The 47th and final event of the 2024 PGA Tour season begins Thursday on St. Simons Island, Ga.
With several PGA Tour players calling St. Simons Island home, and with dozens jockeying for critical spots in the race for playing status next year, The RSM Classic has once again drawn one of the strongest fields of the fall.
The drama will be high for those grinding to earn spots in the first two signature events of 2025 and those trying to battle their way into the top 125 for full playing privileges next year. Our golf experts preview the field and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
THE RSM CLASSIC
Location: St. Simons Island, Ga., Nov. 21-24
Course: Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside: Par 70, 7,005 Yards; Plantation: Par 72, 7,060 Yards)
Purse: $7.6M (Winner: $1.368M)
Defending Champion: Ludvig Aberg
FedEx Cup Champion: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 12-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. ET
X: @TheRSMClassic
PROP PICKS
–Chris Kirk to Beat Matt Kuchar (-115 at DraftKings): Kuchar, 46, has been among the veterans grinding as he tees it up for the sixth time during the fall swing. He posted three top-15s against a missed cut through the first four before going T37 in Japan and T30 in Mexico. Kirk, ranked 44th in the world, has been taking it far easier closer to home in Georgia and is a former Sea Island resident. Kirk, who posted a T35 in Utah in his long fall start so far, has played in this event every year since its inception.
–Austin Eckroat Top 30 (+105 at BetRivers): Eckroat won his most recent start in Mexico two weeks ago and said it proved his maiden tour win at the Cognizant Classic in March wasn’t a fluke. We agree. Eckroat reached the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs on the strength of a strong season, and riding a wave of confidence he should be in contention against a fall field.
–Callum Tarren Top English Finisher (+550): OK, we’re closing out 2024 with a longshot selection. The big-hitting Tarren rebounded from a trio of missed cuts with a T37 last week. Granted, he has also missed seven of his past nine cuts overall. Matt Wallace is understandably the -150 favorite in this prop as the 65th-ranked player in the world comes off a T11 at the DP World Championship. We’re banking on some jet lag as Wallace crossed the ocean to play his third consecutive week. Also in this prop are David Skinns (+400) and Ben Taylor (+650). Skinns has made four consecutive cuts during the PGA Tour fall swing, while Taylor has missed four of six cuts this fall.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 53-60
BEST BETS
–Aberg (+900 at DraftKings) is making his first start since finishing 16th at the Tour Championship as he defends his lone tour win to date following knee surgery earlier this fall. His winning score of 253 last year tied Justin Thomas from the 2017 Sony Open for the record low in a 72-hole event.
–St. Simons resident Brian Harman (+2200) competes for the first time since playing for the winning United States team at the Presidents Cup.
–Sea Island resident Davis Thompson (+2200) won earlier this year (John Deere Classic).
–Luke Clanton (+4000) will make his eighth start on tour this year, and the 21-year-old amateur has three top-10s.
NOTES
This is the final of eight tournaments on the FedEx Cup Fall schedule, which finalizes the top 125 players retaining exempt status for 2025. Nos. 126-150 after the fall will retain conditional status.
Players who finished Nos. 51-70 in the FedEx Cup have secured their tour cards but are competing for spots in the first two signature events after the season-opening The Sentry on Jan. 2-5.
All 19 players from Nos. 122-140 in the FedExCup Fall standings entering the week are in the field:
No. 122 Sam Ryder
No. 123 Zac Blair
No. 124 Joel Dahmen
No. 125 Wesley Bryan
No. 126 Henrik Norlander
No. 127 Daniel Berger
No. 128 Hayden Springer
No. 129 Pierceson Coody
No. 130 S.H. Kim
No. 131 Dylan Wu
No. 132 Kevin Tway
No. 133 Matt Wallace
No. 124 Carl Yuan
No. 135 Garrick Higgo
No. 136 Alejandro Tosti
No. 137 Taylor Montgomery
No. 138 Michael Thorbjornsen
No. 139 Gary Woodland
No. 140 Kevin Streelman
AON NEXT 10
The top 10 players in the AON Next 10 following The RSM Classic receive spots in the first two designated events of 2025. Seven of the 10 players currently in position for one of the spots are in the field:
No. 51: Mackenzie Hughes
No. 52: Maverick McNealy
No. 53: Patrick Rodgers
No. 54: Harris English
No. 55: Seamus Power
No. 56: Ben Griffin
No. 57: Tom Kim
No. 58: Nick Taylor
No. 59: Nico Echavarria
No. 60: Justin Rose