2024 RSM Classic: Top 10 Power Rankings at Sea Island GC

Ten months of triumph, heartbreak, and everything in between, but the end is finally here. The PGA Tour and FedEx Cup Fall ends with the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia. It marks one last opportunity for players to solidify their positioning in the 2025 season -- expect drama to be at a high.

Tournament number 47: the climax to yet another eventful PGA Tour season.

As with every season on Tour, it is defined by its moments. For you, maybe it was Bryson DeChambeau's coronation (and serenation) at Pinehurst, Xander Schauffele's breakthrough, or Scottie Scheffler's domination at The Masters. (Heck, maybe it was another one of Scheffler's defining moments -- getting arrested hours before his 10:08 a.m. tee time at the PGA Championship).

The golf itself was thrilling, but there is no doubt that the elephant in the room has yet to be addressed: the LIV/PGA merger. Perhaps 2025 will offer a solution.

The PGA Tour heads to Georgia for the final event of the season. The drama in Georgia for the next couple of months is all about The Dawgs -- the Georgia Bulldogs football team, that is. But nearly 300 miles southeast of Athens is where the drama will unfold for the moment.

Sea Island Golf Club, located on the beautiful St. Simons Island, will host the 2024 RSM Classic.

The FedEx Cup Fall has changed the trajectories of many player's careers -- most recently the 36-year-old Rafael Campos. Campos's wife had her labor induced on Monday so that Campos (147th in the standings heading into the week) could play in Bermuda. He is now in 80th and will retain his Tour card for the 2025 season. A true storybook ending.

The RSM Classic is the final chance for players to secure Top-125 status, which punches their ticket to full-field events and The Players Championship next season. Joel Dahmen, Netflix's Full Swing icon, sits in 124th place, while Wesley Bryan is this week's bubble boy in 125th place. Notable players outside the cutline include Daniel Berger (127th), Matt Wallace (133rd), and Michael Thorbjornsen (138th).

Spots in two early-season signature events are also up for grabs via the AON Next 10. Nico Echavarria, a winner earlier this fall, is clinging onto his spot in 59th place. Kevin Yu (61st), Lucas Glover (62nd), Mark Hubbard (63rd), and others are in hot pursuit.

Ludvig Åberg headlines the field this week, as he is making his first start since undergoing knee surgery two months ago. Åberg put his Swedish stamp on the golf world with his first career win at this event a year ago.

The RSM is typically one of the top fields of the fall swing because St. Simons Island is home to many players on Tour. Harris English, Sepp Straka, and Brian Harman all live full-time in the area.

Sea Island GC has hosted the PGA Tour annually since 2010.

Sea Island GC is home to three separate 18-hole courses, with the Seaside and Plantation courses hosting the RSM Classic. Players will alternate between the two on Thursday and Friday, with the Seaside 18 being the host for the weekend.

The venue marks the third straight week on the coast, which means players will once again be tasked with handling the ferocious coastal winds. The Seaside Course, described as an "ocean-side links course," offers a unique challenge to pros. The fairways are runway-large, encompassed by man-made dunes that complement the natural marsh-like terrain. The links aspect is seen through the undulation in the fairways and expansive greens. Designed in 1928 and redesigned in 1998 by golf architecture extraordinaire Tom Fazio, the course will play at 7,005 yards and as a par 70.

The Plantation Course, however, presents a stark contrast with its parkland-style layout. For reference, Augusta National is the most famous parkland venue, while the Ocean Course at Kiawah is the most renowned American ocean-side links course. The fairways are sheltered by oak and pine trees, rendering the swirling winds ineffective. The course will play at 7,060 yards and as a par 72. A true clashing of styles this week on the Georgia coast.

If the conditions hold up, this venue can be handled – Åberg tied for the lowest 72-hole total in PGA Tour history at last year’s event. The criteria this week will be geared towards the Seaside Course, as they will play it three times as opposed to once at the Plantation. Ten out of the 12 par 4s on the Seaside Course will play from 405-455 yards, so players will have the majority of their shots in the 125-175 yard range. Strokes gained with the putter on Bermuda greens is significant as well; players who putt well on this grass tend to replicate production.

For the final time in the 2024 season, let's dive into this week's rankings.

