Keep it simple and back the increasingly assured Webb Simpson

Starts 2.30pm Thursday
Live on Sky Sports Golf from 6.30pm

Awesome powerhouse Cameron Champ has become the talk of the US Tour this season and the potential world number one goes to post again in the RSM Classic at Sea Island, Georgia.

Rookie Champ, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship by four shots last month, showed last week that he is capable of performing on less suitable courses as well. Tenth place in the Mayakoba Classic was another feather in his cap.

Champ, competing for a fourth consecutive week, may be on the brink of mental burnout and missed the cut by five shots on his RSM Classic debut 12 months ago.

Palmer's top tip
Webb Simpson 10-1
Champ is clearly the future, but the present is Webb Simpson, who looks by far the most likely winner of the RSM Classic and fully deserves his place at the head of the betting. Double-figure quotes are golden given the weakness of the field.

The tight, fiddly assignment of the typically windswept Seaside Course, which comprises 75 per cent of this week's tournament, is far from ideal terrain for Champ to showcase his length and natural aggression. But it is heaven-sent for Simpson, who has become one of the best in the business at plotting safe passage along layouts like this.

Simpson, the 2012 US Open champion and runaway winner of the Players Championship at Sawgrass in May, lost a playoff for the 2011 edition of this tournament at the Seaside Course, having finished 12th on his 2010 debut. He was seventh in 2013 and was on course for something similar last year, lying 12th at the halfway stage before withdrawing to race to his beloved father's deathbed.

Simpson has been brilliant since losing his dad, who was the biggest influence on his development as a player, and it would be particularly poignant if he could return 12 months later to claim Seaside Course glory. It is a special motivation for the increasingly confident Carolinian, who finished in the top 20 in every Major this season.

Simpson was one of few Americans to emerge from the Ryder Cup with credit. He won two points from three matches, having to carry Bubba Watson in the foursomes, thrashing Justin Rose in the Sunday singles. That performance was a significant psychological boost for Simpson, who struggled badly at Gleneagles in the 2014 contest.

The 33-year-old, putting with more assurance than ever, signed off from the FedEx Cup playoffs with sixth place in the BMW Championship and fourth in the Tour Championship, then followed the Ryder Cup with 15th spot in the Shriners Open. There appear to be no chinks in the armour of the highest ranked player in the field.

Next best
CT Pan 25-1
A heavy stake on the market leader does not leave much room for others, but former world number one amateur CT Pan has plenty going for him and must be in ante-post plans. Pan, runner-up in the Wyndham Championship in August, has posted a top-25 finish in nine of his last 15 tournaments.

It seems like it is only a matter of time before the accurate 27-year-old Taiwanese, who won twice on the Canadian Tour in 2015, makes his US Tour breakthrough. And the RSM looks a fantastic opportunity. In just his tenth US Tour start, he posted a then career-best sixth place on his RSM debut in 2016, and he followed up with 13th place last year.

Other selection
Austin Cook 33-1
The defending champions appeal in all three tournaments this week – Austin Cook, Jon Rahm and Cameron Davis all look capable of repeating the dose. Cook won the RSM by four shots last year, showcasing his trademark precision, and he has shown enough in the last six months to suggest more Seaside Course success is likely.

Sixth place in the St Jude Classic in June was followed by fifth in the Greenbrier, 28th in the Open and 13th in the CIMB Classic. Form concerns have been overplayed – he has been competing in stellar fields for the most part – and the 27-year-old appears one of the biggest hurdles for Simpson to overcome.

Others to note
Kevin Kisner
The 2015 champion is the 72-hole RSM record holder and can boast form figures of 4-1-MC-4. He is perfectly suited to the track, but recent efforts have been underwhelming and he has had some off-course distractions of late working for the Kisner Foundation.

Bill Haas
The 2011 FedEx Cup champion has been battling to revive his US Tour career in recent weeks and 60th place in the Mayakoba last time out was a setback. He is a class act in a weak field and suited to the course, but is rapidly dropping down the world rankings and feeling the pinch.

Kramer Hickok
The accurate Texan seems to have settled on the US Tour, finishing 23rd in the Shriners and 29th in the Mayakoba, and he should find the RSM Classic venue even more to his liking. He could be dangerous if getting off to a quick start on his course debut.

Robert Streb
The 2014 champion won on the Web.com Tour in August to revive his career, then finished fourth in the Shriners this month. He is an obvious threat.

Staking plan
W Simpson
4pts each-way 10-1 Paddy Power
CT Pan
2pts each-way 25-1 Betfred, BoyleSports, Sky Bet
A Cook
1.5pts each-way 33-1 BoyleSports, Coral, Sky

The lowdown

Courses Seaside Course and Plantation Course, Sea Island, Georgia

Prize money $6.4m ($1.16m to the winner)

Length Seaside 7,005 yards Plantation 7,058 yards

Par Seaside 70 Plantation 72 Field 156

Course record – 72 holes 260 Kevin Kisner (2015) 18 holes 60 Tommy Gainey (2012)

Course winners taking part Ben Crane, Tommy Gainey, Chris Kirk. Robert Streb, Kevin Kisner, Mackenzie Hughes, Austin Cook

When to bet By 2.30pm Thursday

Where to watch Live on Sky Sports from 6.30pm Thursday

Time difference Georgia is five hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week – Mayakoba Classic 1 M Kuchar (60-1), 2 D Lee (100-1), T3 JJ Spaun (66-1), R Werenski (200-1), 5 B Garnett (175-1), T6 S Piercy (45-1), H Varner (90-1), P Perez (50-1), J Furyk (160-1)

Course overview The RSM Classic was the McGladrey Classic until being renamed in 2015 for 'global branding purposes'. The Seaside Course, crafted by Tom Fazio and used as regular practice turf by Sea Island residents like Davis Love and Brian Harman, became a US Tour venue for the first time in 2010. The strength of the sea breezes obviously impacts greatly on the scoring at this exposed layout, while heavily undulating fairways and fast greens add to the test. Totals of 14, 15, 16, 14 and 14 under par topped the leaderboard after 72 holes for the first five years. This is a fiddly layout where precision irons and sound course management, along with solid scrambling around tricky greens, are the keys to success. The 429-yard par-four fourth is one of the toughest assignments, usually averaging well over par, while the two par-fives (the seventh and 15th) are the easiest pick-up holes. The 368-yard par-four eighth is another part of the course where players will be expecting to make birdie. The fairways on this links, which is similar to the more famous Harbour Town Links in South Carolina, are flanked by enormous bunkers, waste areas and marshland. Three years ago, for the first time, the field played one of the first two rounds at the nearby Plantation Course, an old parkland track upgraded by Rees Jones in 1998. Large creeks and lakes are a feature of the Plantation Course, along with dense sets of oak and cedar trees. The Plantation lowered overall scoring, with 22, 17 and 21 under the winning totals since. The final two rounds are on the Seaside Course

The story of last year Austin Cook claimed his maiden US Tour title in impressive and emphatic fashion, cruising to a four-shot triumph

Weather forecast Pre-tournament storms and day-one drizzle look set to make conditions soft, before the sun comes out for the final three rounds. Moderate breezes throughout

Type of player suited to challenge Sea Island is a popular resort for professional golfers to live and those with local knowledge will be favoured. The Seaside Course lends itself to precision players and those with a tidy short game. It is not a links which can be overpowered. The Plantation Course is a parkland layout, creating an all-round test for the first 36 holes

Key attribute Accuracy

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