The final FedExCup event of 2021 takes place this week when stars of the PGA Tour heads to Georgia for the RSM Classic, the traditional closer to a calendar year and a tournament where those involved get one last chance to make some pre-Christmas cash.
Robert Streb was considered a surprise winner of the tournament last year but he is here to defend the title and won’t be such an unfancied victor this time around, even though there is a decent field ready to take his title.
Recent Winners
2020 – Robert Streb
2019 – Tyler Duncan
2018 – Charles Howell III
2017 – Austin Cook
2016 – Mackenzie Hughes
2015 – Kevin Kisner
2014 – Robert Streb
2013 – Chris Kirk
2012 – Tommy Gainey
2011 – Ben Crane
The Courses
There are two courses in use for this tournament. The Seaside Course and the Plantation Course are the two in use. Three of the four rounds take place on the Seaside Course with the other on the Plantation track. Neither course is especially long so if the wind isn’t blowing they can both be got after. The Seaside Course is a par 70 that measures 7,005 yards while the Plantation Course is a par 72 which goes up to 7,060 yards. It has four par fives on it so they have to be taken care of.
These are courses where accuracy matters more than length although in truth there is no great demand off the tee. The key comes in firing at flags and holing putts in what are generally low scoring tournaments. The wind is expected to play a part in the early part of the tournament so having players who can do well in the wind is a pre-requisite. There is no rough though so it may pay to go with form horses here.
The Field
A couple of members of the winning Ryder Cup team tee it up this week. Scottie Scheffler is here after failing to land the title in Houston last week despite holding the 54 hole lead. Harris English is looking to finish a year where he has been something of a winning machine with another win. There are plenty of international stars here too. Louis Oosthuizen was second in almost every major this year and he’ll be looking to finish up with a win while Cameron Smith and Corey Conners will have their eyes on the title.
Robert Streb is in the field as the defending champion while three other American players are in with good chances this week too in Webb Simpson, Russell Henley and the most successful man around here in Kevin Kisner. Alex Noren, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Scott and Justin Rose are other players who are more than good enough to win the title. There is also form horses such as Talor Gooch and Max Homa.
Market Leaders
Scottie Scheffler is a 14/1 favourite on the best prices to win this week. He has been high up in the betting a few times this season but he is still winless and last week didn’t paint the picture of a man who was just about to win. He’s one of the better players in the field but winning is hard and it might be that he isn’t ready to win yet. I wouldn’t want to be on at a skinny price after what we witnessed in Houston where conditions really did suit.
Webb Simpson and Cameron Smith both come in at 18/1 on the best prices. Simpson has three top three finishes around here but surprisingly he hasn’t got over the line and that might be a concern. He also hasn’t had a top 10 this season yet so I can leave him alone. There is more of a premium on accuracy around here than would be ideal for Cameron Smith. He went well last week but his mistakes resulted in big numbers and that is never ideal. He isn’t for me either.
Louis Oosthuizen is next in the betting at 22/1. This could have been an amazing year for the South African but he couldn’t quite get over the line at the USPGA Championship, the US Open or The Open. His form has tailed off since the 3M Open but in just two visits here he has a top five finish. He missed the cut last year which is a bit of a concern. I wouldn’t be surprised if Oosthuizen goes close here but we have to remember this is a man who has still never won a solo stroke play event in America. On that basis he’s too short for me. It is 25/1 bar.
Main Bets
I have to confess I don’t always get Russell Henley on the right weeks and I’m hoping that his top 10 finish last week wasn’t as good as it gets for him. It shouldn’t be though because this is a course he had three successive top 10 finishes at between 2014 and 2016. Things haven’t gone as well since then but the course hasn’t changed so there is no reason why he shouldn’t go well here. Henley has ranked 1-2-19 in his last three recorded tournaments for strokes gained on approach but in the first two his putter let him down. That club doesn’t fail him very often though and it didn’t last week so if it can stay hot for another week he shouldn’t be far away here.
Alex Noren must have his eye on this tournament. The exposed nature of the course suits him down to the ground for starters and you don’t have to smack it miles around here either which is another positive for him. He is usually aggressive with his irons and decent on the greens and those are the two components you need for success this week. Noren is clearly taking the PGA Tour seriously at the minute as he would only have needed a couple more starts to be in Dubai for the European Tour finale this week but the fact he’s here says he is serious about the week and with two top 20 finishes around here I think he’s primed to go very close.
Outsiders
Henrik Norlander kind of picks himself in the outsider front this week. I say that because he has a good record here having lost in a playoff in 2016 and then finished in the top five in 2019. Covid-19 put paid to him playing here last year but he comes into the week with two creditable efforts this term at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he tied for fourth and the ZOZO Championship where he was T18. Even last week in Houston he was in and around it at halfway before a poor final round. He wasn’t the only one to bomb out on Sunday though. This course suits him, he is hitting it well and he looks a big price.
Another man who it should suit is Andrew Landry. He missed the cut last week which did my bank balance no favours but I’m happy to chance him again here. Landry has finished fourth here on two separate occasions so it isn’t a course he doesn’t get on with. He also has a pair of top 10 finishes in his last four starts so he comes here in decent form. Last year he played the Seaside Course at the weekend in 65 and 64 shots and if he can find that scoring here he is going to have every chance. Landry is going under the radar but he’s a PGA Tour winner and looks a huge price to me.
Tips
Back A.Noren to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Coral (1/5 1-8)
Back H.Norlander to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Coral (1/5 1-8)
Back them here:
Back R.Henley to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-8)
Back A.Landry to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 111.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-8)
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