It has been a pretty great run of PGA Tour golf since I started at Betsperts back in May; after this week, it is time for a well-needed break. This is the last official PGA Tour event of the 2022 swing season. We will start back up the first week of January with the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.
For the task at hand this week, we have the RSM classic held at Sea Island Resort in Sea Island, Georgia. A well-known spot for tour players to call their home, the RSM Classic has been held here since 2010.
To be quite frank, with news of Tony Finau withdrawing, this field is pretty terrible. When Brian Harman is the odds-on favorite, you know that there aren’t too many elites in the field. Although the field isn’t great, there are some pretty good odds and value for golfers to take advantage of.
This week I am looking for great putters and golfers who excel on short courses and are familiar with these Bermuda grass greens.
Outright: Taylor Montgomery +2500 (Caesars)
Last year, Talor Gooch was amidst an excellent swing season with multiple top-10 finishes in his first events. He then had one poor start at the Houston Open and went on to win the RSM the next week by three shots. I see a very similar story forming for Taylor this week.
With finishes of 3rd, 9th, 15th, 13th, and 10th in his first five starts on the swing season. It is finally time for him to pay off a win. These results have been anchored by his prowess with the flat stick, which is going to be extremely important. Multiple golfers are on record saying how important putting on these Bermuda greens is at this event. Also, with a winning score likely of -20, putts are going to have to make.
+2500 is fair for this mostly unproven rookie in this poor field.
Top 10: Mackenzie Hughes +450 (DraftKings)
I absolutely love this bet. Mackenzie Hughes, already a winner this swing season, loves this golf course and I see him atop the leaderboard come Sunday. I think this bet is great because I cannot see him winning again this swing season, but I think he will be in the mix.
Hughes won this event in 2016 in a five-man playoff and had a solo second-place finish last year. It checks out that he has excelled, given his excellent putting. Since his win at the Sanderson, Hughes has won 23 and 16th gaining 3.7 and 8.5 strokes putting.
We have seen golfers win this event multiple times; I think he will have continued success here for years to come.
Top 20: David Lipsky +320 (FanDuel)
I am a big fan of Lipsky’s game, and as a cheap 7K play, I think this is the week he could make some noise and be in contention. David has been playing some great golf as of late, with finishes of 22nd and 10th in his last two starts. I love seeing that he played well at Mayakoba, another shorter course requiring a lot of putts to be made.
He even was able to hold his own last week at the difficult test of the Houston Open, where he gained on approach, around the green, and putting. I can trust Lipsky to make a lot of birdies and find himself in the top 20 come Sunday.
Top 40: John Huh +290 (FanDuel)
I was not expecting to see +290 on this bet, but we are fully going to take advantage of this number. You might remember John Huh from his performance at the Wyndham Championship earlier this year. Another short Bermuda track he excels on.
Huh has some of the best course history here in this field. With finishes of 12th, 12th, MC, 37th, 27th, 9 and 48th his all his appearances. So the fact that we are getting almost 3x our money for him to just finish the top 40, is a steal.
Matchup: Sahith Theegala over Keith Mitchel +105 (DraftKings)
This is purely a fade of Keith Mitchell, who I do not think is a great course fit. Keith tends to do his best work on longer, driver-heavy difficult conditions courses. This is certainly not that this week. I think this course is really taking the biggest advantage he has away from him.
Sahith has quietly been playing some great golf, and I don’t expect it to slow anytime soon. Coming off a 22nd place at the Houston Open and 5th at the ZOZO, I think it is time for another great finish. I don’t expect a good finish from Mitchell, so this is an easy play for me.
Featured Image: Carmen Mandato Getty Images