Welcome to the final golf betting preview of the year. The only other tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Hero World Challenge, which is Tiger Woods' event that typically has a field of fewer than 20 golfers.
It's more of an exhibition than an actual event, although I would love the TOUR to go back and retroactively award wins from this event to the career wins of golfers. This would allow Woods to pass Sam Snead on the all-time win list.
RSM Classic Preview
The final full-field event of the year will take place in Sea Island, Ga. Many professional golfers call this their home and train here, so you'll hear a lot about the "Sea Island Mafia" this week.
While a home game can be a positive, it can also be a negative. We've seen mixed results when it comes to course history and those who live on the island.
We have two courses in play this week — the Seaside Course and the Plantation Course.
Golfers will play each course on Thursday and Friday before the cut is made. The final two rounds will be held at the Seaside Course.
Unfortunately, we will only have Shot Tracker for the rounds held at the Seaside Course, but at least we'll have it back in our lives. The golf sweat isn't the same without it.
The Seaside Course is a Par 70 that measures 7,005 yards. It features wide fairways and large greens. Given all of the water on the course, driving accuracy has been more important than driving distance. This is more of a second shot and in type of course.
The Plantation Course is a Par 72 that measures 7,060 yards. This is typically the easier of the two courses, as it features four par fives.
For my betting card this week, I'm looking for golfers in good form and those who are elite from the second shot in. Here are my three outright bets and RSM Classic predictions.
RSM Classic Predictions & Outright Picks
Ben Griffin +3500 (FanDuel)
Griffin was on my outright card last week and played well in Bermuda. He finished in the top 10, which was his fourth top-25 finish in his last five events.
If you look at his statistics, he's one of the best in the field from the second shot in. He's a good iron play, he's excellent around the green and he's one of the best bermuda putters on TOUR.
Incoming form is a positive, as is the fact that he's finished T8 and T29 here the last two years. In his career, he's performed best at short courses and easy courses, so it's no surprise to see him play well at Sea Island.
J.J. Spaun +3500 (DraftKings)
If you take out his withdrawal at the Sanderson Farms Championship, where he only played one round, Spaun has made 10 cuts in a row and has posted three top-10 finishes during that stretch.
The underlying statistics have been solid, as he's been elite tee to green and has regularly been gaining strokes with his putter.
Spaun's not known for his upside, but he has a win on the PGA TOUR and he is playing his best golf of the year. He's also finished in the top 15 at this event in each of the last three years, so he clearly likes the courses at Sea Island.
Eric Cole +4000 (Caesars)
I'm surprised we are getting Cole at +4000 this week. He's usually one of the more popular bets because everyone wants to be there when he finally breaks through for his first win on the PGA TOUR.
He's certainly no stranger to winning, as he has a total of 56 wins on the Minor League Tour. On his PGA TOUR resume, he has two runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes.
Much like Griffin, Cole's only weakness is off the tee. If you put him in the same spot in the fairway with everyone else, he's one of the best in the field. He finished third here last year and he was T6 in his last start coming into this event.