2024 RSM Classic Power Rankings

10) Justin Lower

In last week's article, I mentioned that Lower's year's worth of grinding nearly paid off at the WWT with a runner-up finish. He almost did so again with a T5 in Bermuda, but he was stuck in neutral on the weekend, closing with rounds of 68-72. Nonetheless, Lower (68th in the standings) will need to empty the tank this week, as he will likely need a top-five finish to crack the top 60.

9) Brian Harman

Harman has the luxury of familiarity this week: the St. Simons resident will be sleeping in his own bed. The familiarity has paid off at the RSM in years past, with a T2 in 2022 and a T4 in 2017. An uncertain 2025 looms as Harman will be one of many Americans battling for a Ryder Cup spot, but I fancy the Georgia Bulldog's chances on a shorter course that accentuates his strengths.

8) Si Woo Kim

Keeping up with the Kims was box office at the Presidents Cup, and one-half of that duo tees it up this week on the Georgia coast. Si Woo is as elite of a ball striker as you will find, and that has carried him to 12 top 25s in 2024. His putter is always a cause for concern, but for what it's worth, he lit up the greens in his last start at the Zozo.

7) Andrew Novak

Novak's strong play has carried him from 88th to 70th in the fall swing. His Tour card for the 2025 season is secure, but a runner-up finish in Bermuda has him charging towards a spot in the top 60. He is the ideal course fit for Sea Island as he ranks 28th on Tour in proximity from 125-150 yards. Novak will likely need to replicate last week's performance to finish inside the top 60. What's the only thing better than a second-place finish? A trip to the winner's circle.

6) Harris English

Another resident of the golf haven that has become St. Simons, English tees it up stress-free this week, with his spot in the AON Next 10 secure. The veteran has breezed through the fall with three finishes inside the top 15, but the fall swing was never expected to be much of a challenge for a guy who has competed in major championships. A win would put a little English on what has been an uninspiring past three seasons on Tour.

5) Austin Eckroat

A win at the Cognizant Classic was a breakthrough but his domination at the WWT Championship earlier this fall was "validation" that he is capable of being a multiple-time winner. He is just beginning to realize the extent of his powers -- sort of like Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. A win in back-to-back starts is a tall ask, but maybe he can strike again with a win at Sea Island. A T8 in his first RSM start a year ago should offer validation. As if he needed any more.

4) Ben Griffin

All fall, I've mentioned that it is rinse and repeat for Griffin on these shorter courses, and an eighth-place finish in Bermuda was like clockwork. The reasoning is simple -- on shorter courses, players will have a wedge in their hand more often. Griffin ranks 35th on Tour in strokes gained on approach shots and that number rises to 31st from the 125-150 yard range. Griffin (56th in the standings) is as sure of a bet as anyone to coast to another high finish, but even a middling result will all but ensure his spot in the AON Next 10.

3) Ludvig Åberg

Every winner of the RSM has played at least one event on the fall swing. A win this week would make Aberg an anomaly. But everything about the Swede’s young career is an anomaly. You don’t become the first player ever to play in a Ryder Cup before a major championship by coincidence. Three top-five finishes after his knee injury popped up on the map at Wells Fargo is, to put it mildly, extraordinary. Bet on the defending champ’s talent having him in contention this week.

2) Mackenzie Hughes

Two top tens on the fall circuit have him at number 51 in the rankings -- the highest possible position. He is gearing up for the 2025 season, but for now, one final stop in Georgia. The Canadian is not one of the many golfers who call St. Simons home, but he may as well be. Hughes has two runner-up finishes since his win in 2016. As pure of a putting stroke as you will find, Hughes ranks third on tour in strokes gained on the greens. A course-record-tying 60 in last year's event shows he can heat up with the putter in an instant.

1) Davis Thompson

A win at the John Deere Classic earlier this year was a culmination of determination -- and he is just the latest of the Georgia Bulldog contingent to breakthrough on Tour. He carries himself in the same way his Bulldog counterparts do: ferocious, tenacious, and gritty. Expect Thompson to be a threat in 2025, but for now, you can expect him to shine at Sea Island, where he will be making his second start on the fall circuit (T5 at the Shriners).