The RSM Classic
DFS PGA Tour Golf Picks
Make the most of the data, predictions, and insights from this article to help with your fantasy golf picks for The RSM Classic. Check out our PGA Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS DraftKings lineups. Best of luck this week!
The RSM Classic
Preview for The RSM Classic: This is the last official PGA Tour event of 2022, and this will be the thirteenth edition of The RSM Classic, originally known as the McGladrey Classic. Heath Slocum won the inaugural edition here in 2010 with a score of -14, one stroke better than Bill Haas. Over the last half-decade, winners of The RSM Classic include Talor Gooch in 2021, Robert Streb in 2020, Tyler Duncan in 2019, Charles Howell III in 2018, and Austin Cook in 2017.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this week’s event is $8.1M, the winner collects $1.458M and also earns himself 500 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: Two courses are used for this tournament including Sea Island Resort (Seaside) which is 7,005 yards in length, and is a par 70, and Sea Island Resort (Plantation) is 7,060 yards, and is a par 72, and both courses feature Bermudagrass greens. The Seaside track is used in three out of the four rounds total, including both weekend rounds. The winning score at this event over the last five years ranges from -19 to -22, and it’s safe to say that we should see another winning score in this range again this week. The record at this event is held by both Talor Gooch and Kevin Kisner who both shot -22, in 2021 and in 2015, respectively. Some key stats to factor in this week are driving accuracy percentage, strokes gained: around the green, strokes gained: putting, strokes gained: approach, and strokes gained: tee to green.
The field: We have a full 156-player field this week, and the top 65 players plus ties after round 2 will play the weekend rounds 3 and 4. We have a fairly weak field playing this week which features last week’s winner, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, 2015 champ, Kevin Kisner, and others. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be a C.
Three questions that are relevant to The RSM Classic this week:
- Which 10 players have gained the most strokes total over their last 24 rounds? Tony Finau, Taylor Montgomery, Jason Day, Brian Harman, Francesco Molinari, Andrew Putnam, Patrick Rodgers, Tom Hoge, Kevin Kisner, and Matthew NeSmith.
- Which 10 players does my custom model like the most? Tony Finau, Aaron Rai, Andrew Putnam, Brendon Todd, Jason Day, Brian Harman, Austin Cook, Russell Knox, Kevin Kisner, and Brian Stuard.
- Which 10 players gained the most strokes total at this event since 2017? Taylor Moore, Webb Simpson, Anders Albertson, Aaron Rai, Max McGreevy, Zach Johnson, Matthew NeSmith, Kevin Kisner, Mattias Schwab, and Justin Rose.
All the best in your journey to win or at least be in the money in some contests this week – here are (in no particular order) 15 DFS golf picks on DraftKings (DK), plus I also include player salaries for DK. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performances at the event over the last five years, and add in some tasty data.
15 Players Who Are High Value Plays This Week – Get Them Into Your DFS Lineups
Tony Finau (Salary: DraftKings – $11.2K) – Finau won fairly easily last week thanks to incredibly gaining 9.54 strokes ball-striking and 7.93 strokes putting, all while gaining strokes across the board. That now gives Finau three wins in his last seven starts, and he had another T5 and 9th mixed in there, as well. Everything is working for Tony right now, and I see no reason why he can’t keep it going again this week. Plus, he won in back-to-back starts and in back-to-back weeks in July, so it’s possible he does it again this week – don’t be shy that he won last week by any means. He hasn’t competed here since 2014 but had a T14 that year. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: None.
Seamus Power (Salary: DraftKings – $10.5K) – He won in Bermuda two starts ago and is coming off a T3 in Mexico, so his cold streak is officially over now. He had a top 5 here last year also, so I like Power’s prospects this week. My only concern is that we don’t have strokes gained data for his last two starts, but I suspect that things look pretty good given his elite results. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T4, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – Cut, and 2017 – Cut.
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $10.3K) – Don’t overlook Harman this week as he’s coming off a runner-up finish in Mexico in his most recent start two weeks ago, he has four top 8’s over his last ten starts to go along with another four top 35’s during that stretch. He had a top 5 here five years ago too, so there’s lots to like about Brian this week. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T61, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – T14, 2018 – T32, and 2017 – T4.
Tom Hoge (Salary: DraftKings – $9.8K) – Hoge missed the cut in Mexico, but prior to that he was pure fire with four top 10’s and two other top 13’s in eight starts. His ball-striking and putting have been leading the way for him, and he had a top 5 here in 2021, so that’s another positive to note. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T4, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T37, and 2017 – T25.
