PGA DFS Core Plays: RSM Classic
Top-ranked grinder, Notorious, breaks down his favorite daily fantasy golf plays at various salary ranges for the coming week’s golf tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
RSM Classic
First of all, I hope everyone had a tremendous week watching The Masters. Whether your lineups were in contention or not, it is truly the best golf viewing experience we get all year. The course, the tradition, and the coverage are like nothing else. I hope everyone used the “My Group” feature on the app, as you could watch nearly every single shot of the golfers that you favorited. On top of all that, we got to witness a truly historic performance from Dustin Johnson. He broke the tournament record with a score of 20-under par and won his first green jacket. I’ve never seen or heard emotion from DJ over the years, yet even he teared up after his win.
Cameron Smith became the first golfer in Masters history to record four rounds in the 60s, while Sungjae Im become the third youngest golfer to ever finish in the top two. Tournament favorite Bryson DeChambeau made too many big numbers on the week and ultimately ended up losing to Bernhard Langer. Tiger Woods could have snuck in the top 10 if not for an actual 10 on the par-three 12th hole on Sunday. Ultimately, my decision to play Xander Schauffele over DJ is what cost my main lineup a cash in all contests. I had 6-of-6 through the cut, but should have gone with the best play on the board. The one positive is that all eight golfers I wrote up ended up making the cut.
This week we turn our attention to the RSM Classic, which has a stronger field than I was expecting. Many of the big names are looking to take a break after a crazy stretch of golf since the restart, but quite a few top 50 golfers in the world will tee it up in Sea Island. This event features a two-course rotation where golfers will play the Seaside Course and the Plantation Course on the first two days. For the final two rounds, all golfers will play the Seaside Course. For our purposes, we will focus our attention on the course where three of the four rounds will be played. With that said, the Plantation Course does play quite a bit easier and features two more par fives than the Seaside Course. Keep that in mind for the cut sweat and for showdown contests in the first two rounds.
The Seaside Course is a Par 70 that measures 7,005 yards. It features two par fives and is very much a plodder’s course. This doesn’t mean longer hitters can’t have success here, but length of the tee is negated. The way I see it, it’s a week where the shorter hitters have a much better chance than usual. Over the years, driving distance here is about 10 yards shorter than tour average, while driving accuracy is nearly 10 percentage points higher. These bermuda greens are large in size and will be easy to hit. More often than not, this turns into a putting contest. With off the tee importance being negating, approach play and putting are the skills to really hone in on this week.
Comments
How are you handling any Masters hangover for some of these guys? My theory is that because there are no crowds at these majors, they are not as nearly as stressful/energy draining as they normally are. It’s more or less guys just out playing golf with their buddies but with more $ on the line. I know this is not something you can really quantify, was just curious on your take (if you have one).
Noto — if we are looking for Driving Accuracy and GIR , is JAMES HAHN on your radar?
He ranks 8th in both this szn. Approach game has looked nice and he’s cheap. Thx bro!
Lead RG Analyst
RG Overall Ranking
2018 DraftKings FBBWC Finalist
2013 FanDuel WFBBC Finalist
My take is as good as anyone else’s, but I’m not expecting much of a hangover. The course wasn’t a true grind with it playing softer and the guys in this field that were in contention all played well on Sunday. And it’s not like they had to travel very far. I’m treating it like I would any other finish the week before the current event.
Lead RG Analyst
RG Overall Ranking
2018 DraftKings FBBWC Finalist
2013 FanDuel WFBBC Finalist
Brought him up on the Drive for Show, DFS for Dough video on Tuesday night. Everyone was clamoring to pay $9,000 for him at the Houston Open and despite making the cut, nobody wants to play him at $6,900 this week. I think he’s a strong GPP play. The only negative is that bermuda is his worst surface by quite a ways.
Thx bud. I’ll check out Drive For Dough video in AM. Looking forward to RSM, great course and solid field this year
Noto what’s your take on Neiman ?
Lead RG Analyst
RG Overall Ranking
2018 DraftKings FBBWC Finalist
2013 FanDuel WFBBC Finalist
Feels a tad underpriced given his form, but want to take a wait and see approach. Not sure how his game looks after testing positive for COVID. He’s also much better on bentgrass than other surfaces. Doesn’t mean he can’t contend, but there are enough red flags for me to look elsewhere.
Wheres the Munoz shout out bro