Golf Tips: Australian PGA Championship and RSM Classic

• Rising star Eckroat backed to enjoy Georgia trip at 41/142.00

• Cole ticks more than one box at 35/136.00

• Will you take a chance on Yuan at 799/1800.00?

• Cam Smith backed for repeat win Down Under

• It's Safer Gambling Week - explore all the tools available to Betfair customers here

RSM Classic Tips and Predictions

The Punter: Improving Eckroat worth following at 41/1

Steve Rawlings: "Ludvig Aberg's 29-under-par 253 total last year beat the previous tournament record by seven strokes and it also tied the lowest 72-hole total in PGA Tour history, matching the winning score of Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii.

"His 18-under-par weekend score set the record for the lowest score over a PGA Tour tournament's final two rounds and his final 54 holes also set a PGA Tour record for lowest score over three consecutive rounds.

"It was an incredibly impressive way to win your first PGA Tour title, but the conditions were very kind after the rain on Thursday.

"Aberg's stats were extremely impressive but with the course softened and the wind down, the Seaside Course was rendered completely defenceless and it's a renewal that we should probably view as a bit of an anomaly.

"Looking further back, the 2018 winner, Charles Howell, ranked 12^th for Driving Distance and Talor Gooch ranked 20^th three years ago but length off the tee is irrelevant. The 2020 playoff protagonists, Robert Streb and Kevin Kisner, who had both won the title previously, ranked 51^st and 52^nd for DD, and the 2022 winner, Adam Svensson, ranked 52nd...

"Austin Eckroat, is very much a rising a star on the PGA Tour. He qualified for the Tour when finishing second at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship just two years ago and, after a predictably slow start, he first caught the eye when finishing fifth at the Corales Puntacana Championship and second at the Byron Nelson last year.

"He went off the boil after finishing a brilliant 10^th in the US Open in June last year and he had current form figures reading MC-MC-MC-MC-68-23 when finishing eighth on debut here 12 months ago. It's no surprise to see this place suited him given that he came out and won his first PGA Tour title at the Cognizant Classic in March."

Each-way Tips: Back in-form Cole at 35/1

Dave Tindall: "Eric Cole has a good finish in one of his latest three starts so that's a box ticked. In fact, he has two: 16th in the Sanderson Farms Championship and sixth last time out at the ZOZO Championship. Cole grabbed the 50th and final spot in the FedEx Cup standings prior to the Fall Series so he's already in the big events next season. That gives him focus now to try and get his first PGA Tour win and this appears an ideal place to have another good shot at it.

"The 36-year-old so nearly grabbed the 'W' at the 2023 Honda Classic - he lost a playoff to Chris Kirk - and that's relevant here as PGA National has correlated well with this event. Both, of course, are played on Bermuda surfaces and Florida-based Cole also shone in this event last year. Building on a 39th on debut, he fired rounds of 64-66-61-67 to take third place.

"With putting important, it's certainly worth mentioning that Cole ranked 1st for Putting Average here 12 months ago having also performed well on them the year before. Cole continues to show up well when the greens are Bermuda and his last three events on such a surface show seventh at the Wyndham, 18th at St Jude and 16th at the Sanderson Farms."

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "There is plenty of danger lurking just off the fairways on both courses, with Plantation offering up many sizeable creeks and lakes. That said, fairway widths on both courses are extremely generous compared to most PGA Tour venues. Just over five years ago, Davis Love gave Plantation a complete overhaul, which included the re-positioning of some greens. There were even a number of changes made to its routing;

"This is a low-scoring tournament, with plenty of birdie opportunities up for grabs. Eight of the last nine winners posted 72-hole totals of 263 or lower. And eight of the last 11 champions either held the outright lead at the half-way stage, or were sharing it...

"Few members of this week's field have strong course histories, but among this short list is Mackenzie Hughes 33/1. The Canadian is a former champion (2016) here, along with his brace of runner-up finishes (2021 & 2023)."

Australian PGA Championship Tips and Predictions

The Punter: Cam Smith worth chancing at a generous 9/1

Steve Rawlings: "The home contingent has dominated this event and America's Harold Varner, who won at Royal Pines in 2016, is the only winner since England's David Howell in 1998 that didn't come from Down Under. And multiple winners are very common.

"Since it was first staged back in 1929, lots of players have won the event at least twice and Aussie legends, Bill Dunk and Kell Nagle, won the event 11 times between 1949 and 1976. Nagle holds the record with six titles.

