The RSM Classic 2023 Preview and Free Picks

Last Updated on November 13, 2023 4:23 pm by Erwin Noguera

The RSM Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the autumn in Georgia. It debuted in October 2010 on St. Simons Island, Georgia at the Sea Island Golf Club. It was known as the McGladrey Classic until 2015 when the title sponsor’s name changed from McGladrey to RSM US.

Resident tour pros Davis Love III and Zach Johnson kicked off the event in March 2010, where they helped to unveil the tournament’s new logo, which was painted by Rock Demarco. The inaugural event in 2010 was won by Heath Slocum, one stroke ahead of runner-up Bill Haas.

Since 2015, the event has been played over both the Seaside and Plantation courses at Sea Island, with the field expanded to 156 players. Between 2015 and 2019 and 2021, it was the final official PGA Tour event of the calendar year, with only a few unofficial tournaments being held until the season resumed in January.

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Though much has already been decided in 2023, there are things still on the line with 72 holes remaining in Sea Island, Ga. The RSM Classic will decide careers for 2024 and the top 125 exempt spots.

The last five players in for cards, Nos. 121 to 125, are Henrik Norlander, Peter Malnati, Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy, and C.T. Pan. The five closest to the bubble, Nos. 126 to 130, are Patton Kizzire, Zecheng Dou, Cameron Champ, MJ Daffue, and Austin Smotherman. And all 10 of those players are on the field this week.

Also in play are spots at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational, the first two signature events of 2024. Luke List and Thomas Detry are Nos. 61 and 62 in points and need to crack the top 60. (The top 50 was set after the FedEx Cup playoffs.)

Event Overview – The RSM Classic – 2023 – PGA Golf Tour

The proving ground this week is the Tom Fazio-designed Seaside Course at Sea Island. Adam Svensson is defending his title, and the last six winners have finished at 19 under or better. 

In contrast to a historically tranquil vibe in coastal Georgia, the tension will be palpable this week as players jockey to improve (or keep) TOUR status for the 2024 season.

St. Simons Island, Georgia, is home to several TOUR stars – including tournament host Davis Love III – and while the event previously slotted as the last event of the calendar year before the wraparound schedule resumed in January, this year it will mark the season finale before the TOUR returns to a calendar-year cadence.

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There are plenty of pearls for the Sea Island winner, of course. But this year brings heightened implications up and down the leaderboard.

RSM Classic – Top 3 Picks

Adam Svensson looks to successfully defend at Sea Island. Svensson, who hasn’t missed a cut on TOUR since the Travelers Championship in June, will make his fifth start of the FedExCup Fall. There has never been a back-to-back winner at The RSM Classic though.

Ludvig Åberg is back in action on TOUR as he looks to continue his fine global play over the last few months. In his last seven worldwide starts, Åberg, chasing a top-50 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking by the end of the year for a Masters invite, hasn’t finished worse than a tie for 14th.

Open Championship winner Brian Harman tees it up for the first time since the TOUR Championship. Harman, who finished second last year at The RSM Classic, has two other top-10 finishes at Sea Island, where he is a resident.

RSM Classic – Schedule and how to watch:

Television: Thursday-Friday: 12 – 3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Saturday-Sunday, 1 – 4 p.m. (Golf Channel)

PGA TOUR LIVE: (ESPN+)

Thursday:

Stream 1 Featured Groups: 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Stream 2 Featured Group: 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

Friday:

Stream 1 Featured Groups: 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Stream 2 Featured Group: 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

Radio:

Thursday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET. 

Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

Current Odds for all Golfers:

Aberg, Ludvig +1175

Harman, Brian +1675

Young, Cameron +1700

Henley, Russell +1950

Conners, Corey +2600

Suh, Justin +2800

Noren, Alexander +2900

Kim, Si Woo +3100

Cole, Eric +3100

Poston, Jt +3100

Svensson, Adam +3400

Mccarthy, Denny +3600

Kuchar, Matt +3700

Horschel, Billy +3900

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Jaeger, Stephan +3900

Mitchell, Keith +4200

Spaun, J.j. +4200

Kirk, Chris +4400

Smalley, Alex +4400

List, Luke +4500

Todd, Brendon +4700

Detry, Thomas +4900

Bhatia, Akshay +4900

Schmid, Matthias +4900

Lee, Kyoung-hoon +5000

English, Harris +5000

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Pendrith, Taylor +5000

Thompson, Davis +5200

Villegas, Camilo +5400

Schenk, Adam +5400

Hadley, Chesson +6000

Lindheim, Nicholas +6000

Ghim, Doug +6600

Griffin, Benjamin +6600

Champ, Cameron +7000

Montgomery, Taylor +7000

Hughes, Mackenzie +7500

Simpson, Webb +8000

Hubbard, Mark +8000

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Yuan, Carl +8000

Hardy, Nick +8000

Tarren, Callum +8000

Long, Adam +8500

Riley, Davis +8500

Wu, Brandon +9000

Kohles, Ben +9500

Ryder, Sam +9500

Gordon, Will +9500

Harrington, Padraig +10000

Cink, Stewart +10000

Whaley, Vincent +10000

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Eckroat, Austin +10000

Palmer, Ryan +11000

Streelman, Kevin +11000

Lashley, Nate +11000

Stevens, Samuel +11000

Kuest, Peter +11000

Moore, Ryan +12000

Stallings, Scott +12000

Mcnealy, Maverick +12000

Ramey, Chad +12000

Sigg, Greyson +12000

Wu, Dylan +12000

Johnson, Zach +13000

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Merritt, Troy +13000

Griffin, Lanto +13000

Nesmith, Matthew +13000

Daffue, Mj +13000

Buckley, Hayden +13000

Laird, Martin +15000

Murray, Grayson +15000

Shelton, Robby +15000

Young, Carson +15000

Roy, Kevin +15000

Pan, Cheng-tsung +16000

Kisner, Kevin +16000

Cook, Austin +16000

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Kizzire, Patton +17000

Martin, Ben +17000

Yu, Kevin +17000

Lower, Justin +19000

Smotherman, Austin +19000

Teater, Josh +20000

Streb, Robert +20000

Duncan, Tyler +20000

Hickok, Kramer +20000

Novak, Andrew +20000

Baddeley, Aaron +22000

Noh, Seung-yul +22000

Norlander, Henrik +22000

Hoffman, Charley +24000

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Molinari, Francesco +24000

Piercy, Scott +24000

Kodaira, Satoshi +24000

Knox, Russell +24000

Dou, Zecheng +24000

Walker, Jimmy +26000

Alexander, Tyson +26000

Lingmerth, David +26000

Blair, Zac +26000

Redman, Doc +26000

Kraft, Kelly +28000

Goya, Estanislao +30000

Chappell, Kevin +30000

Malnati, Peter +30000

Echavarria, Nicolas +30000

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Gay, Brian +34000

Tway, Kevin +34000

Garnett, Brice +34000

Grant, Brent +34000

Biondi, Fred +34000

Gerard, Ryan +34000

Frittelli, Dylan +36000

Percy, Cameron +38000

Dufner, Jason +40000

O Hair, Sean +40000

Blixt, Jonas +40000

Landry, Andrew +40000

Endycott, Harrison +40000

Werenski, Richy +40000

Lebioda, Hank +40000

Armour, Ryan +44000

Stroud, Chris +44000

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Harrington, Scott +44000

Higgs, Harry +44000

Kang, Sung +48000

Westmoreland, Kyle +48000

Brehm, Ryan +50000

Schwab, Matthias +50000

Gribble, Cody +50000

Taylor, Ben +50000

Bryan, Wesley +50000

Nunez, Augusto +50000

Trainer, Martin +55000

Cone, Trevor +55000

Byrd, Jonathan +65000

Mcgreevy, Max +65000

Mcgirt, William +75000

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Werbylo, Trevor +75000

Haley, Paul +125000

Stuard, Brian +150000

Gligic, Michael +150000

Crane, Ben +200000

Herman, Jim +200000

Barnes, Ricky +225000

Watney, Nick +225000

Carr, Ben +225000

Love, Davis +300000