2023 RSM Classic: Predictions, expert picks, odds, field rankings, golf best bets as FedEx Cup Fall concludes

The final event of the inaugural FedEx Cup Fall takes place this week at the 2023 RSM Classic. Welcoming players to Sea Island for the 13th straight season, the RSM Classic features heightened stakes as playing privileges on the PGA Tour are up for grabs over the course of the next 72 holes.

Eyes will be drawn to the top of the FedEx Cup Fall standings as Beau Hossler sits in pole position at No. 51. Headlining the group currently inside The Next 10 (Nos. 51-60), Hossler’s strong fall has earned him a place in the field at the first two signature events of 2024 — the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.

While Hossler’s place is secure, others such as J.J. Spaun and Sam Ryder are in need of a quality outing to maintain their rank. Mark Hubbard, Stephan Jaeger, Thomas Detry and Alex Noren are on the outside looking in with plans of busting the door open. The good news for all these players is their full-time playing status for the 2024 season is secured by finishing inside the top 125 of the FedEx Cup.

Not all are as lucky. A number of young players like Matti Schmid (No. 120), Doug Ghim (No. 121) and Cameron Champ (No. 135) are still in flux. Veterans such as Patton Kizzire (No. 130), Ryan Palmer (No. 131) and Adam Long (No. 138) will need to muster together a quality four days or else likely finish the year with only conditional status.

All these players will have to contend with the event headliners, including some of Sea Island’s own. Russell Henley, Brian Harman, J.T. Poston and Brendon Todd will lead the Georgia contingent with Ludvig Åberg, Cameron Young, Corey Conners and Si Woo Kim rounding out the field for the final event of PGA Tour season.

2023 RSM Classic

Dates: Nov. 16-19 | Location: Sea Island Golf Club — St. Simons Island, Georgia
Par: 70 | Yardage: 7,005 | Purse: $8,400,000

2023 RSM Classic field, odds

• Ludvig Åberg (14-1): The young Swede has been rolling the past three months and given himself a real chance to earn an invitation into the 2024 Masters with his play this week. At world No. 53, Åberg needs to climb inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking by year’s end to secure his place in the field at Augusta National in April. A victory would accomplish the same and may ultimately be the 24-year-old’s route given his current run. Collecting seven straight top 15s between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, Åberg looks to be a man possessed and on the cusp of victory No. 1 here in the states.
• Russell Henley (16-1)
• Cameron Young (18-1): The reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year shot out the gates in Mexico in his lone start of the FedEx Cup Fall. Opening with a 65, Young was lapped by the field over the next two days before closing with a bogey-free 64. This stop-and-go nature has been the story of Young’s sophomore season that has been mildly disappointing compared to his freshman campaign. The 26-year-old has preached patience, and it continues to be tested.
• Brian Harman (20-1)
• Corey Conners (25-1)
• Si Woo Kim (30-1)
• Eric Cole (30-1): The likely frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honors hopes to end his first stroll around the PGA Tour with a bang. Cole has done just about everything but raise a trophy in 2023 and arrives to Sea Island having finished second, third and fourth in three of his four FedEx Cup Fall starts. A victory would put a rightful bow on a tremendous year that turned the former mini tour legend into a top 50 player in the world.
• Alex Noren (30-1): The former top-10 player in the world is firmly on the bubble of The Next 10 with 72 holes to go. His runner-up effort was well-timed, but it must have stung after holding the 18-, 36- and 54-hole leads at the Bermuda Championship. This followed a podium finish in Las Vegas and continued a sneaky solid stretch of golf from Noren dating back to the summer. In three prior trips to Sea Island, Noren has cashed a pair of top 20s.
• J.T. Poston (33-1)
• Denny McCarthy (33-1)
• Justin Suh (33-1): Suh has made his presence known throughout FedEx Cup Fall. After beginning with a pair of solid starts, the former Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year has captured back-to-back top 10s highlighted by his fourth-place finish in Mexico. He finds himself in no man’s land at No. 71 in the FedEx Cup standings — well inside the top 125 but in need of a massive effort to climb inside the top 60. A top-three finish may do the trick, but it would also require some help from those ahead of him.

2023 RSM Classic expert picks

Who will win the RSM Classic, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that’s nailed 10 golf majors and is up more than $9,000 since June 2020.