest was 11 under. In 2014, Chris Kirk was 6 under, in 2015, Robert Streb was 7 under the best for the week was 8 under. In 2016, Kevin Kisner was 15 under (the best of anyone in the event’s history); in 2018, Mac Hughes was 9 under on the par 4s. In 2019, Austin Cook was 11 under, and in 2019, Charles Howell was 9 under. In 2020, Tyler Duncan was 7 under on the Par 4s, while Robert Streb was 10 under on the par 4s. In 2022, Talor Gooch was 10 under on the Par 4s, while in 2023, Adam Svenson was 12 under on the par 4s, and defending champion Ludvig Aberg was 18 under so if it’s Sunday and you’re looking for someone with the edge, look at that stat. Two players in the field are in the top ten in Par 4 averages for the year Denny McCarthy and Akshay Bhatia.

Driving accuracy means nothing on the Seaside Course that makes sense since it’s a resort course. Last year, it was 46th, in 2022 it was 43rd, and 44th in 2020. It was 40th  in 2019, it was 47th. In 2018 it was 48th, in 2017 44th, in 2016, it was 47th, in 2015 it was 43rd, while in 2014, it was 42nd. In 2012, it was 44th in driving accuracy, while it was T-43rd in 2011 and 38th in 2010, so poor drivers could do well this week.

Most people disregard putts per round, but this is important on this course. As you don’t have to drive the ball straight on this course to succeed, you do have to take the least amount of putts. In the putts per round category, Seaside was 5th last year, 4th in 2021 and in 2020, T-6th in 2019, 6th in 2018,  7th in 2017, and 4th in 2016, 2015 and 2014. It was 2nd in 2012 and 2011, 3rd in 2010. In a way, this is because it’s a resort course, but still putting is essential.

Look for a good mix of players from Sea Island, Jacksonville, and Ponte Vedra to be in the field with some local knowledge.  

We find a course entirely in Bermuda, which is essential because it takes a particular player to win on Bermuda grass. 2023 winner Adam Svensson may have been born and raised in Canada, but he went to school at Barry University in Miami and lived in Palm Beach Gardens, so I have to think that since he practices in Florida, he is good on Bermuda grass. 2022 winner Talor Gooch was born, still lives in Oklahoma, and plays on Bermuda grass. Robert Streb was the winner for a second time in 2021. He was born and raised in Oklahoma and lives in Kansas, but he is still a player who loves Burmuda. In 2020, Tyler Duncan was a Florida guy residing in Ponte Vedra Beach, so he plays a lot on Bermuda. The same happened with 2019 winner Charles Howell III, who was from Orlando (via Augusta, Ga), in 2018 Austin Cook was from Arkansas, so both were used to Bermuda. Of course, Mac Hughes, who is from Canada and lives in Charlotte, ruined this stat, but in the other years, it was exciting. In 2016, Kevin Kisner won, and he was from up the road in Aiken, South Carolina, and knows how to play on Bermuda. Robert Streb won in 2015 and is from Kansas, which has Bermuda grasses. Previously, Chris Kirk (born and lives in Atlanta), Gainey (born and lives in South Carolina), and Slocum (born in Louisiana and lives in Georgia) were southern boys who had been around Bermuda all of their lives. Ben Crane was born in Portland and went to school in Portland, Oregon, which isn’t a place to learn Bermuda, but look at Crane’s wins, three of the four have come on courses with Bermuda, and he does live in Texas today. The point is, look for a player that does well on Bermuda courses. Of course, Mac Hughes ruined the trend in 2017, but you have to think that someone born or raised in the North or Midwest has very little chance of winning.