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Matthew NeSmith to continue good form at Seaside?
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A first career title for Sahith Theegala?
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Golfers to play two courses this weekend
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The FedEx Cup year comes to a close this weekend with the final tournament of 2022 taking place in southern Georgia.
The RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort wraps up another busy FedEx Cup calendar, this being the 47th event to be staged since the start of January.
Following the conclusion of the RSM Classic on Sunday, there will be a seven-week gap before the next points-scoring event (Sentry Tournament of Champions) tees-up in Hawaii.
This tournament will once again be staged over two courses at Sea Island - Seaside and Plantation.
Both layouts were built on low-lying land close to the Atlantic coast, with Seaside remaining as host venue.
During the opening two days, golfers' will play one round at each course, before Seaside takes over for the final 36 holes.
Seaside made its PGA Tour debut in 2010, with Plantation being added to the itinerary seven years ago. This will be the 13th straight year that Seaside has hosted a tournament on the PGA Tour.
Course Characteristics
Water is a huge threat on both layouts, with the surrounding marshland one of the most prominent features of Sea Island Resort.
The Plantation Course is more parkland than Seaside, with both venues located close to the southern tip of St Simons Island.
Seaside has a definite links feel, although its fairways are considerably more manicured than a typical British coastal venue.
Coastal breezes are particularly prevalent on Seaside where the greens are slightly larger than the Tour average, as well as quick.
Fairways are undulating and those who wish to perform well over Seaside will need to possess precision iron play, strong scrambling skills, as well as have good course management abilities.
Seaside started life as a nine-hole course and has been in existence since 1929, with architect Tom Fazio renovating the venue 23 years ago when it joined forces with the nine holes of nearby Marshside.
The slightly older Plantation layout was also originally nine holes and opened in the late 1920s, before Rees Jones was commissioned to make it 18 in 1998.
There is plenty of danger lurking just off the fairways on both Seaside and Plantation, with the latter offering up many sizeable creeks and lakes.
Just over three years ago, Davis Love was called in to give Plantation a complete overhaul, which included re-positioning some greens and even making a number of changes to its routing. The greens at Plantation are smaller than those on Seaside.
The average winning 72-hole total during the last five years is 262, which perfectly illustrates how there will be plenty of birdie opportunities for the golfers to enjoy, before putting away their clubs for Christmas.
The city of Savannah is 60 miles to the north, while the Florida state border is around 55 miles to the south.
This will be the seventh time that Sea Island Resort has hosted the final FedEx Cup event of the calendar year.
Latest betting for this week's RSM Classic
Stroke Averages
Lowest 12 At Sea Island Resort (2016-21)
Average .... (Rounds)
67.14: Webb Simpson (22)
67.75: Matthew NeSmith (12)
67.77: Zach Johnson (22)
68.00: Brendon Todd (14)
68.00: Camilo Villegas (12)
68.06: Kevin Kisner (18)
68.11: Henrik Norlander (18)
68.17: John Huh (18)
68.17: Luke List (18)
68.25: Andrew Landry (16)
68.25: William McGirt (12)
68.28: Chris Kirk (18)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table
Four To Watch
Brian Harman: The experienced world No 26 is the second highest-ranked golfer in the field behind Tony Finau. Was runner-up last time out in Mexico.
Tom Hoge: Tied-fourth here last year and from five starts this new PGA Tour season has posted four top-15 finishes.
Matthew NeSmith: Twice a top-20 finisher at Sea Island, the American has started the 2022/23 FedEx Cup campaign with three top-10s from five outings.
Sahith Theegala: This low-key final FedEx event of 2022 is the perfect setting for someone seeking a first career title. The 24-year-old, who has fired a brace of podium finishes, amid six PGA Tour top-10s this year, would perfectly fit that bill.
Twitter: Golf Stats Alive
MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves