The PGA Tour heads to Sea Island Resort in Georgia for this week's RSM Classic. Damien Kayat previews.
2021/2022 US PGA Tour
RSM Classic
Sea Island Resort (Seaside), Sea Island, Georgia
18th-21st November
The PGA Tour will actually play second fiddle to its European counterpart this weekend, as the European Tour hosts its season-closing DP World Tour Championship. This makes for quite a nice change from normal proceedings. As it stands, the RSM Classic is certainly one of the most laidback events on the US PGA Tour. A number of PGA Tour players reside in and around Sea Island (this includes the likes of Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire and Russell Henley). Davis Love III is the tournament host, with many of the proceeds for the week going to the Davis Love Foundation. Formerly known as the McGladrey Classic, this event was originally staged exclusively at the Seaside Course. That all changed six years ago, with the organisers deciding to implement a two-course tournament structure. Competitors will now play both the Plantation Course and Seaside Course.
The players will play the Plantation Course and Seaside Course in rotation over the first two days before switching to the Seaside Course for the weekend festivities. The Plantation Course was designed by Walter Travis and opened in 1928. Rees Jones tweaked it heavily in 1998. It’s an interesting blend of parkland and coastal links. The tight fairways can prove treacherous in windy conditions. By contrast, the Seaside Course is very exposed to the elements, playing much more like a traditional links. Designed by Harry Colt and Charles Alison, the host course plays firm and fast in the tradition of the Scottish links. Both courses feature Bermuda putting surfaces which will reward familiarity. This is certainly a week which rewards precision over brutality. Curiously, six of the eleven editions of this event have ended in a playoff.
Surely, it’s just a matter of time before Scottie Scheffler claims his maiden PGA Tour title. The 25-year-old has enjoyed an incredible year, rising to 17th in the world rankings. But it is proving quite a troublesome burden to get over that hump. Scheffler is a reasonable market leader seeing that he finished 5th here on debut in 2019. You always have to consider perennial RSM contenders such as Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner. This is a course that rewards their brand of surgical iron-play. The heartbreak kid of 2021 Major Championship golf is in the building, as Louis Oosthuizen looks to exorcise some of the demons of one of the great ‘nearly’ years in golfing history.
Past Winners
2020: Robert Streb (-19) *playoff
2019: Tyler Duncan (-19) *playoff
2018: Charles Howell III (-19) *playoff
2017: Austin Cook (-21)
2016: Mackenzie Hughes (-17) *playoff
To Win Outright:
Scottie Scheffler 14/1 | Webb Simpson 16/1 | Cameron Smith 18/1 | Louis Oosthuizen 22/1 | Corey Connors 25/1
Value Bets
Kevin Kisner- To Win 35/1 | To Place 15/2
This is me showing a complete lack of imagination. Though Kisner has been in relatively indifferent form, he is the ultimate horses-for-course play at Sea Island. Kisner is a former winner and runner-up in this event. Beyond that, he has five total top 10’s in this event in ten career starts. This is just the sort of laidback environment that should suit the affable Kisner.
Denny McCarthy- To Win 100/1 | To Place 22/1
This is an event that has always proved favourable to the unfavourable. That is why I’m willing to take a risk on 100/1 outside shot Denny McCarthy. The 28-year-old missed the cut here last year. But he was tied for 8th the year previously, memorably shooting a second-round 62 to claw his way into contention. He also seems to be in gradually improving form. He finished T15 at Mayakoba before a T11 in Houston last week. He has finished inside the top six for GIR in two of his last three starts. He could be a dangerous sleeper this week.
The Man to Beat- Russell Henley- To Win 25/1 | To Place 11/2
A regular of the RSM Classic, Henley enjoyed a run of three consecutive top 10 finishes here between 2014 and 2016. His game looks in relatively decent shape at present: he has three top 25 finishes in three starts this season. That includes a T7 at last week’s Houston Open. He just suits this course perfectly. He currently ranks 1st on tour for Strokes Gained Approach-the-Green. He is also 15th in Driving Accuracy. It’s these kinds of accuracy-based metrics that should prove decisive this week.
