One of the hardest things to do in PGA DFS is come down off of Masters week and try and move on. What I like to do is just rip off the band-aid and delete it out of my life, and move on to making my PGA DFS picks for my fantasy golf lineups for the next tournament — the RSM Classic. Luckily for us, we only have to wait five months to reinstall the app and get this greatness once again.
With only two tournaments left, the RSM Classic this week and the OHL Mayakoba Classic after Thanksgiving, the PGA Tour season is officially winding down. It’s been a full-on sprint since returning to golf in the beginning of June, a welcomed one for almost all sports fans. Hopefully the way the PGA Tour operated during this pandemic will win them many fans and the game’s interest will continue to grow.
If this is the first time you are a patron of this article, it is the first in our weekly fantasy golf content for DraftKings and FanDuel, breaking down the best PGA DFS picks and everything you need to know for the RSM Classic.
The RSM Classic PGA DFS Analysis for Fantasy Golf on DraftKings & FanDuel
The Tournament & Format
The tour goes from a unique and strong field to 156 players with a decent allotment of talent, especially for this time of year.
Sea Island (Plantation & Seaside)
This is the first dual-tournament course we’ve had in quite a while and the first since return from COVID break. The format is done to accommodate the lack of sunlight during the time of year the tournament is played, so it uses both courses at the gorgeous Sea Island plantation. What is now known as the RSM Classic has changed sponsors twice since 2010 when it debuted as PGA Tournament, but RSM has had it for six years. The players will alternate between the Seaside and Plantation courses for rounds 1 and 2 and will play only the seaside course for rounds 3 and 4.
Course Facts & Figures
*Seaside Course Only
Par and Yardage
- Par 70: 7,000 yards
Course Difficulty
- 33/49
Hole Dispersion:
- Four Par 3’s: 204, 179, 223, 192
- 12 Par 4’s: 417, 415, 429, 409, 368, 452, 418, 425, 408, 442, 407, 470
- Two Par 5’s: 585, 565
Grass Types & Hazards
- Grass Type: Bermuda
- Average Green: 7,200 sq. ft
- Water Hazards: 14
- Bunkers: 47
- Rough Length: Two-inch rough at most
Facts and Figures
- Off the Tee: If hitting fairways has been your problem, then this is the place to come. The tour hit an average of 74.4% of their fairways here at the Seaside course, ranking third on tour. Not that many drivers are needed for this par 70 layout, as it had an average drive of 284.1, ranking it 36 of 45 last year.
- Approach to the Green: It is no surprise to see the greens in regulation extremely high given that 74.4% of the fairways are hit. The greens are hit at an even higher rate, coming in at 75.04, which placed it second easiest on the PGA Tour last season.
- Around the Green: The course’s defense is its rather difficult greens. The rare chance a golfer does miss the green, around 25% of the time, he will only get up 55% of those times. That ranked 33 out of 45 last year.
- On the Green: Again, the greens are the defense here, with the overall putting average coming in at 1.664, ranking it fifth hardest on tour last year.
Designer
- Harry Colt and Charles Alison with a Tom Fazio redesign.
RSM Classic Fantasy Golf & PGA DFS Sweatsheet
We rarely see a hole that has almost 20% of the total DraftKings scoring on its own, but that’s what we have this week with the 15th hole: A gettable par 5 that yielded 22 eagles in three rounds last year. The other par 5 on the course only yielded three. The best chances the golfers have at a birdie streak this week are holes 7-9 or 14-16.
Player Preview
The week after a major during a typical year, this event is not well attended. I’m very pleasantly surprised to see 19 of the world’s top 50 golfers here to compete. The field is highlighted by Webb Simpson and Tyrrell Hatton, who had quite the opposite weeks last week. Simpson managed to secure another good start at Augusta, coming in the top 10 for the second straight year, while Hatton’s struggles continued, this time ending in a missed cut. Other names heading 3 1/2 hours south to Sea Island include Tommy Fleetwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Sungjae Im, Jason Kokrak, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and plenty more.
Previous Winners for The Masters
- 2019: Tyler Duncan (-19)
- 2018: Charles Howell (-19)
- 2017: Austin Cook (-21)
- 2016: Mackenzie Hughes (-17)
- 2015: Kevin Kisner (-22)
Statistical Comparison for PGA DFS Picks
Driving Accuracy vs. Driving Distance
A list with these former winners gives us all we need to know about whether you need distance here to win. The answer is an unequivocal no. That doesn’t mean it can’t help you, as Cameron Champ and Luke List have come in the top five here in the past couple of years. But the leaderboard is filled with Kevin Kisner/Brian Gay types who may not miss a fairway all week and are good putters.
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