Mackenzie Hughes (Salary: DraftKings – $8.6K) – Hughes won here in 2016 and finished runner-up to Talor Gooch last year. He won three starts ago at the Sanderson Farms Championship and has four straight top 25’s thanks to outstanding short game performances. He has also gained strokes in the approach category in three out of his last five measured starts, so that’s a biggie for him also. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – 2nd, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – T65, 2018 – Cut, and 2017 – Cut.
Jason Day (Salary: DraftKings – $9.4K) – I thought that Day’s career was winding down, but maybe I’m wrong since he has four consecutive top 21’s, and three of those were top 16’s including his T8 at the Shriners in October. He has gained strokes on approach in his last 8 measured starts and over his last four, he has gained anywhere from 3.07 to 5.35 in the important stat category. He also narrowly missed out on a top 10 here two years ago, so all in all, Jason should be considered for some of your hybrid lineups this week. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – Cut and 2020 – T12.
Denny McCarthy (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – With two top 10’s here over the last three years, McCarthy seems to like this track and it has paid off well for him and his DFS owners. He had a T6 two starts ago in Bermuda, and has been consistently in the 20’s and 30’s for a while now. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T10, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – T8, 2018 – T46, and 2017 – Cut.
Joel Dahmen (Salary: DraftKings – $9.2K) – Things went south for him from late June to mid-September, but he’s back on track again with two straight top 9’s including his T3 in Mexico, and he has four top 16’s in his last five starts and the other finish was a T37 no thanks to losing 3.39 strokes putting. He hasn’t been great here, but we might see him improve on his T29 from a year ago. If we could only mix McCarthy’s course history with Dahmen’s recent form, here’s to wishful thinking. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T29, 2020 – T50, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T37, and 2017 – T49.
Kevin Kisner (Salary: DraftKings – $8.3K) – Kisner won here in 2015 and was runner-up two years ago, plus he has two other top 7’s in the last five years and also had a T4 in 2014. These courses certainly agree with his game, and he’s fairly well-positioned to be a good hybrid or balanced lineup player this week. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – Cut, 2020 – 2nd, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T7, and 2017 – T4.
Patrick Rodgers (Salary: DraftKings – $8.7K) – Rodgers has a 2nd a T10 here since 2016, but even more notable is his recent play since he has five consecutive top 28’s including two T16’s and a T3 three starts ago in Bermuda. Don’t be overweight on Patrick this week, but sprinkle him into a lineup or two and hope for the party to continue. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T57, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – 2nd, and 2017 – Cut.
Alex Smalley (Salary: DraftKings – 7.9K) – He’s on a mini-heater at the moment with two straight top 11’s including his T4 last week in Houston with every part of his game in fantastic shape. He has decent upside and has only missed one cut in his last seven starts, so his mid-tier value is quite attractive. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – Cut.
Andrew Putnam (Salary: DraftKings – $7.9K) – Putnam extended his cuts made streak to eleven last week in Houston, and has four top 12’s during the stretch. Other than off the tee, the rest of Andrew’s game is really clicking well, and he had a T12 here eight years ago, so he has proven that he can navigate these tracks. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – Cut, 2020 – T37, and 2017 – Cut.
Zach Johnson (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – This will be the only time you ever see me feature Johnson now given his career is winding down, and he’s outstanding here on his home turf with four top 16’s over the last five years and three of them have gone T6, T7, and T8. He has also played weekend golf in three straight starts, so there’s some decent value here for your stars and scrubs lineups. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T16, 2020 – T6, 2019 – T61, 2018 – T7, and 2017 – T8.
Ben Griffin (Salary: DraftKings – $7.3K) – Griffin has put together a respectable season so far with three top 24’s over his last five starts including a T3 in Bermuda. He has also made five consecutive cut lines, so he seems safe-ish this week and has some upside. His stats look just fine too including last week in Houston where he gained strokes across the board. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2018 – Cut.
Aaron Rai (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – He’s typically good on approach but wasn’t last week in Houston losing 3.94 strokes, but it was his short game that propelled him to a T7 finish since he gained a ridiculous 12.58 strokes. If he can put it all together this week, then he could replicate last year’s T16 here, or possibly even win given the inferior field he’s up against. For the record, he gained 7.19 strokes ball-striking last year, so the potential is there. RSM Classic finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T16.
