2020 The RSM Classic Preview
The RSM Classic
November 19 – November 22
Sea Island Golf Club – Seaside Course (3 Rounds) and Plantation Course (1 Round)
Sea Island, GA
Seaside – Par 70 | 7,005 Yards and Plantation – Par 72 | 7,058 Yards
Defending: Tyler Duncan
Dustin Johnson brought his A-game and took home his first green jacket while shooting a Masters record 20-under. There was an outside chance things could change come Sunday, but Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im couldn’t overcome the 4-stroke lead as they tied for second place at -15. Justin Thomas (-12), Rory McIlroy (-11) and Dylan Frittelli (-11) rounded out the top 5. Solid DK and betting week at the Masters hitting Dustin Johnson Winner (+900), Cameron Smith Top 5 (+1100) and Corey Conners Top 10 (+1100).
This week we head to Sea Island, Georgia for The RSM Classic, a tournament with three rounds held at the Seaside Course (Thurs/Fri split and both weekend rounds) and one round held at the Plantation Course (Thurs/Fri split). Both courses play shorter at Sea Island which allows for a lot of players to contend as you can see in the past winners below. Last year’s winner was Tyler Duncan shooting -19 to beat out Webb Simpson in a playoff.
Favorites this week are Webb Simpson +850, Sungjae Im +1800, Tyrrell Hatton +1800, Harris English +2500, Matthew Fitzpatrick +2500, Russell Henley +2500, and Tommy Fleetwood +2500. Other notables include Jason Day +3300, Brian Harman +4000, Doc Redman +5000, Harold Varner III +7000 and Matt Kuchar +8000.
The Course
Sea Island Golf Club – Seaside Course (3 Rounds) and Plantation Course (1 Round)
Sea Island, GA
Seaside – Par 70 | 7,005 Yards and Plantation – Par 72 | 7,058 Yards
Seaside Course (Analysis will focus here as 3 rounds to be played)
Par 3’s: 204, 179, 223, 192
Par 4’s: 417, 415, 429, 409, 368, 452, 418, 425, 408, 442, 407, 470
Par 5’s: 585, 565
The first thing that stands out are the nine par 4’s 400-450 yards which make Par 4 Scoring 400-450 yards an important stat this week. The shorter course will emphasize driving accuracy as well as driving distance for those long hitters who can keep it straight. In a tournament with the winner expected to go low, we’ll also look at birdie or better percentage. And as always, players performing better with SG Approach and SG Putting will give themselves the most opportunities once they find the fairway.
Past Winners
2019 – Tyler Duncan (-19) def. Webb Simpson (Playoff)
2018 – Charles Howell III (-19) def. Patrick Rodgers (Playoff)
2017 – Austin Cook (-21) def. J.J. Spaun (-17)
2016 – Mackenzie Hughes (-17) def. Barber, Horschel, Norlander, Villegas (Playoff)
2015 – Kevin Kisner (-22) def. Kevin Chappell (-16)
Seaside Course Only Prior to 2015:
2014 – Robert Streb (-14) def. Brendon de Jonge, Will Mackenzie (Playoff)
2013 – Chris Kirk (-14) def. Briny Baird, Tim Clark (-13)
2012 – Tommy Gainey (-16) def. David Toms (-15)
2011 – Ben Crane (-15) def. Webb Simpson (Playoff)
2010 – Heath Slocum (-14) def. Bill Haas (-13)