The RSM Classic
Courses: Sea Island Seaside Course (7,005 yards, par 70) [Host Course], Sea Island Plantation Course (7,060 yards, par 72)
Purse: $7,000,000
Winner: $1,260,000 and 500 FedExCup Fall Points
Tournament Preview
This is the 46th and final PGA Tour tournament in 2025 in which players can earn FedExCup points. Everything has led up to this for players who are hoping to earn a PGA Tour card for 2026. Even if you have had a poor season to this point, one strong week can completely change your outlook going into next year. Just Adam Schenk who won last week in Bermuda and Chandler Phillips who finished second. Both players were going to be lucky to have conditional status in 2026. Now both of them will retain full playing status, and in Schenk's case that will carry over to 2027 as well.
Karl Vilips holds the No. 100 spot going into The RSM Classic, but fortunately for him he doesn't have to worry about how he plays this week since he is already exempt for 2026 by virtue of his win at the Puerto Rico Open back in March. Takumi Kanaya will have a lot more pressure on him sitting at No. 99 coming off a strong T3 finish in Bermuda. Max Homa is No. 101, but is not in this field because he is already exempt for 2026. A lot of eyes will be on the likes of Matt Wallace (102), Beau Hossler (103), Isaiah Salinda (104) and David Lipsky (105) this week who are so close to breaking into that Top 100 threshold.
Another battle to watch will be the fight to make the Aon Next 10. Players No. 51-60 in the FedExCup after this week will be exempt into the first two signature events in 2026. Kevin Yu unfortunately had to WD from the RSM Classic and is very much at risk of falling from position No. 60 to a handful of players behind him like Nico Echavarria (62), Patrick Rodgers (63), Joe Highsmith (65) and Stephan Jaeger (66) who are teeing it up at Sea Island.
The RSM Classic will feature one of the better fields this fall with six top 50 players in the OWGR. They are led by No. 13 Harris English who is coming off arguably the best season of his career in which he won at Torrey Pines and finished runner-up in two major championships. Brian Harman (No. 32), Andrew Novak (No. 33) and Michael Brennan (No. 40) are the other top 50 players who have also visited the winner's circle at some point in 2025. Names like Johnny Keefer (No. 52), Daniel Berger (No. 53), and J.T. Poston (No. 55) are in position to crack the top 50 in the OWGR by the end of the year with a strong showing this week. That would earn them an invite to The Masters next year.
The weather for this event can sometimes be a little sketchy, but this year players will be treated with beautiful conditions. Temperatures should reach the upper-70s in each of the four tournament rounds. There is also only a minor threat of precipitation, and the winds will be more mild than usual this time of year. I'd expect to see some very good scoring this week, but reaching Ludvig Aberg's tournament record score of 29-under-par (253) from 2023 is probably asking a bit much.
Recent Champions
2024 - Maverick McNealy (-16)
2023 - Ludvig Aberg (-29)
2022 - Adam Svensson (-19)
2021 - Talor Gooch (-22)
2020 - Robert Streb (-19)
2019 - Tyler Duncan (-19)
2018 - Charles Howell III (-19)
2017 - Austin Cook (-21)
2016 - Mackenzie Hughes (-17)
2015 - Kevin Kisner (-22)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Putting/Putting Inside of 10 Feet
- SG: Around-the-Green/Scrambling
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- Driving Accuracy/Proximity 125-150 Yards
Champion's Profile
It's been awhile since we've a course rotation, but that will be the case this week. Players will get one spin around the Seaside Course and the Plantation Course before a 36-hole cut is made, and all players play the weekend on the Seaside Course at Sea Island. Both courses present similar challenges. The courses aren't overly long and the rough is not overly penal. The primary defense is typically the wind off the coast, but as previously mentioned that impact will be less than usual this week. That is likely to create somewhat of a putting contest on these large Bermudagrass greens. Being able to consistently convert inside of 10 feet has been a big key in this event in the past. It's also going to be important to scramble successfully when you do miss greens because you can't afford many bogeys this week. Tight Bermuda lies can be a little intimidating if you aren't a strong short-game player. If you're going to focus on one proximity bucket it should be 125-150 yards, as that is where the highest percentage of approaches come from on the Seaside Course.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Harris English ($12,000)
I'm hoping the price and English's very mediocre history at this event will push some of the ownership down. Maybe he puts too much pressure on himself for this event since he practices out of Sea Island, but his game is well suited for this test. English ranks 17th in SG: Putting and fifth in putting inside of 10 feet. He's always been a strong driver of the golf ball and is also 22nd in scrambling this season. English has finished outside the top-20 just six times in his last 15 starts.
