The RSM Classic: PGA Tour Golf Betting Odds
In past years, this was part of the wraparound schedule, but none of the Fall Series events are this year so it’s very important for players around No. 125 in points in the FedExCup Fall Standings as those in the Top 125 will retain PGA Tour exempt status for 2024. Nos. 51-60 after of the RSM Classic will qualify for two signature events next year: The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.
Carl Yuan is sitting currently at No. 125 and Henrik Norlander at No. 126. There are a handful of Canadians in the Top 125, and they will not fall out this week. Tiger Woods has his silly season event in two weeks in the Bahamas, but that’s not an official Tour event.
St. Simons Island in Georgia, about 200 miles south of Augusta, is a popular place for PGA Tour players to live such as Davis Love III, who hosts this event. Sea Island Resort’s Golf Club is the host, with golfers competing on both the par-70, 7,005-yard Seaside course and the par-72, 7,060-yard Plantation course. They co-host the first two rounds and then the Seaside course handles the weekend. It’s a little like a British Open course(s).
This event has been around since 2010 and has been held at Sea Island since 2015. Americans have won every year but two: Canadian Mackenzie Hughes did in 2015 in a playoff against four others, and countryman Adam Svensson won last year by two shots over Brian Harman, Callum Tarren and Sahith Theegala. Svensson shot a final-round 64 to finish at 19-under 263 in his first PGA Tour victory. He was in a four-way tie for the lead but sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and then followed with a birdie on the par-3 17th to take control.
Svensson actually shot an opening-round 73 and made the cut with a 64 on Friday but was still seven shots out of the lead. He managed to play the last 52 holes bogey-free. Svensson entered last year’s event ranked 174th in the world and without a top-five finish in his 69 career PGA Tour starts.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old, 8 years old,” Svensson said. “It’s just incredible.”
No one has repeated in the tournament with Robert Streb the only two-time champion (2014 & ’19). We liked Webb Simpson to win last year at +3300, and he shot 67-74 and missed the cut. The previous three winners of this event have all finished inside the Top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting at the end of the week.
The RSM Classic Golf Odds
Rising young Swedish star Ludvig Aberg is the +1400 favourite. His lone trip here was a missed cut in 2021. In three Fall Series events, he has not finished worse than T13. Brian Harman, Cameron Young and Russell Henley are each +2000. Harman won this year’s British Open and is the highest-ranked played in the field. He was one of the runners-up last year and also has a fourth and 10th here. We mentioned above this layout is a bit like a British Open, and Harman is one of five former winners of the Claret Jug in the field.
Young was 29th two years ago in his lone visit. He comes off a T54 two weeks ago in Mexico. Henley finished Top 10 here three years in a row from 2014-16 but not since. Henley hasn’t played a Tour event since the Tour Championship. Mexico’s Camilo Villegas, who went to school not too, too far away at the University of Florida, won the Bermuda Championship on Sunday and is +5500 to go back-to-back. He had been way outside the Top 125 but is now 75th.
As noted above, two Canadians have won the event with Adam Svensson the defending champion – winning at an opening price of +12500. Taylor Pendrith was T15 in 2022, while Mackenzie Hughes and Michael Gligic missed the cut. Corey Conners is the shortest-priced this week at +2500 and had a Top 10 here in 2020. Svensson, who had missed the cut three previous trips here before 2022, is +3300 with Pendrith at +4000, Hughes at +8000 and Gligic +75000.
The RSM Classic Golf Predictions
Let’s keep the Canadian train rolling and back Corey Conners at +2500. His average round of 67.75 here since 2017 is second-best in the field (minimum of 10 played).