Niall Lyons has picked out five betting tips for this week's PGA Tour event, the RSM Classic in Georgia.
The RSM Classic
Course - Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside & Plantation), Georgia, USA.
The Plantation and Seaside courses in Sea Island provide the backdrop for the final excursion of the year for many of these pros and playing privileges are up for grabs for anyone in and around the 100 mark in the Fedex standings.
There is a lot to play for and we have a wealth of history and stats on this event to pour over.
Playing in Sea Island often throws up local success stories and with more and more players basing themselves here there is an increasing chance each year that somebody who either grew up there or is currently based there will walk home with the spoils.
There are also a good deal of courses with similar characteristics that we can look to for some pointers.
Coastal courses here in Sea Island often throw up similar results to the Sony at Waialae, the RBC at Harbour Town and a nod to form at PGA National that holds the Honda Classic is also worth considering.
A solid long game is needed to contend here as we see in the stats tables strokes gained tee to green is ranked highly in almost all the winners and placers here down the last three years.
Previous Winners / Winning Score:
2024 - M.McNealy (-16)
2023 - L.Aberg (-29)
2022 - A.Svensson (-19)
2021 - T.Gooch (-22)
2020 - R.Streb (-19)
2019 - T.Duncan (-19)
Winners / Contenders Stats:
Niall Lyons' Betting Tips for The 2025 RSM Classic
2pts each-way C.Kirk - 45/1 - (1/5 6) SportingIndex, Spreadex
1.75pts each-way E.Cole - 55/1 - (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
1.75pts each-way J.Knapp - 50/1 - (1/5 6) General
1.75pts each-way S.Power - 55/1 - (1/5 6) General
0.75pt each-way T.Duncan - 250/1 - (1/5 8) Skybet 8 place market
Tip 1: Chris Kirk - 2pts Each-Way
Best price of 45/1 with SpreadEx and Sporting Index when publishing. 6 Places Advised.
Si Woo Kim really appeals this week given he has a couple more run outs than Harris English and has played really good golf in decent company over the last few months. It bodes well for a good effort here but he has struggled on the greens all year and has found trouble with the putter before on these surfaces. For that reason I'll leave him off the list with a little trepidation.
Instead I'll opt for Chris Kirk who also comes with risks attached given he has played very little golf of late.
Plenty who teed it up in Bermuda may be thrown off course by the weather there and maybe Kirk's lack of match practice can be compensated a little by that. Kirk hasn't played since the St Jude in August but it's worth noting he won the Sentry last year in Hawaii after having had a two month break.
His form kicks many of the favs in the backside here having finished 9th in Memphis, and 5th at the Wyndham.
Lightly raced in the second part of the year he also had a 12th placed finish at the US Open and was runner up at the Rocket Classic a few weeks later.
Kirk plays these courses well with a victory here back in 2014 as well as two other top 5 finishes and another victory at PGA National suggests he's more than up to this task.
I think he'd be among the favourites here had he been on our screens lately but that was no negative when kicking off 2024 in fine fashion.
Tip 2: Eric Cole - 1.75pts Each-Way
Bet365 8 Place Market advised. 55/1 odds available when publishing.
Adam Schenk ended the wait for his first PGA Tour victory last weekend and I'm hoping some of that fortune could rub off on Eric Cole who doesn't look a million miles off himself.
I'm not worried about missing the cut last week in those conditions but a total of 23 under par the week before in Mexico along with his 16 under par effort at the Sanderson means he has two top 10 finishes in his last four events.
Cole has a 3rd placed finish here back in 2023 as well as two other top 5s across PGA National and Waialae so everything is well positioned for him to make another run.
He's suitably priced at 50/1+ in a field that shouldn't scare him in the slightest.
Tip 3: Jake Knapp - 1.75pts Each-Way
50/1 best odds available with BetMGM and Virgin Bet when publishing. 6 Places Advised.
Matt Kuchar wouldn't be without a chance this week and for my money is slightly better value here than what he was a few weeks ago but my eye is drawn more to Jake Knapp.
Long hitters here haven't always been the way forward but Aberg ranked first off the tee when winning in 2023 whilst Luke Clanton ranked 2nd in that same statistic last year when runner up to Maverick McNealy.
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Knapp hasn't been seen in a few months also so it's difficult to know what to expect but I think he should take better to the courses here at Sea Island after his first look last year. He finished down the field then but made the cut and two top 6 finishes at PGA National suggest he is more than equipped to take to this test.
Knapp is better from the wedge yardages we'll see this week whilst his driving and putting remain really strong.
He has beaten up some long golf courses in the past couple of years but I don't think the bookmakers are quite alert enough to the damage he could do around here.
Tip 4: Seamus Power - 1.75pts Each-Way
Best odds of 55/1 available with SpreadEx and Sporting Index when publishing. 6 Places Advised.
Seamus Power went well for a long way last week in Bermuda and it makes sense to play him here once again at fair odds.
Last week was a bit of lottery towards the end of the event and having gotten himself into a nice position with 5 or 6 holes to go he frittered shots away and eventually gave up his place money which would have been handy.
Coastal results for the Irishman have been some of the best in his career with a win in Bermuda, 4th at Waialae and 6th at Harbour Town. 4th and 5th here in 2021 and 2022 are strong showings for Power and although some of the earlier fancy numbers have been snapped up I'm surprised to still be able to get at the same price as last week.
Tip 5: Tyler Duncan - 0.75pts Each-Way
Sky Bet 8 Place market advised. 250/1 available when publishing.
Tyler Duncan has spent most of this year on the Korn Ferry Tour with little success but two top 25 on the trot on that circuit were fair efforts especially considering one of them was an 18 under par total.
A made cut last week in Bermuda was not so bad succumbing to a 5 over par round on Sunday in the worst of the winds.
A win here back in 2019 as well a 3rd placed finish in 2023 means this is his best course by far on the PGA Tour.
A top 3 finish at PGA National a few years ago suggests once again his talents best lie on tracks like this.
His golf hasn't been all too bad this last month or so and with his record here he looks worth chancing at big prices.
