Steve Palmer's RSM Classic predictions, best bets, 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

Cameron Smith
3pts each-way 18-1 bet365

Kramer Hickok
1pt each-way 150-1 Hills

Davis Thompson
1pt each-way 175-1 Hills

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Scottie Scheffler suffered an agonising runner-up finish in his home state on Sunday and the Dallas-based 25-year-old is attempting to erase that heartache in this week's RSM Classic.

Scheffler took the lead into the back nine of the Houston Open, seeking a PGA Tour breakthrough, but bogeys at the tenth, 11th and 14th allowed Jason Kokrak to charge past and take the trophy. Scheffler's wait for silverware continues and the RSM could be a test of mental fortitude more than anything else. He was fifth in his only previous RSM appearance.

Webb Simpson, who has RSM Classic form figures of 12-2-7-41-36-WD-3-2-37, shares market leadership with Scheffler. Simpson's RSM withdrawal came when he was lying 12th at the halfway stage in 2017 before racing to his father's deathbed. That course comfort merits respect.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Cameron Smith 18-1

This is the time of the year when Australian star Cameron Smith is usually planning a trip to his homeland - he has twice won the Aussie PGA in the first week of December - but there are no Australasian Tour events for the Brisbane boy to worry about at the moment, so full focus is on the Stateside circuit.

The Australian PGA is not until the middle of January. Smith has entered the RSM Classic for the first time, eager for autumn action, and it could be a match made in heaven. Three rounds at a breezy seaside track is right up the alley of Smith, who is typically superb in the wind and a natural shotmaker.

Smith's scrambling skills are sensational - and getting up and down from around the tricky Seaside Course dancefloors is the most difficult aspect of the RSM assignment. He was 15th on his debut at Memorial Park last week and an even better debut can be expected in the RSM.

From the Olympics onwards, Smith has been sharp, finishing fifth in the Memphis WGC, runner-up in The Northern Trust and ninth in the CJ Cup. He won the Sony Open by the coast last year and further PGA Tour glory could be coming on the other side of America.

Next best bet

Kramer Hickok 150-1

A gutsy performance in the Houston Open last week got the career of Kramer Hickok right back on track - he finished strongly for fourth place, carding four solid rounds, finally following up on his runner-up effort in the Travelers Championship. That June playoff defeat to Harris English advertised the potential of Hickok - he pushed the more established player through eight extra holes - and the Texan looks capable of becoming a PGA Tour champion at the age of 29.

Hickok has won twice on the Canadian Tour and once on the Korn Ferry Tour. In a weak Tour event, he seems a lively outsider.

Other selection

Davis Thompson 175-1

Former world number one amateur Davis Thompson is slowly but surely settling into life as a professional. His best PGA Tour finish came with 23rd place in the 2019 RSM Classic when he was still an amateur. During those amateur days he won the Jones Cup - a competition staged at a different Sea Island course - by nine shots.

He attended the University of Georgia and Sea Island remains his home. The Seaside Course is his practice base, where Harris English has become something of a mentor for him, and Thompson has played about 100 rounds there.

Given Thompson's course knowledge and potential, the big odds against his name are worth taking. His father Todd is the Tournament Director, adding to the comfort level for this home event.

Players to note

Seamus Power
The Irishman, who made his PGA Tour breakthrough in the Barbasol Championship in July, is enjoying the best year of his career. The Seaside Course seems a good fit, but he has failed to make an impact in the past.

Matthew NeSmith
The accurate Carolinian is well suited to the RSM Classic assignment and has finished in the top 15 in both previous appearances.

Mackenzie Hughes
The Canadian was RSM champion in 2016. His other visits to the tournament have been much less successful, but tidy recent form merits respect.

Keith Mitchell
The locally-based powerhouse, early pacesetter in the CJ Cup last month before he finished third, is another for the shortlist.

Harris English
The Ryder Cupper is one of many Tour stars who make their home in this area. He withdrew from the CJ Cup last time out with a back injury.

Robert Streb
The two-time RSM Classic champion adores this event and two decent recent efforts - ninth spot in the CJ Cup and seventh place in Houston last week - mean the hat-trick bid is feasible.

RSM Classic courses guide

Courses Seaside Course and Plantation Course, Sea Island Resort, Sea Island, Georgia
Prize money $7.2m ($1.188m to the winner)
Lengths Seaside 7,005 yards Plantation 7,060 yards
Par Seaside 70 Plantation 72
Field 156
Course records- 72 holes 260 Kevin Kisner (2015) 18 holes -Seaside 60 Tommy Gainey (2012) Plantation 63 Chris Kirk (2017), DJ Trahan (2019), Ricky Barnes (2019), Robert Streb (2020), Bronson Burgoon (2020)

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

When to bet By 2.30pm 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 J Kokrak (55-1), T2 K Tway (300-1), S Scheffler (20-1), 4 K Hickok (300-1), T5 J Dahmen (110-1), M Trainer (1,000-1), T7 R Streb (200-1), S Burns (16-1), C Tringale (55-1), R Henley (45-1)

Course type Links/parkland

Course overview The RSM Classic was formerly the McGladrey Classic. 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 obviously 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 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.

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 Robert Streb defeated Kevin Kisner in a playoff, firing a wedge stone dead at the second extra hole.

Weather forecast A calm Thursday is set to be followed by three breezy days. Clear throughout, with temperatures around 20C.

Type of player suited to the challenge Sea Island is a popular resort for pro 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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