DraftKings preview: The RSM Classic

The PGA TOUR heads to St. Simons Island, Georgia, this week for The RSM Classic. Sea Island Resort (Seaside) will host the final event of the fall and measures as a 7,005-yard par 70 with Bermudagrass greens.

The field will be headlined by reigning Open Champion Brian Harman, Georgia native Russell Henley and of course, Swedish phenom, Ludvig Åberg.

Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]

You could make strong cases for any of Russell Henley, Corey Conners or Ludvig Åberg here, but Cole gets the nod for me because of his white-hot recent form and absurdly cheap price tag. In four starts this fall, Cole has finished solo fourth at the Fortinet, T35 at Sanderson Farms, T3 at Shriners and T2 at the ZOZO. There are very few people on earth who are playing better golf than Cole is right now.

If you take an even broader view of Cole’s numbers, you’ll find he ranks at the top of nearly every Strokes Gained category. Over the past 48 rounds in this field, Cole sits second on approach, 13th from tee-to-green and ranks behind only Henley in SG: Total. The man is an absolute golf machine and is showing zero signs of slowing down.

In his lone start at the RSM last year, he finished T39. Not only do I expect Cole to improve on that, but he’s extremely live to pick up his first career PGA TOUR victory this week.

McCarthy will be making his first start since the BMW Championship but feels incredibly cheap for his talent level in this field. He’s coming off a season where he posted seven top-10 finishes and six additional top-25s. The only thing he did not do was win, which he came quite close to doing at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, where he lost to Viktor Hovland in a playoff.

We know the story on McCarthy by now, he’s arguably the best putter on the planet, which more than makes up for his middle-of-the-road ball-striking. He’s also quite fond of Sea Island, having posted two top-10 finishes across his past four starts.

McCarthy has gotten himself up to 36th in the OWGR, and ranks sixth in this field in SG: Total over his past 48 rounds. At $8,700, his upside makes him one of the best values on the board.

NeSmith is quietly having a really nice fall swing, having posted a T25 at the Sanderson Farms, before a T15 in his most recent start at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. During this stretch, he’s been pretty solid in all areas, ranking 27th in the field in SG: Tee-to-Green, 37th in SG: Ball-Striking and 26th in SG: Total.

NeSmith’s history has also been pretty good at Sea Island, as before last year’s missed cut he had finished T29, T15 and T14 in three starts at this event. With the way he’s been playing lately, it’s pretty easy to envision him reverting back to that form this week.

NeSmith, who was born in South Carolina, usually does his best work when the PGA TOUR heads to the Southeast. Everything is setting up well for the 30-year-old, and he’s one of the better value options on the slate this week.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.