Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – The RSM Classic

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for The RSM Classic

The RSM Classic 2015 Fantasy Preview

This week will wrap up the 2015 fall season as The RSM Classic (formally The McGladrey Classic) takes place this week in Sea Island, GA.

Graeme McDowell snapped the streak of first time winners with his Monday morning playoff victory at the OHL Classic, thus putting an end to the recent trend of new PGA TOUR winners—a streak that ended in four in a row for the Tour newcomers.

Along with being the final event of the Fall Season The RSM Classic will also be the last FedExCup points eligible event before the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January.  The current FedExCup points leaders heading into this week are Kaufman, Malnati, and Kevin Kisner and you can be certain that this week’s winner could take a commanding lead heading into the break.

The RSM Classic on Instagram: “We are happy to welcome Yamaha Golf-Car Company to the 2015 RSM Classic! Thank you for sponsoring the Wednesday Pro-Am and for supporting the Davis Love Foundation! #Yamaha #RSMClassic #pgatour”

The RSM Classic shared a post on Instagram: “We are happy to welcome Yamaha Golf-Car Company to the 2015 RSM Classic! Thank you for sponsoring the Wednesday Pro-Am and for supporting the Davis Love Foundation! #Yamaha #RSMClassic #pgatour”. Follow their account to see 1083 posts.

This will also be the last FedExCup points event in which we’ll see an anchored putter in use as that equipment will be banned come January 1st.  It may also be the last DraftKings PGA contest of 2015 but we have yet not heard anything official on that as of yet.

Robert Streb will be in the field this week defending his title but we haven’t seen much of a spark from Streb in a while—perhaps this is the week he cranks up the dial?

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

We saw a huge opportunity last week with two of our fantasy picks (Knox and Bohn) making it into the three-way playoff with Graeme McDowell.  Unfortunately for us the veteran McDowell took the top prize leaving our two picks finishing P2—a turnout which still isn’t too shabby if you had both on your fantasy roster last week.

With the first five 2015-2016 season events in the books we have already successfully picked one winner (including one additional winner from our Sleeper Report segment), two runner-ups, and a total fantasy earnings of over $4 million.

We’re looking forward to coming back strong in January to match last year’s accomplishment of picking ALL-FOUR major winners with a total of 14 wins and 75 Top 10s on the season.

The Field

Fantasy fans will be excited to get to see 2015 Open Championship winner Zach Johnson back in the mix this week as he joins Matt Kuchar and a roster that includes six of the top 35 players in the world.

Justin Thomas is coming in fresh off his win in Malaysia, which catapulted him to 30th in OWGR, and will be playing alongside first time winners Smylie Kaufman and Peter Malnati.  Tour veterans playing in this week’s RSM Classic include Harris English, Brian Harman, and Jonathan Byrd along with tournament host Davis Love III and last week’s winner Graeme McDowell.

The Course

Sea Island GC (The Seaside Course) measures in at 7,005 yards and will play as a par 70 this week.  The track is considered to be a true links-style course and is located at the the southern point of St. Simons Island (where Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar both live).

Seaside first opened in the late 1920’s as a 9-hole track before Joe Lee’s Marshside Nine was added in in 1973.  It was two and half decades later that Tom Fazio was brought in to tie both 9’s together.

One of the first two rounds this week will be played on the Plantation course, a track that features less water and recently went underwent some major upgrades.

https://www.instagram.com/p/9gyPYeQlAI/?taken-by=mcgladreyclassic

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Weather Forecast for Sea Island, GA

Despite the rain in the forecast for Round 1 on Thursday, the rest of the week should be nothing but sunny skies and dry fairways.  If it gets bad enough on Thursday we may see a delay (leading to possibly another Monday finish) but the rain should taper off by early Friday.

Wind gusts could play a crucial factor this week as they are calling for about 20 mph winds which are expected to peak for round four on Sunday.

Last Year’s Results from The RSM Classic

In 2014 Robert Streb bounced back to win his first PGA TOUR victory here as he beat out Brendon de Jonge and Will MacKenzie with a birdie on the second playoff hole.  Prior to that Streb had closed out with a stellar final round 63 which erased a five-shot deficit to get into the playoff.

Streb had come into the final day down 5-strokes and prior to that had almost missed the cut entirely but managed to hang on and crank up the juice at the right time. During the playoff,  MacKenzie was eliminated on the first extra hole and Streb knocked an 8-iron to 4-feet to slam the door on de Jonge.

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This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

• Television Broadcasts 
  • Thursday – Sunday: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST (Golf Channel)
• Radio Broadcasts (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
  • Thursday – Friday: 10:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST
  • Saturday – Sunday: 11:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST
• Mobile Broadcasts 
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra App for iOS and Android.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for The RSM Classic this Week

As mentioned earlier, this might just be the last event of 2015 in which a weekly fantasy contest will be held.  The only events that remain on the PGA TOUR schedule during the 2015 calendar year include the Hero World Challenge and Franklin Templeton Shootout, both of which will have limited fields.

• PGA $110K BIRDIE [$110,000 GUARANTEED]: The RSM Classic may not be the most popular event on the PGA TOUR schedule but DraftKings will still have $10K on the line for first place in this week’s “Birdie” contest.  Pretty soon the big “Millionaire Maker” events will be back in full swing but until then, this is the most excitement we’ll get this week.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for The RSM Classic

The Seaside Course is a par 70 and players have proven in past events to score well here.  GIR’s for the field hit a whopping 74% last year which ranked as a PGA TOUR high among all of Par 70 tracks.  That said, we’ll be putting a huge emphasis on putting this week as that has proven to be the deciding factor here in years prior.

