⛳️ RSM Classic Bets

Plus: Rory Resigns, Netflix Cup, and more golf news.

Author

The Shanks Gator
November 15, 2023

Good afternoon! Welcome to Shanks. Rory McIlroy has resigned from the PGAT Policy Board. He cited “personal commitments”, but no one believes it. He still had a year left on his term as Player Director, earlier in the day Tuesday he said he hoped the PIF deal would still get done (weird coming from him), and then he resigns. Also, he’s making a permanent move from Florida to London. Up and down goes the professional golf rollercoaster.

Golf Trivia: Jim Furyk has won one major. Which major was it?

Here's what we've got for ya today:

  • Doin Lines: RSM Classic

  • Netflix Cup

  • Shots Heard Round The World

  • 5,000 Rounds of Friendship

  • Thing We’d Buy If We Weren’t Broke

Doin Lines: RSM Classic

🚩 Location: Sea Island (Seaside and Plantation courses)

💰 Purse: $8.4M - $1.5M to 1st.

👑 Previous Winner: Adam Svensson

👀 Watch On: Golf Channel, ESPN+

The Field at a Glance & How To Watch

The end of the PGAT season has arrived on the heels of back to back emotional wins for Erik Van Rooyen and Camilo Villegas. We expect the “storyline” trend to continue this week as there’s a lot on the line.

At the conclusion of The RSM Classic, the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings will be exempt into all full-field events and the Players Championship in 2024.

Just inside the line at Nos. 121 to 125, are Doug Ghim, Nico Echavarria, Troy Merritt, Andrew Novak and Carl Yuan.

Just outside the line at Nos. 126 to 130, are Henrik Norlander, Maverick McNealy, Ryan Moore, C.T. Pan and Patton Kizzire. And all 10 of those players are in the field this week.

Nos. 51-60 in the standings at the conclusion of the RSM Classic will qualify for two Signature Events in 2024 via The Next 10 (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational).

Thursday, November 9: 12-3PM ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, November 10: 12-3PM ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, November 11: 1-4PM ET (Golf Channel)
Sunday, November 12: 1-4PM ET (Golf Channel)

The Course

The Sea Island Golf Club is home to three golf courses (Resort, Seaside, and Plantation) and about a dozen professional golfers; Brian Harman, JT Poston, Matt Kuchar, Keith Mitchell, and Zach Johnson to name a few.

The RSM is played on both the Seaside and Plantation courses, with the Plantation course hosting only ¼ of the rounds.

This is another tournament played on short courses (~7,000 yards) and the winning score has been right around 20-under in the last few iterations of the RSM Classic.

Previous Winners 

2019 – Tyler Duncan

2020 – Robert Streb

2021 – Talor Gooch

2022 - Adam Svensson

Shanks Picks

Outright Winner: Corey Conners +2500

  • If you look around the golf ecosystem, you may notice that everyone and their mothers are picking JT Poston +3000. We aren’t big consensus people around here and we’re going to go with Corey Conners, who’s played some excellent golf this season.

Top Five: Si Woo Kim +750

Top Ten: Billy Horschel +450

  • It’s well known that Billy had a tough start to the season, but his game has been trending in the right direction. We like the number on him here.

Top Twenty: JT Poston +140

  • Okay, we aren’t total contrarians and the guy does live here after all.

Longshot: Ben Griffin +6000

  • Ben was our outright pick last week, he got off to a slow start and finished T-37. This week, at these odds? We like him a lot.

Tourney Special: Corey Conners and JT Poston to both finish inside the Top Twenty +430.

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Netflix Cup Recap

Yesterday, at approximately 3pm ET, coverage for The Netflix Cup in Las Vegas began and the world was treated to an unlikely-to-be-successful publicity event featuring PGA pros playing golf with Formula 1 drivers.

Weird crossover event yeah? Like, why were the drivers there? To promote the first ever Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on the Las Vegas strip, with the race beginning is coming Saturday night!

Let’s recap some of the highlights from The Netflix Cup:

  • Sportscaster Kay Adams, PGA golfer and Full Swing star Joel Dahmen, comedian Bert Kreischer, and legendary running back Marshawn Lynch, kept things light and funny as the events broadcasters

  • Some of the holes featured unique playstyles a la Netflix/F1, like hitting your tee shot when the Squid Games doll wasn’t looking, or speed golf and racing to finish first. It was freestyled a bit, but fun

  • The MSG Sphere. This absolute monolith remains THE spectacle in a city full of spectacles

While fans were completely split on whether or not they liked it, this style of event might have legs in the future. Scuderia Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, who won the whole thing with Justin Thomas, expressed how happy he was with the event overall. Hopefully Sainz he can hold onto a steering wheel better than the actual Netflix Cup. 

Shots Heard Round The World

5,000 Rounds Of Friendship

It’s always nice to read stories like this, which remind us what golf is really about. It’s easy to forget sometimes when getting caught up in the drama of professional golf, but at the end of the day, golf is about getting outside with the boys and having fun.

Golf Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke

If you’re lucky enough to have enjoyed Whataburger, then this gear is for you. Whataburger x Golf, the crossover you didn’t know you needed, but are now craving on the course.

Check out Whataburger’s shop for these golf cart goods! 

Trivia Answer: The US Open (2003)

That’s all folks! See you Saturday Morning.