It’s time to continue our PGA outright bets series, this time with a focus on Eric Cole, DraftKings and so much more. Nonetheless, onto our RSM Classic outright bets.
We are back on the mainland this week for the PGA tour, and the venue is a familiar sight. The RSM Classic is next up, and Sea Island Golf Club will be a familiar sight for plenty of golfers in the field. The tournament is actually played over two different courses with the Plantation Course serving one round for each player.
Both courses should yield plenty of scoring opportunities, so we are going to want golfers who are able to go low. For the outright market its another swing season field littered with guys looking for break thru wins, and prices that have us interested. Here are a few names to consider when building out your betting card this week.
RSM Classic Outright Bets: Eric Cole + DraftKings Make Our Hearts Swell
Eric Cole 28-1 DraftKings
It feels like the entire golf community is waiting on Eric Cole to cash the outright ticket and given his form it feels inevitable that eventually happens. Cole has proven he wasn’t a one and done contender after a runner up finish at the Honda in 2023. Since then, he has found himself in contention numerous times including last time out at the Zozo where he once again finished second.
Skillset wise we know Eric Cole can be deadly with the irons and that’s the catalyst for his success. These courses aren’t going to put pressure on the driver, and they should fit his ability to ball strike his way into contention. Like all outright plays we need the putter to heat up, but Cole absolutely has the skillset to contend in a field like this.
Sitting 28-1 is enough for me to join in on the community sweat and hope this is the week for Eric Cole to get it done.
Stephan Jaeger 45-1 DraftKings
Another guy who has found his footing on tour, but still hasn’t connected the dots with a win. Jaeger has been straight automatic at making cuts over almost the entire last year, but for outright markets we need more than that. Fortunately, his game, form, and this field all give us reasons to be hopeful this could be the week. The tee to green stats have been consistently fantastic and it really comes down to how many putts he can roll in to convert the birdie chances he gets.
Taking a quick look at his last time out at WWT we see an uneventful 45th place finish. However, when we dig in we find Jaeger was -13 heading into the weekend and firmly in contention. A third round 75 took away all hope and masked what was 36 holes of tournament winning golf. It was the mistakes that doomed him there with 3 double bogeys killing all momentum.
Coming to another tournament where the mindset has to be go low and convert birdies I think Jaeger has to be considered at a reasonable 45-1 number.
Matti Schmid 90-1 FanDuel
Lets roll the dice a little with a guy still finding his footing in America. The German hasn’t been a PGA tour regular in years past, but we saw more and more of him in 2023. The talent is there, mostly thru outrageous abilities off the tee and he is showing a more well rounded game during this swing season.
I expect will see Schmid’s name around this week as his third place finish in Bermuda caught a lot of peoples attention, including mine. He only made 3 bogeys the entire week and showed the ability to leverage his OTT game at a course that wasn’t purely bombers paradise. That will serve him well here, but he also gets one round at a short Par 72 which is a recipe for success.
Add in that he made the cut in his two previous swing season starts, and finished 2nd in Europe during the same stretch, its clear the game is primed for a quality result. I expect the days of 90-1 on Schmid are coming to an end in fields like this and I don’t mind buying in right now.
