The last tournament of the year on the PGA Tour takes place this week so for those who haven’t secured their playing rights have one last chance to do so while others will be looking to elevate their status ahead of next year at the RSM Classic in Georgia.
Maverick McNealy took this title down a year ago but having kicked on and secured the status he needs for next year, he has chosen to give his title defence a miss which means that we are guaranteed a different winner this time around.
Recent Winners
2024 – Maverick McNealy
2023 – Ludvig Aberg
2022 – Adam Svensson
2021 – Talor Gooch
2020 – Robert Streb
2019 – Tyler Duncan
2018 – Charles Howell III
2017 – Austin Cook
2016 – Mackenzie Hughes
2015 – Kevin Kisner
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 forecast is pretty good in the main this week save for the potential for a little bit of rain on the Saturday. That aside though conditions are expected to be quite pleasant. There is no rough though so it may pay to go with form horses here.
The Field
In terms of the standout star names in the world, tournaments at this stage of a year are rarely able to attract them but what we do have is a competitive field. Although it is the last event of the year, we do have a member of the American team from the Ryder Cup on show in Harris English while the former winner of The Open, Brian Harman, is another notable name in the field. Michael Thorbjornsen is a third American name who catches the eye.
We do have some international flavour to the field this week with Si Woo Kim teeing it up while Rico Hoey, Nico Echavarria and Mackenzie Hughes are others who will be looking to go well, with all four potentially already having an eye on the Presidents Cup next year. A solid European contingent is headed by Thorbjorn Olesen with Sami Valimaki, Seamus Power and Matt Wallace some of the others who are taking to the two courses this week.
Market Leaders
It is 22/1 the field this week which highlights the competitive nature of the entry list. Harris English is the favourite to win the tournament and that feels like a big price on the face of it. I say on the face of it because he only has one top 25 finish here since 2017 which isn’t really the sort of form that I like to get behind. This is a man who in 2025 has won at Torrey Pines and finished second in two majors so if he truly fancies the job he should be the one to beat.
Michael Thorbjornsen is the second favourite this week at 25/1. He was third at the Baycurrent Classic last month but hasn’t really kicked on from there in Utah or Mexico which is a bit of a concern but it might be that the way these courses set up are much better for the man who arrived from the amateur game with a big reputation. He was second in Dominican Republic back in April and conditions there can be similar to here which is more encouraging. Thorbjornsen was T8 here on debut 12 months ago and will be expected to better that.
That leaves just three players who are shorter than 30/1 in the field and they are Brian Harman, who on the form of his win at The Open should naturally be high up on any shortlist, Si Woo Kim and Rico Hoey. Hoey is a tee to green machine but whether he’ll sink enough putts to get the job done here would be more of a concern. Kim is probably a little more hit and miss than I would like whereas Harman has plenty of experience here with a pair of top five finishes.
The only other player in the field who is shorter than 33/1 in the betting is J.T. Poston. He hasn’t teed it up since the Sanderson Farms Championship so the initial concern is that he might arrive a little rusty but he was T5 here in similar circumstances a year ago so perhaps the nine starts he has had around here give him the preparation he needs to hit the ground running. Poston is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour and there aren’t many of those in the field but just one top 10 in 2025 is a concern.
Main Bets
This tournament might have come around at the right time for Thorbjorn Olesen. He is having a decent fall. After missing the cut at the Procore Championship, he has gone T14-T3-T14-T29 in his next four events with the latter probably a better week but for a poor final round. He is clearly flourishing at the latter part of the year and with conditions to suit here I fancy him to go very well this week too. Olesen is looking to make his mark on the PGA Tour but first he has to secure his playing rights for next season and a finish as high as possible will certainly serve him well in that regard. His current form should have him right in the mix.
Chris Kirk is no longer local to Sea Island but he has played this tournament so many times that he’ll know both courses like the back of his hand. There is a slight concern that he might be rusty having not played any of the fall events but familiarity with the courses should make up for that and if it does then there is no reason why the former champion can’t go well here. Although he hasn’t played since the FedEx St Jude Championship, Kirk finished his season with finishes of T14-T5-T9 in much deeper fields than this. He could easily have made it three straight years with a win on tour when he went down in a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic but can be taken at a decent price to extend that streak here.
Outsiders
My two outsider picks this week are players who have it all to play for but who at their best should be more than good enough to be in this company. Andrew Putnam is the first of those. He sits at 119 on the FedEx points list which means he needs a solo sixth or better to retain his playing status for next season so that should be motivation enough for a man who has hit a real slump in recent times. He has missed five of his seven cuts since a T11 at the Barracuda but it was only a couple of weeks ago that he shot -15 in Mexico so it isn’t like his game has completely left him. He is a good enough putter and with this having a do or die nature to it you would imagine he’ll give his absolute all and is a big price to make the frame.
The other player that could be worth backing is the home man Paul Peterson. When you look at the fact that he is third on the PGA Tour in terms of fairways hit and proximity to the hole, we don’t need to look too far for why he is having to deliver a T2 finish or better to keep hold of his tour card. The strange thing is he isn’t actually a shocking putter but putting four rounds of good putting together has been a real difficulty for him. Peterson was T25 on debut last year so you would expect him to go a little better here having had a taste of the event. Peterson was second at the ISCO Championship earlier in the season and in four of his last six tournaments he opened with a round in the 60s. If he can do that again here and follow it up this time then he could quickly look a massive price.
Tips
Back T.Olesen to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-6)
Back A.Putnam to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-6)
Back P.Peterson to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 251.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-6)
Back them here:
Back C.Kirk to win The RSM Classic (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Spreadex (1/5 1-6)