"Greg Norman, Wayne Grady and Scotland's Andrew Coltart, who now works for Sky Sports, all won the event a couple of times before the millennium, and we've seen as many as six men win the event multiple times this century.

"Greg Chalmers and Adam Scott have won the Australian PGA Championship twice, Peter Lonard, Peter Senior and Cam Smith have all took the title three times and Robert Allenby won the event for a fourth time in 2009...

"My preference is for Smith, who really should be looking for back-to-back victories Down Under, having finished only second in the New South Wales Open on Sunday.

"The 2022 Open champ led that event by two through 54 holes before a sorry 74 on Sunday saw him beaten by three by Lucas Herbert, who had himself led by two at halfway before a disappointing 72 in round three.

"Smith hasn't had a great year, with the low point being his opening round of 80 in the Open Championship in July but he finished third in the Queensland PGA Championship prior to last week's second placed finish so he's trending in the right direction, and he's nicely acclimatised back home.

"As highlighted above, multiple winners of this event are very common, and a player as classy as Smith shouldn't be as big as 9/1 to emulate Robert Allenby and win the title for a fourth time."

Each-Way Tips: 40/1 Micheluzzi can crown a fine year at the Royal

Matt Cooper: "We'll take the 28-year-old Victorian David Micheluzzi who is good enough to have won four times on his home tour - three of those in 2023 - and he did a neat job in his rookie campaign on the DP World Tour.

"His standout performance was a runner-up finish in the BMW International Open at Eichenried but seventh at Laguna National and tenth at Adriatic were good efforts as were five top 40 finishes in a row to complete the season.

"He's also got a very nice record in this event and on this course. He was ninth in early 2022, sixth later that year and T18th last year (when conceivably a little distracted/fatigued having won the previous week).

"We don't have many stats to go on from this event but he did record decent long game stats last year which tends to be his weakness. If he can marry a repeat of that with his typical (and recent) hot form with the putter he can contend again."

First-Round Leader Tips: Picks from 30/1 to 75/1

Dave Tindall: "Jason Scrivener was runner-up in this event in 2022 and returns to it in good spirits.

Here he is telling his recent news on on Instagram:

"'Today I wrapped up my 10th year on the @dpworldtour with a T14 finish @genesis_championship. It has been a challenging year, but I'm proud to have kept my card and secured my playing rights for the 2025 season.

"'This year has taught me resilience and determination, and I can't wait to bring that energy into next year.

"'Now, it's time for a much-needed break at home, enjoying some quality time with my family and friends. I'm excited to recharge and get ready for the 2025 season, starting at the Australian PGA in November."

"That 14th place last month followed a sixth in the previous week's Western Australian Open where he opened with a 63 to sit second after 18 holes.

"Four starts earlier he set out with a 64 to finish day one of the Omega European Masters in third. After eight missed cuts from June to August, Scrivener has found his game again with a fourth, a sixth, a 14th, a 25th and a 27th in five of his last eight starts.

"Finally, when runner-up here in 2022 his 65 gave him a piece of the first-round lead. Scrivener looks good value at 70/1 to repeat the feat this week."

Find Me a 100 Winner: Yuan on list of longshots at 799/1

Steve Rawlings: "China's Carl Yuan is in a precarious position at 134 in the Standings but there are reasons to think he can save himself in the last event of the Fall Series.

"Yuan has missed five of his last seen cuts, but he finished 11^th in the Black Desert Championship last month and he shot 64 in round three last week before finishing 29^th in Bermuda.

"His event form figures, reading MC-39-68, can't be described as brilliant but his best result of the year to date was his fourth placed finish in the Sony Open back in January and that's another tournament that correlates very nicely with this one. He's clearly a highly speculative punt but his price reflects that."

Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.0 and 12 Us @ 2.0

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "There is an abundance of strategically-positioned bunkers which have been described as being 'a significant part of its defence'. Although this parkland course has plenty of sand, water should only be a concern on five holes.

"The key to shooting low at Royal Queensland is good course management. By locating the ideal position on the fairway, golfers will have the best angle to approach the green and attack the pin...

"Defending champion Min Woo Lee 8/1 returns to Royal Queensland where all three of his previous visits have yielded top-five finishes. And the 26-year-old Aussie will more than likely contend once again."

Get the latest betting news from both of this week's events from The Punter's In-Play Live Blog