RSM Classic DFS picks 2025: My sleeper of the week has a ton of momentum
For the final full field event of the 2025 season, the PGA Tour heads to Sea Island for the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga. The event debuted in 2010, and since 2015, it has been played at both the Seaside and Plantation courses, featuring a full field of 144 players. Both the Seaside and Plantation courses were originally designed by iconic Golden Age architects in Harry Colt and Walter Travis. Both feature incredibly generous fairways and large, undulating greens. As is often the case at many Fall Swing events, middle iron approach play and putting will be the name of the game.
The RSM Classic will feature one of the better fields of the Fall Swing, and that is mostly due to the fact that it is a home game for many PGA Tour pros. Keith Mitchell, Matt Kuchar, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Andrew Novak, Harris English, Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire, J.T. Poston and Greyson Sigg all make their home at Sea Island, but that has not always translated to immediate success at this event. Let’s dive into the DraftKings slate and discuss my favorite plays and fades.
$9,000-plus range
Play: Michael Thorbjornsen, $10,200:
Alex Slitz
Michael Thorbjornsen has been circling around the leaderboard all fall with some exceptional ball-striking numbers. The former Stanford standout also has an eighth-place finish in his debut performance at the RSM Classic last year.
Fade: Alex Smalley, $9,000:
This is a significant price bump from what we are used to with Alex Smalley, and I’m not sure it’s deserved. Smalley has two top-five finishes sandwiched between four missed cuts, and while there have been some high-end recent finishes, the former Duke grad remains way too inconsistent of a player to warrant this price tag.
$8,000 range
Play: Nico Echavarria, $8,100:
Orlando Ramirez
Nico Echavarria checks all of the course fit boxes I am looking for this week, and unsurprisingly, he finished second at this event last year. The two-time PGA Tour winner always seems to play some of his best golf during the fall, and he has already recorded two recent top-15s at the Bay Current Classic and World Wide Technology Championship.
$7,000 range
Play: Mac Meissner, $7,500:
Justin Edmonds
Mac Meissner has been flashing recently, particularly on approach. Meissner ranks top 12 in this field in recent approach play, and he gained 3.4 strokes on approach in his last start at the Black Desert Championship. Both Sea Island courses have historically de-valued driving in exchange for the second shot, which should play right into Meissner’s skill-set.
Fade: Matt Wallace, $7,700:
Matt Wallace has yet to record a top-20 finish in four appearances at the RSM Classic, and he is coming off a disappointing MC at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Wallace’s greatest strength, around-the-green play, should seldom come into play this week.
Flier: Patrick Fishburn, $7,100:
Orlando Ramirez
Patrick Fishburn has a surprisingly strong resume on shorter, coastal courses. Outside of an eighth-place finish at this event last year, Fishburn also has a top-10 finish at the Sony Open and ranks fifth in this field on courses under 7,200 yards. He looked rock solid last week at the Butterfield Bermuda, ranking eighth in greens in regulation en route to a 34th-place finish.
$6,000 range
Play: Doc Redman, $6,500:
Doc Redman is one of my sleeper plays on the slate this week after back-to-back top-20 finishes this fall. Redman gained over a stroke in both ball-striking categories at the Black Desert Championship, and he also finished ninth at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports