FanDuel Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions – 2017 RSM Classic

2017 RSM Classic Fantasy Preview

On the heels of Patton Kizzire taking home his first career PGA TOUR victory at the OHL Classic in Mexico, the Tour moves back into the United States for the RSM Classic.

Similar to the OHL, the RSM is one of the newer events implemented by the PGA, making its debut back in 2010 while primarily boasting an American as the victor.

Saint Simons Island, Georgia is the setting for this outing as the players will tee it up at Sea Island Golf Club; a par-70 course which winds around 7,005 yards of marshland and sand. This will be the third year with RSM being the sponsor and many will remember the tournament as it was originally named; the McGladrey Classic.

As per usual for this early on in the season, the field will not boast much in terms of depth in top talent and the top ranked player according to the Official World Golf Rankings is No. 15 Matt Kuchar. He will certainly be among the favorites behind his seven career PGA TOUR wins.

Also featured at the top of the odds is a group of veterans in No. 26 Kevin Kisner, No. 27 Brian Harman, No. 42 Webb Simpson, No. 51 Bill Haas, and No. 59 Charles Howell III. Each of these players has shown flashes of brilliance in their careers and are always a threat when there is a lot of experience missing from the field.

Webb Simpson plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during a…

Webb Simpson plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during a practice round prior to the start of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 4, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Plenty of eyes will be on some of the youngsters that are blossoming in the beginning part of this season with Chesson Hadley already earning a trio of top-five finishes in four starts, Ollie Schniederjans putting up an average finish of just better than 20^th place, and a pair of first-time winners in Patton Kizzire and Ryan Armour joining the entrants list this week.

Last year it was Canadian Mackenzie Hughes who was able to snap the streak of six consecutive Americans who had won at Sea Island and he did so among a handful of players in extra holes. The likes of Blayne Barber, Billy Horschel, Henrik Norlander, and Camilo Villegas joined Hughes on the 73^rd hole and even needed to push the conclusion of the event into Monday.

The victory came on the third hole, a par three, and helped Hughes finish off a week that began with a massive 61. Amazingly, this was the sixth time in seven installments of the tournament that the winner took home the trophy by either a single stroke or after a playoff.

As we have yet to really dive into the meat of the new season, there should continue to be plenty of action at the top of the leaderboard with younger players and grizzled journeymen veterans, making it another fantastic week to shoot some bullets in tournaments. FanDuel will once again give you the platform to roster your favorite players as you target those who can throw up birdies in a hurry and bounce back from their mistakes.

Below are some of the golfers who we feel will make an impact in Georgia and provide a healthy return on your investment in them.

RSM Classic FanDuel Fantasy Picks

Webb Simpson – $9,400 – Simpson has been one of the better players in each of the first two events he has played in this year, and while his 17^th and 20^th are impressive, we might expect more from a player with his pedigree. He will have yet another chance to prove himself this week and we think he takes advantage of both the field and his experience on the course.

Simpson has played the event five times since its inception, making the cut in each case with a trio of top-12 finishes. His last 10 outings have resulted in seven top-20s and he is fresh off of his fifth career season in the top-25 of the FedExCup standings. So, in terms of recent play, pedigree, and history on this course, there is no better option.

Brian Harman – $8,800 – This will be Harman’s third start since participating in the TOUR Championship and signs are pointing towards another big season after finishing in a career-best 10^th in the FedExCup standings last year. He posted a fifth at the CJ Cup followed by an eighth in the WGC HSBC Champions the following week. Both events were among some of the best the golf world has to offer and he will be treated with a very beatable field in this week’s event.

Last year he earned seven top-10s in his 22 weekend visits thanks to his strong putting (0.542 strokes gained, 5^th on TOUR), ability out of the sand (58.70% sand save, 14^th on TOUR), and work around the greens (63.19% scrambling, 15^th on TOUR). In his eight rounds played this year, Harman has nailed 78.47% of greens in regulation and 75% of fairways while earning a scoring average of 69.757.

We expect him to be driven to prove himself on this course after he has failed to make the cut in each of the last two years.

Brian Harman reacts after putting for birdie on the 18th hole to win…

Brian Harman reacts after putting for birdie on the 18th hole to win the Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point Golf Club on May 7, 2017 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Jamie Lovemark – $8,200 – Lovemark is a player that we trust to put into our lineups, especially among this type of field, thanks to his well-rounded game which is capped off by a much improved putter so far this year. He is gaining 0.749 strokes putting (24^th on TOUR) and has yet to really play to his potential in the other areas of the game.

Although he really struggled in his last outing at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, he has made three of his four cuts and worked his way up the leaderboard for a fifth-place in the CJ Cup. The last two years has seen Lovemark make it to the weekend on 41-of-55 attempts (75%) while playing his way into the top-10 nine times and finishing the year in the top-50 of the FedExCup standings.

This 29-year-old should be feeling ecstatic about heading back to this course as he has carded a top-10 in each of the last two years while shooting par or better in each round and owning a scoring average of 67.5. Watch for him to breakout once again and start to make his strong performances at this venue a trend.

