Steve Palmer's RSM Classic predictions and free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the RSM Classic at the Seaside Course on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Golf from 2.30pm on Thursday

Best bets

Seamus Power
2.5pts each-way 25-1 Betfred

Mackenzie Hughes
2pts each-way 40-1 bet365

Matthew NeSmith
1.5pts each-way 45-1 Betfred

Davis Thompson
1pt each-way 100-1 bet365

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Tony Finau cruised to victory in the Houston Open last week and has won three PGA Tour titles in the last four months. He triumphed back-to-back in July in the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, and was installed as favourite at just 9-1 to repeat the trick at the RSM Classic in Georgia on Sunday.

However, news emerged on Tuesday that Finau had withdrawn from the tournament through injury leading to a shake-up at the top of the betting market.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Seamus Power 25-1

The island of Ireland could be in for a joyous week, with Rory McIlroy looking a strong favourite in the DP World Tour Championship and his pal Seamus Power ready to win the RSM Classic.

The potential is there for McIlroy and Power to become Ryder Cup teammates in Italy next year. Power won his second PGA Tour title at the end of last month in the Bermuda Championship and he followed up with third place in the Mayakoba event. The Irishman is 30th in the world rankings and this week's RSM assignment seems right up his alley.

The Seaside Course, a short, fiddly, coastal track where accuracy is fully rewarded, as well as sharp scrambling, seems perfect for Power to ride the crest of this wave he has created. He proved his suitability to the Seaside Course when opening up with a 63 there last year, eventually finishing the event in fourth place.

Power should be in the mix on Sunday again. This tournament seems a great opportunity for this late bloomer to push on to bigger and better things. He is bang in the Ryder Cup hunt and top of the FedEx Cup standings. The Las Vegas-based swinger is well worth a gamble to complete a PGA Tour hat-trick this week.

Next best bet

Mackenzie Hughes 40-1

Former RSM Classic champion Mackenzie Hughes seems a must for the staking plan this week. His maiden PGA Tour title came in this event in the 2016 edition. That was his tournament debut - he was a PGA Tour rookie ranked 287th in the world - but he opened with a round of 61 on the Seaside Course.

Hughes threatened a 59 on that remarkable Thursday six years ago, closing with three pars, but he ended up winning a five-man playoff on the Sunday to turbo-charge his career. The Canadian failed to make an impact again in the RSM until last year - when he opened with a 63 at the Plantation and closed with a 62 at the Seaside to finish runner-up.

Hughes has shown he can destroy both of the tracks being used this week and his confidence is sky-high after a gutsy playoff victory in the Sanderson Farms Championship at the start of last month. He has finished in the top 25 in his last four events.

Other selections

Matthew NeSmith 45-1

Davis Thompson 100-1

Complete the staking plan with two PGA Tour maidens who will probably get off the mark at some stage soon. Matthew NeSmith is one of the best iron-players in the world. He is not a long driver and he is an average putter, but the 29-year-old is arrow-straight from tee to green.

The Seaside Course is a venue where NeSmith could beat anyone. He was 14th on his RSM Classic debut in 2019, and 15th and 29th in the last two years. This time, the South Carolina man has made the short hop to Georgia with growing self-belief.

NeSmith was ninth in the Sanderson Farms Championship at the start of last month, then second in the Shriners Children's Open, and ninth in the Zozo Championship. He was 53rd last week on a long course which does not suit him. NeSmith won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 and this week seems a serious opportunity.

Davis Thompson also appeals at big odds. He made his PGA Tour debut in the 2019 RSM Classic when still an amateur - and finished 23rd. He is a former world number one amateur who won the Jones Cup by nine shots. That is a competition played at a different Sea Island venue, but he feels right at home at the Seaside Course.

Thompson, who attended the University of Georgia and lives in Sea Island, has played more than 100 rounds at the Seaside Course. His father Todd is the tournament director. Davis won on the Korn Ferry Tour in June and has made a strong start to his PGA Tour rookie campaign, finishing ninth in the Fortinet Championship and 12th in the Shriners Children's Open. A cross-handed putting grip has revived him on the greens and the 23-year-old is going places fast.

Players to note

Brian Harman
The local man finished runner-up in the World Wide Technology Championship last time out and seems dangerous on familiar terrain.

Harris English
Another locally-based player who must be respected. The lanky Georgian is working his way back to top form after hip surgery.

Webb Simpson
The former US Open and Sawgrass champion has been badly struggling for form, but the RSM Classic is a tournament where he usually thrives.

Taylor Montgomery
The putting wizard has made a barnstorming start to his PGA Tour career, with form figures of 3-9-15-13-10-57.

RSM Classic courses guide

Course Seaside Course and Plantation Course, Sea Island Resort, Sea Island, Georgia
Prize money $8.1m ($1.458m to the winner)
Length Seaside 7,005 yards; Plantation 7,060 yards
Par Seaside 70; Plantation 72
Field 156 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Tony Finau (12), Brian Harman (26), Sepp Straka (28), Seamus Power (30), Kevin Kisner (31)
Course records- 72 holes 260 Kevin Kisner (2015), Talor Gooch (2021) 18 holes 60 Tommy Gainey (2012), Sebastian Munoz (2021), Tyler McCumber (2021)

Course winners taking part Chris Kirk, Robert Streb (twice), Kevin Kisner, Mackenzie Hughes, Austin Cook, Tyler Duncan

When to bet By 2pm on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Golf from 2.30pm on Thursday

Time difference Georgia is five hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - Houston Open 1 T Finau (18-1), 2 T Alexander (500-1), 3 B Taylor (300-1), T4 T Mullinax (150-1), A Smalley (80-1), A Noren (50-1), T7 A Hadwin (70-1), A Rai (100-1)

Course type Links/parkland

Course overview The Seaside Course, crafted by Tom Fazio and used as regular practice turf by local residents like Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Harris English, Keith Mitchell, JT Poston, Davis Love, Patton Kizzire and Brian Harman, became a PGA Tour venue for the first time in 2010. The strength of the sea breezes impacts greatly on the scoring at this exposed layout, while heavily undulating fairways and fast greens add to the test. At least 14 under par has been needed to top the 72-hole leaderboard in this event. 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 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. In 2015, 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, then again by Davis Love and his brother Mark in 2019. Large creeks and lakes are a feature of the Plantation Course, along with dense sets of oak and cedar trees, but it has four par-fives and is easier than the Seaside Course. The final two rounds are on the Seaside

Story of last year Talor Gooch, who has since defected to LIV Golf and will not be allowed to defend his title, romped to a three-shot victory

Weather forecast Sunny with light to moderate breezes for the most part, but cool temperatures, peaking at 16C at the weekend

Type of player suited to the challenge 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

Spotlight insight Eleven of the 12 editions of this event have been won by an American

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