The PGA Tour returns to the United States for the RSM Classic hosted by the Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simon's Island, GA. First and second round play is split between two courses, Seaside Course and Plantation Course, and those who make the cut will then play Seaside two more times. Each course has its own idiosyncrasies, and while the majority of play will be on one course, Plantation should not be ignored by golfers preparing to play this event or DFSers building lineups.
Let's dig into the courses and see what stats we can use to build our daily fantasy lineups this week.
Course and Tournament Info
Course: Sea Island Golf Club - Seaside Course
Par: 70
Distance: 7,005
Tees/Fairways/Rough: Tifway Bermuda overseeded with perennial ryegrass / rough includes native areas
Greens: Bermudagrass overseeded with Poa Trivialis
Course: Sea Island Golf Club - Plantation Course
Par: 72
Distance: 7,058
Tees/Fairways/Rough: Tifway Bermuda overseeded with perennial ryegrass
Greens: TifEagle Bermudagrass overseeded with Poa Trivialis
As always, a hat tip is in order to Josh Culp's Future of Fantasy for the detailed view of grass types. Bermudagrass goes dormant in the winter months, and overseeding with more sustainable grasses preserves both the visual and practical character of the golf course. Seaside is a links-style course while Plantation plays more conventional, but wind will be a factor all week and it is worth monitoring the weather to see if tee time stacking is a viable strategy.
Seaside Course
| Season | Par | Yardage | Avg Score | Avg O/U Par | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 70 | 7005 | 69.239 | -0.761 | 35 |
| 2017 | 70 | 7005 | 68.889 | -1.111 | 35 |
| 2016 | 70 | 7005 | 69.313 | -0.687 | 29 |
Plantation Course
| Season | Par | Yardage | Avg Score | Avg O/U Par | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 72 | 7058 | 70.542 | -1.458 | 43 |
| 2017 | 72 | 7058 | 69.763 | -2.237 | 48 |
| 2016 | 72 | 7058 | 70.806 | -1.194 | 42 |
Plantation has played as one of the easiest courses on Tour since it was incorporated into this event during the 2015-2016 season, and Seaside is not far behind it. But that is with good reason, and for a good cause -- host Davis Love III and sponsor RSM US weave charitable giving into this event based on birdies made, and their Birdies Fore Love campaign resulting in over $9 million in contributions since the event's inception in 2010.
Key Stats
These stats have proven vital to success at the RSM Classic.
| Key Stats for the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club |
|---|
| Strokes Gained: Off the Tee |
| Strokes Gained: Approach |
| Birdies or Better Gained |
| Strokes Gained: Par 4s (400 - 450 yards) |
| Strokes Gained: Par 5s |
Placement off the tee is essential this week as both courses punish inaccuracy, albeit in different ways. Seaside features native areas and bunkers, while Plantation's fairways are lined with trees that can complicate the all important second shot. Approach pops again this week, with top-10 finishers picking up an average of 0.82 strokes per round on approach compared to just 0.43 stokes off the tee and 0.31 strokes around the green. In addition to contributing to RSM US's charitable donations this week, birdies are always a must for successful lineups on DraftKings.
Nine of the par 4s on Seaside fall within 400-450 yards, as well as four of Plantation's. That means 67% of the par 4s and a full half of all holes played this week will fall within this key range. Par 5 scoring is where the birdie-makers will climb the leaderboard. Even with only one round on a par 72 course this week, failing to take advantage of the scoring opportunities on their Plantation round will prove disastrous.
Course History Studs
Kevin Kisner's career is one filled with flashes of brilliance and extended periods of underwhelming performance, but he has had arguably his best results at Sea Island, where he owns a T4-CUT-WIN-T4-T20 record over the past five years. He has ties to the region, having grown up in South Carolina and attended college at the University of Georgia.
Chris Kirk is another Georgia Bulldog who has had success at this event, racking up finishes of T4-CUT-T18-T4-WIN in the last five years.
Russell Henley skipped this event last year but had three straight top-10s prior to that. He is one of the best performers on overseeded Bermuda per Future of Fantasy.
Cheng-Tsung Pan finished T13 last year and T6 the year prior. He is on a bit of a hot streak right now and these short courses really suit his game.
Mike Rodden is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Rodden also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mike_rodden. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.