This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
The RSM Classic
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course) - Par 70 - 7,005 yards
Sea Island Golf Club (Plantation Course) - Par 72 - 7,060 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $8.4M
The Preview
An absolute marathon of a 2022-23 season finally culminates with the FedExCup Fall epilogue this week in St. Simons Island, Georgia where 2024 PGA Tour cards await for those who finish top-125 in the FEC standings come Sunday night. Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course again plays host to another edition of The RSM Classic, with the resort's Plantation Course rotating in once for everybody throughout the first two rounds to ensure these 156 entrants don't run out of daylight. The Seaside layout rewards an accurate tee ball and precise short irons or full wedges into large, but tiered bermuda greens, while nine par-4s measure less than 430 yards. Such short approach distances typically allow eventual contenders to flirt with the 20-under-par mark, but a sustained combination of wind and rain could impact scoring ahead of the 36-hole cut.
Recent Champions
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
2014 - Robert Streb
2013 - Chris Kirk
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Par-4: 400-450 Efficiency
Driving accuracy
SG: Putting (bermuda)
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Brian Harman - $41
Harman waited until he got a home game to make his FedExCup Fall debut, as the St. Simons Island resident tees it up this week for the first time since his 2-2-0 showing as a Ryder Cup rookie in Rome. Harman tied for second here at the Seaside Course last year when he ranked T7 or better in both FIR percentage and putting average. Sampling his past 36 measured rounds prior to the recent hiatus, he's second in P3 Efficiency, seventh in Birdies or Better Gained and ninth in putting from 5-10 feet.
Russell Henley - $40
The PGA Tour's driving accuracy leader throughout the 2022-23 season, Henley also ranks No. 1 in SG: Tee-to-Green and P4: 400-450 Efficiency over his last 24 rounds. Henley has rested since the TOUR Championship, and the Georgia native has placed top-10 in three of eight career RSM Classic appearances.
Eric Cole - $39
Proving to be more than just a steady cut-making machine, Cole has finished fourth or better in three of four FedExCup Fall outings to essentially lock up the 2023 Rookie of the Year award. He tied for 39th in his RSM Classic debut here last year, and over his past 24 rounds, Cole ranks second to none in each of Par-3 Efficiency, Prox: 150-175 and Birdies or Better Gained.
Glue Guys
Justin Suh - $36
Suh found himself in contention during each of his last two starts at the ZOZO and World Wide Technology Championships, but he left both instances without a top-3 result. Nonetheless, he accumulated 50 total birdies throughout these eight rounds, and he's top-5 in Birdies or Better Gained when expanding the sample to his past 24 rounds.
Taylor Pendrith - $34
Pendrith has climbed to 86th in the FedExCup Fall Standings with three consecutive top-15s from the Shriners Children's Open to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. He carded just three bogeys at Port Royal this past week, converting 16 of 19 scrambling chances while also pacing the field in driving distance. Over his last 24 measured rounds, Pendrith is third in putting from 5-10 feet and ninth in Prox: 150-175. Additionally, he's a collective 22-under-par across his first two career visits to Sea Island since 2021.
Alex Noren - $31
Compared to the overall betting and DFS markets, Noren is quite discounted at just $31 on Yahoo this week. He's notched top-3 finishes in two of his last three starts dating to the Shriners Children's Open, where he gained 10.5 strokes from tee to green. The Swede also placed T10-T18 in his first two RSM Classic entries in 2019 and 2020.
Bargain Bin
Chesson Hadley - $26
Hadley has yet to post a single top-20 result through his first 10 trips to The RSM Classic, but his current form indicates a better course fit this time around as he ranks No. 1 in Prox: 125-150, fifth in Par-4 Efficiency, sixth in Birdies or Better Gained and ninth in SG: Putting over his last 24 rounds. He's coming off back-to-back seventh-place finishes at the Shriners Children's Open and the WWT Championship, where he fired a final-round 63 and racked up 29 total tweeters in 72 holes.
Matti Schmid - $21
A $29 Schmid came through for us last week with a solo-third effort in Bermuda, and now we get an eight-dollar dip down to $21 on someone who's averaging an impressive 104.6 Yahoo fantasy points across his past three outings. He missed the cut in his Sea Island debut last year, but Schmid now sits top-10 in P4: 400-450 Efficiency over his last 24 rounds.
Adam Long - $20
A week after hitting a perfect 56 of 56 fairways in regulation at the WWT Championship, Long ranked T4 among the field in driving accuracy at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, where he also hit the second-most greens in regulation with an 80.56 GIR percentage. He's placed T35 or better in four straight starts dating to the Sanderson Farms Championship, and he finished T35 or better in three consecutive RSM Classic appearances from 2019 to 2021 before a missed cut here last year.
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