Take defending champ Robert Streb for example.  He ranked T47 in GIR but ended up charging back from a five stroke deficit on final day and he owes every bit of that comeback to his putting.  Streb ranked second in strokes gained putting and T1 in one-putts and fewest putts.  Most of the field will find the GIR’s this week so look for the player with the hottest putter to take home the big prize.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win The RSM Classic

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The RSM Classic

Justin Thomas (Golficity Odds 10/1 FPPG: 113.50 GPFP: 143.01 Salary:$10,900): JT is setting himself up to have another great year during his sophomore campaign.  Already a winner this season (CIMB Classic) it’s more than possible that the emerging young star could be a 2-3 time winner on TOUR this year.  He chased his CIMB victory with aT27 in China but he can certainly find his way in the drivers seat on this course against another relatively weak field.

• GIR Rank: 24th
• Scrambling: 113th
• Putting Average: 28th

* Most Notable Stat: Total Putting: 4th

Zach Johnson (Golficity Odds 12/1 FPPG: 0.0 GPFP: N/A Salary: $11,500): Zach is back and refreshed after his President’s Cup victory in September.  He missed the cut in early season play here last year but managed to crank up the dial mid-year to close out arguably his best season yet (10 Top 10s and a Major victory).  This is Johnson’s season debut and he’s marching into his home town with a 3-for-5 record at Seaside with two top 20s.  Look for the local boy to make some serious waves this week.

(2015 Stats)

• GIR Rank: 37th
• Scrambling: 49th
• Putting Average: 13th

* Most Notable Stat: Scoring Average: 7th

Russell Henley (Golficity Odds 18/1 FPPG: 79.50 GPFP: 69.17 Salary: $10,000): Henley is coming off of a 10th place finish at The Shriner’s where he shot every round under par.  He’s a familiar face on this course having led after 36 holes to finish T4 back when it was the McGladrey Classic.  He ranked T1 in par-4 scoring and has ranked 13th in Total Putting so far this season (a stat we mentioned earlier as being a key to success here at Sea Island).

• GIR Rank: 83rd
• Scrambling:  45th
• Putting Average: 148th

* Most Notable Stat: Total Putting: 13th

Kevin Kisner (Golficity Odds 26/1 FPPG: 93.17 GPFP: 74.53 Salary: $10,400): This is Kisner’s 4th event this season and he comes in well rested after a solo second in China two weeks ago.  When it comes to course knowledge Kisner doesn’t disappoint as he has Top 20 finishes in his last two appearances at Seaside, which includes an impressive T4 last year.  Kevin has also managed to finish no worse than a T37 finish so far this season and has proven to put up some solid fantasy points.

• GIR Rank: 116th
• Scrambling: 82nd
• Putting Average:  25th

* Most Notable Stat: Total Putting: 11th

Peter Malnati (Golficity Odds 38/1 FPPG: 75.63 GPFP: 60.50 Salary: $8,300): After his breakthrough victory at Sanderson Farms, Malnati continued his hot play to finish T10 last week.  With two career Top 10s in back to back weeks, we’re convinced after watching this guy that he can continue to make cuts and sneak into the Top 10.  He’ll make a great addition to your roster this week as he ranks a crucial second on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained Putting.

• GIR Rank: 79th
• Scrambling:  126th
• Putting Average: 47th

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained Putting: 2nd

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win The RSM Classic

Brendon de Jonge (Golficity Odds 60/1 FPPG: 62.63 GPFP: 50.10 Salary: $8,700): It’s clear based on his performance here last year that de Jonge is a Horse for the Course but for a sleeper he still has a hefty price tag.  Brendon ranks fourth in all-time earnings on this course which is the highest among the non-winners in the field.  Last year he finished P2 to Streb, ranked T4 in GIR, and fourth in strokes gained putting.  He doesn’t make much noise on TOUR but it’s events like this where guys like de Jonge can rack up a ton of fantasy points.  His T58 last week was disappointing, especially after a T13 and T27 in the weeks before but you can be sure he’ll be ready to play strong in Georgia this week.

• GIR Rank: 150th
• Scrambling: 50th
• Putting Average: 94th

* Most Notable Stat: Total Putting: 1st

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win The RSM Classic

Spencer Levin (Golficity Odds 77/1 FPPG: 84.50 GPFP: 67.60 Salary: $8,900): Here’s a name you won’t often see in our picks throughout the season, but come on, it’s the RSM Classic right before the holiday break. This is where the no-namers tend to shine in fantasy before the big dogs all pile into the party.  Levin walks into Sea Island off the heels of a T10 at Mayakoba and he holds three straight top 25s.  Look for him to finish strong against a weaker field this week.

• GIR Rank: 90th
• Scrambling: 66th
• Putting Average: 33rd

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around Ranking: 13th

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Last Week’s Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the OHL Classic

• Matt Kuchar (Golficity Odds 8/1): T68  ($12,586)
• Jason Bohn (Golficity Odds 14/1): P2 ($545,600)
• Patton Kizzire (Golficity Odds 18/1): T58 ($13,764)
• Brendan Steele (Golficity Odds 24/1): MC
• Russell Knox (Golficity Odds 32/1): P2 ($545,600)

Last Week’s Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the OHL Classic

• Alex Cejka (Golficity Odds 50/1) MC

Last Week’s Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the OHL Classic

• Carlos Ortiz (Golficity Odds 75/1) MC

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD (2015-2016)

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Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2015 RSM Classic with other Premium Members.

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Cover Photo via Dan Perry via Flickr