RSM Classic: Predictions, tips and odds

The RSM Classic returns to Sea Island Resort on St. Simons Island for the 15th consecutive season and Mike Glasscott has six selections across three markets to follow.

• More Golf news

RSM Classic tips

Tips to win

Denny McCarthy (33/1)

One of the best putters on the PGA TOUR, McCarthy will not have the distractions of neighbours and family that many will encounter this week as he searches for his first victory.

Going close earlier in the season at the Valero Texas Open, the 31-year-old shot 63 on Sunday to post 20-under and force a playoff that he would eventually lose.

Rounds of 64 to open and close at the John Deere Classic in the summer produced 21-under and T7.

Returning to Sea Island Resort for the eighth consecutive season, he will look to add a victory to three top-10 paydays over his last five tournaments. Only Xander Schauffele posts a better Total Putting number. Sign me up!

Justin Lower (50/1)

Tied for the lead through seven holes last Sunday in Bermuda, Lower played the final 11 holes in 4 over to share fifth.

Two weeks earlier, he signed for 23-under at El Cardonal to share second place at the World Wide Technology Championship.

All signs point to a maiden win being within reach. Three of his top-10 results this season have been produced in the FedExCup Fall. One poor round in gusty conditions doesn’t erase a 37-under aggregate over the last eight rounds.

Tips to finish in the top 10

Mackenzie Hughes (15/4)

The 2016 winner here from a five-man playoff, Mackenzie Hughes has finished alone in second place in two of the last three editions.

Posting 25-under in 2023, the Canadian would have won every other edition of the event but was four shots behind reigning champion Ludvig Aberg.

Posting four rounds of 63 or better in his last 10 rounds, including matching the course record (60) in Round 3 last year, he also opened with 61 on debut in 2016.

Over the last four tournaments at Sea Island Resort, he’s placed second or has missed the cut. Volatile!

Eric Cole (15/4)

Playing in the final group with Aberg last year, Cole had just posted 61 in Round 3 and was just a shot behind.

Posting 67 in the final round, he was beaten by six shots and shared third. In eight rounds over the last two years, he’s 31-under and currently ranks 21st in Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage.

A super putter on Bermudagrass, the Florida native is already locked into the Top 50, meaning that his 2025 schedule won’t hinge on his performance this week in Georgia. His only focus should be picking up his first victory.

Tips to finish in the top 20

Greyson Sigg (12/5)

One of the many island residents in the field, Greyson Sigg went to school at the University of Georgia and has ample ties to the Peach State.

He has posted 31-under over the last two editions of this event and collected cheques for T8 and T15, displaying the type of consistency that comes in handy when looking at top-20 markets.

Entering the week with four paydays of T23 or better in five FedExCup Fall events, I’ll match the converging trends and take my chances.

Garrick Higgo (17/4)

Garrick Higgo hails from South Africa, but like Sigg he is also a local resident with ties to this week’s venue.

Additionally, the left-hander got his lone TOUR win at Congaree in rural South Carolina, a two-hour drive from Sea Island.

Cashing T6 in Mexico and T17 last week in Bermuda, Higgo found a glimmer of hope for keeping his card but will need another top payday this week as only the top 125 in points will retain fully exempt status for 2025.

The big hitter missed the cut last year (71-71) and should have a better reference point this time.

Seaside GC course guide and fact file

Yards (per official scorecard):	7,005.
Par:	70 (35-35).
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 7,200 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	12.5 feet and up.
Rough:	Perennial ryegrass overseed at 2 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	47/14/13.
Architect(s):	Harry Colt & Charles Allison (1929); Tom Fazio (1999).
Defending Champion:	Ludvig Aberg (-29).
Multiple Champions Entered:	Robert Streb (2020, 2014).
Course Record (last/entered):	60; Four players. Mackenzie Hughes, Round 3, 2023.
Tournament Record:	253; Ludvig Aberg, 2023.

One of the shortest tracks used on TOUR, Seaside GC will host three rounds, including both weekend rounds.

The Par-70 layout has generous landing areas off the tees and large, 7,200 square-foot TifEagle Bermudagrass putting surfaces.

The Plantation course, also featuring TifEagle greens, 6,200 square feet on average, stretches to just 7,060 yards but plays as Par-72, and will be used by the field for one round before the 36-hole cut.

Two winners have ranked in the top 20 in Driving Distance (all drives).

The shootout at Sea Island Resort requires plenty of rounds in the 60s, greens in regulation, and avoiding bogeys or worse.

The course record has been equaled three times in the previous three events. The tournament record has been set or equaled twice in three years.

Only four of 78 players who advanced to the weekend last year squared 10 or more bogeys.

Svensson is the only winner from 14 tournaments to post a round ABOVE 70.

The RSM Classic facts

No residents of St Simons Island have won the event.

Ludvig Aberg matched the all-time PGA TOUR scoring record last year, posting 29-under-par 253. His final 54 holes were the lowest in TOUR history (64-61-61). Closing 61-61 is the best 36-hole aggregate ever.

At 24, the Swede was the youngest winner. The oldest winner was Charles Howell III at 39 in 2018.

No player has won the event in wire-to-wire fashion. A playoff has been needed six times to determine the winner.

The previous 14 editions have produced nine first-time TOUR winners, including seven of the last nine.

Five players have won on debut, but only one since 2018 (Aberg, 2023).

The winning score has been 17-under or better in every edition since the expansion. Eight of the nine winning scores are 19-under or better.

Seven consecutive champions held the 36-hole lead, and seven of the last eight played in the final group on Sunday.

11 of the 14 winners have been from the United States. The last two champions, Aberg (Sweden) and Svensson (Canada), are internationals.

All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.