Scott Brown – $7,200 – We liked Brown going into last week’s event and had him in quite a few of our tournament lineups which ended up paying off as he managed a sixth-place finish behind rounds of 66-67-68 to cap off his week. He comes in to the RSM Classic with a great price once again and seems like a value amongst the mid-tier players.

The veteran is in his seventh year on the PGA TOUR and has consistently been able to finish in the top-85 of the FedExCup standings; his best year was in 2014 when he ranked 53^rd. Thus far, he has managed to match his top-10 output from last year with a fifth in the CJ Cup and last week’s performance while also playing all four days in each of his five starts. We see that trend continuing at Sea Island where he has already played four times in the past with fantastic results.

Besides his missed cut in 2014, Brown has an average finish of 14^th in his three visits to the weekend and nearly took home the trophy with a fourth-place in 2013. The veteran is playing well at the moment, is at a course where he feels comfortable, and is a clear value play here this week.

Patton Kizzire – $7,100 – At 31-years-old, this is just Kizzire’s third year on the PGA TOUR, and he should be coming in on a big high after notching his first win with a tremendous performance at El Camaleon Golf Club in the OHL Classic. It added to his tenth at the Sanderson Farms Championship and fourth in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open as he has gone a total of 35 strokes under par in the last three weeks. Over that stretch he has a scoring average of 68.4 and has twice posted rounds of 65 or better.

Overall he is 14^th in strokes gained putting (0.929); leading to the 21^st-most total strokes gained (1.553) and a birdie or better on 24.60% of his holes played (32^nd on TOUR). It will be hard to top his showing in Mexico, but we are very confident he will continue his solid play and break his two year streak of failing to get to the weekend at this event.

Patton Kizzire reacts to his putt on the first hole during the third…

Patton Kizzire reacts to his putt on the first hole during the third round of the Safeway Open at the North Course of the Silverado Resort and Spa on October 15, 2016 in Napa, California. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Patrick Rodgers – $6,600 – Last year, Rodgers looked to be turning his season around when he rallied for a runner-up in the John Deere Classic, vaulting himself to 52^nd in the FedExCup standings and punching his ticket to a few rounds of the playoffs. Unfortunately, after that outing he failed to make the cut at the next three tournaments and ended his year with a 73^rd at the Dell Technologies Championship.

Rodgers has pulled himself together as the 2017-18 season begins and has earned a spot to the weekend in four of his five opportunities; his best outing coming just last week in Mexico where he finished in a tie for fourteenth behind an opening 67-65.

He is doing the small things right with a top-35 ranking in both strokes gained around the green (0.411, 35^th on TOUR) and with his putter (0.833, 20^th on TOUR) while showing the grit to bounce back after a bogey (33.33%, 25^th on TOUR).

This will be the third year that Rodgers attends this event and he should be coming in on a high note after last year’s tenth-place in which he carded two rounds of 65.

J.J. Spaun – $6,500 – Spaun is looking to build on his first full season on the PGA TOUR as he went 18-for-27 in cuts made (67%) with two withdrawals last year and has now made it into the money at three of his first four outings in 2017-18. Each week, the 27-year-old out of California has become more consistent and shot a 70 or better in each round of the OHL Classic last week; finishing with his second straight top-15 finish in the process.

Spaun was not too impressive at this event last year, leaving with a 57^th-place, but should have gained some experience and really showed that he could navigate the course with an opening 68-65. He is ranked 16^th in strokes gained with his approach to the green (1.080) thanks to his average proximity to the hole (35’2”, 25^th on TOUR) and is hitting the green in regulation 74.41% of the time (40^th on TOUR).

Spaun looks as if he is starting to figure things out with his swing and is a great price if you are attempting to save some money.

J.J. Spaun hits his second shot on the sixth hole during the third…

J.J. Spaun hits his second shot on the sixth hole during the third round of the Shriners Hospitals For Children Open at the TPC Summerlin on November 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Whee Kim – $6,200 – Kim is yet another one of the impressive youngsters that has come out of the gate strong during this 2017-18 campaign. The 25-year-old out of South Korea has managed to make it to the weekend on all five of his starts and even jumped into the top-four at both the CJ Cup and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Overall he has scored in the sixties in nine of his 20 rounds and was on pace for another stellar week in Mexico before a final round 75 which dropped him to 45^th-place. His consistent play comes from a putter which is gaining him 0.892 strokes on the field (16^th on TOUR) to go along with a 65.14% scrambling mark (28^th on TOUR).

Kim has improved during each of his first three seasons as a pro, going from 141^st in the FedExCup standings to 92^nd last year, and is currently in ninth after his pair of strong finishes. When he came here a year ago, he managed a 27^th on Sea Island and with his recent stretch of great play, that’s a number he could certainly improve upon.

[x_callout type=”left” title=”Want More Weekly Fantasy Golf Predictions?” message=”Sign up for a Golficity Premium Membership and for just $7.95 per month you’ll get all-access to our weekly fantasy golf picks, odds, and predictions for every PGA TOUR and European Tour event.” button_text=”Learn More” button_icon=”arrow-right” circle=”true” href=”https://golficity.com/premium-membership-fantasy-golf-predictions/”]