RSM Classic Best Bets and Outrights
RSM Classic tournament info
The RSM Classic has been a regular stop on the PGA Tour since 2010, when the tournament debuted at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island in the state of Georgia.
To this day, the RSM Classic continues to be played at the picturesque venue of Sea Island Golf Club, where two different courses continue to be in operation. These are the Plantation Course and the Seaside Course. Both courses have been used for this event, and in 2025, it will be the Seaside Course that takes centre stage.
As of 2023, the RSM Classic is the final tournament in the yearly calendar that provides players with a chance to either earn or retain PGA Tour privileges, adding further spice to what is quite a tasty event.
Precise putting the key to Sea Island success
As is often the case on the PGA Tour, to win at Sea Island, you need a little bit of everything, but if there is one key that unlocks success, especially on the Seaside course, it’s precise putting.
Proven hot putters, and players that rank well in key on-green areas typically thrive at Sea Island. Those who can make the most of scoring opportunities and avoid three-putting will do especially well this week, while bombers and players that rely on length are likely to find themselves struggling.
Being long off the tee is of little value on the Seaside Course, where precision play is absolutely the order of the day. As well as being steady with the putter, players will need to be accurate rather than heavy with their first shots.
If as a bettor you’re looking to crack the code, look for top-tier approach players, those who hit plenty of greens in regulation, those who perform well in terms of strokes gained: around the green, as well as those who have hot proximity numbers. The greens are small and there is little room for error, so accuracy is paramount.
What does the betting market say?
Unlike so many of the tournaments that have taken place in 2025, the RSM Classic doesn’t have a short-priced favorite. Why? Well, the top dogs won’t be involved in Georgia, making this tournament a more competitive betting heat, as the outright market suggests.
It’s become quite normal to see Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy down as +200 or +300 over the last year or so, but with no such players due to tee it up this week, we have nothing that even closely resembles a strong favorite.
Here’s what the outright betting from our top sportsbooks currently looks like ahead of this week’s action in Georgia:
Harris English +1900
Michael Thorbjornsen +2000
Brian Harman +2000
Richard Hoey +2200
Si Woo Kim +2500
J.T. Poston + 2500
Thorbjorn Olesen +2700
Alex Smalley +3000
Vince Whaley +3000
Denny McCarthy +3000
Chris Kirk +3000
Daniel Berger +3300
Nico Echavarria +3500
Davis Thompson +3500
All other players +4000 or greater.
As we can see, it really is a case of taking your pick this week. As the highest-ranked player in the field, Harris English is a very tentative favorite, but let’s be honest, this is seriously open.
In fact, it’s such an open betting market that there really aren’t many results that would go down as an upset. Good luck solving this particular puzzle!
Right, it’s time to get down to business and highlight a few betting opportunities ahead of the RSM Classic. If you’re looking for more betting suggestions, check out our upcoming sports betting picks.
Rico Hoey to win/top 10 finish: +2200 & +250
Rico Hoey comes into the RSM Classic off the back of some very solid recent efforts. You could say that he’s simmering, and he may just come to the boil here.
He’s finished T22 or better in five of his last six events, finishing second and fourth in his last four, while he absolutely has the accurate play to thrive on the Seaside Course. Right now, Hoey ranks as the eighth best PGA Tour player for Proximity to Hole, ranking as the second-best of those taking part this week.
Hoey is accurate, make no mistake about that, boasting some superb strokes gained: approach stats. In that regard, only seven players have outperformed him on the PGA Tour this season, with none of those seven playing here. That’s key. He’s also the second-best PGA Tour player in 2025 for green in regulation percentage.
The only downside is that you certainly wouldn’t call Rico Hoey a hot putter, but his performance on the greens has been steady in recent events, while he’s very strong in all other key areas, so he really should put himself in lots of scoring positions this week, and that should be enough to see him lay down a challenge.
Quite simply, Hoey ticks too many boxes here. He really should appreciate the set-up in Georgia this week, so much so that his odds look a little too generous to ignore.
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Sahith Theegala to win/top 10 finish: +5000 & +500
Could Sahith Theegala win this event? Well, he wasn’t far away from doing just that in 2022, when the man currently ranked as the 97th best player on the planet finished second.
Since then, Theegala has become a PGA Tour winner, getting it done at the Fortinet Championship just over two years ago. That remains his only win, and in truth, it hasn’t been a vintage year for the 27-year-old, but guess what? Form isn’t everything in this game, so don’t be too surprised if Theegala enjoys himself this week.
We know he can handle the test that Sea Island provides. Interestingly, of those in the field to have played the tournament more than once before, Theegala ranks as the fifth-best in the field in terms of average score, ranking also as the number one player for strokes gained: putting, as well as strokes gained: total. Given those stats, with odds of +5000 (win) and +500 (top 10) on offer, I’ve got to get involved.
MacKenzie Hughes to win/top 10 finish: +4000 & +410
My angle in here is that MacKenzie Hughes really likes it at Sea Island, where he’s won before, scooping this prize back in 2016. He’s also made the top five in three of the last four years.
Of those to have played this event multiple times before, the Canadian ranks as the second-best player in the field for strokes gained: around the green at Sea Island, as well as fifth for strokes gained: total, plus he sits 17th for strokes gained: putting. Not bad at all.
Sure, Hughes doesn’t really bring any sort of recent form to the table, but given his previous efforts on St. Simons Island, I really wouldn’t be surprised if he raised his game this week, and with more than fair odds on offer, I’m betting him in both the outright market and the top-10-finish market.
Vince Whaley top 10 finish/top 20 finish: +450 & +200
Vince Whaley is an improving player, a player who brings some strong recent form into this event, finishing third at Port Royal last week. A mere repeat of that effort, on another course that should suit, and the 30-year-old won’t be far away for the second week in a row.
Something of a late developer, Vince Whaley has proved that he belongs on the PGA Tour in 2025. He hasn’t missed the cut since early April, while he’s delivered seven top-20 finishes since then, five of which have been top-10 finishes.
His two best efforts of the season came on courses that use Bermudagrass greens, which bodes well, while he knows how to get down to business at Sea Island, finishing inside the top 20 in each of his last two appearances at the RSM Classic, finishing eighth a year ago.
For my money, Whaley has lots going for him ahead of this event, and I’m far from convinced that the early betting market is an accurate reflection of that. As a result, betting on him to finish in the top 10 and the top 20 rate as value bets.