Denny McCarthy ($11,100)
McCarthy is year in and year out one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, and that's been no different in 2025. The 32-year-old ranks fifth in SG: Putting, and has gained at least 0.8 strokes per round on the greens in 12 tournaments. McCarthy has also gained strokes on approach in nine of his last ten starts. He's got a strong history at Sea Island with three career top-10 finishes.
Vince Whaley ($11,000)
A lot of signs are pointing to Whaley being a contender this week. For starters he is coming off a strong T3 showing in Bermuda, which was his 18th straight made cut, a stretch in which he owns seven top-20s. Whaley also has a strong history at Sea Island with top-15 finishes the last two years. He is lead by his short-game and putting ranking 38th in SG: Around-the-Green, seventh in scrambling, 34th in SG: Putting and sixth in putting inside of 10 feet.
The Middle Tier
Matt Kuchar ($9,800)
Kuchar has been one of my favorite plays the last few times he's teed it up and I'm not going to stop this week. The St. Simons Island native will be making his 14th start in this event. He enters in great form with top-20 finishes in four of his last six starts. Kuchar checks a lot of the statistical boxes for me ranking 18th in approaches from 125-150 yards, fourth in scrambling, 15th in SG: Putting and eighth in putting from inside of 10 feet.
Takumi Kanaya ($9,600)
Kanaya is in position to secure a PGA Tour card for 2026 with a solid showing this week. He's been one of the better global players over the last few months with three top-5s and five top-25s worldwide over his last seven starts. Kanaya should be well set up for this test at Sea Island as he ranks 20th in SG: Around-the-Green, first in scrambling, 23rd in SG: Putting and 10th in par-3 scoring on the PGA Tour.
Sami Valimaki ($9,300)
Valimaki's strength both approaching greens and with the putter make him well suited for a shootout, which is what we saw a couple weeks ago in Mexico when he finished T2. The 27-year-old followed that up with a T18 showing last week in Bermuda. Valimaki sits 18th in SG: Approach, 11th in SG: Putting and second in putting from inside of 10 feet this season. This would be a very logical spot for his first PGA Tour victory.
The Long Shots
Max McGreevy ($8,900)
McGreevy has stayed very busy this fall and it has resulted in him locking up his card for 2026. He is coming off a strong T3 showing in Bermuda, which was his third top-12 finish in his last four starts. McGreevy is one of the most accurate drivers in this field, ranks fifth in proximity from 50-125 yards and has a new-found confidence on the greens. He owns a T16 finish at Sea Island back in 2021.
Hayden Springer ($8,400)
Springer has excelled in shootouts this season. He ranks 19th in birdie average, 23rd in eagle average and 24th in SG: Putting. A T22 finish last week in Bermuda made in five top-25s in his last nine starts. Springer was in position last year at Sea Island for a high finish, but lost ground with a 70 on Sunday. That said, Springer did lead the field in SG: Approach for the week.
Taylor Montgomery ($7,900)
If we think this has potential to turn into a putting contest, why not take arguably the best putter on the PGA Tour to round out our lineup? Montgomery ranks second in SG: Putting, third in putts per GIR and first in one-putt percentage. He is also top-20 on Tour in SG: Around-the-Green and scrambling. We know the ball-striking is an issue with Montgomery, but he is a respectable 55th in proximity from 125-150 yards. The 30-year-old has two top-15 finishes in three starts here.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
Typically at a tournament with a course rotation, we'd want to try and avoid having players in our lineups that are playing the more difficult course on the harder weather day. Looking at the forecast, that shouldn't be much of a concern as both Thursday and Friday are projected to be pretty similar. The Plantation Course has four par-5s to take advantage of, while the Seaside Course only features two.
This week I think we really want to just try and load up on players who have been putting very well of late. The majority of the highest correlated statistics at this event fall into the putting category, and given the lack of wind, there is even more reason to think this could turn into a putting contest. That's a big reason why I'm off a few names near the top of the board like Michael Thorbjornsen ($11,800), Rico Hoey ($11,600) and Si Woo Kim ($11,400), all of whom don't have the greatest putting numbers.
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, tournament participation and overall golfer performance, head to RotoWire's latest golf news or follow @RotoWireGolf on X.
