DFS Dish: Keep Mackenzie Hughes, Denny McCarthy (and his putter) on rosters for The RSM Classic

Last call for the FedExCup Fall!

Positioning for the Aon Next 10 and cards for the top 125 players will be determined at the Seaside (host) and Plantation courses at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Here’s a look at the contenders you need to make decisions around when crafting a DFS lineup for the final official event of the 2024 season:

Top of the board

Ludvig Åberg ($11,200): The ninth first-time winner in 14 events, the Swede mowed down the field and rewrote the record book on debut in 2023. Attempting to become the first player to win the event in back-to-back seasons, the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings (No. 5) is teeing it up for the first time since knee surgery in September. Each player gets one round on each of the resort courses before the 36-hole cut, which should provide a soft landing in his return to competition. Based on his 29-under-par winning total – a record last year – and immense talent, he should be a popular selection at the top of the board.

Davis Thompson ($10,400): After finishing 34th in the FedExCup, the St. Simons resident has a singular focus for this week: Win. Easier said than done with friends and family lining the ropes, but the winner at the John Deere Classic on 28-under earlier this season proved he can win a shootout. Playing his 10th straight weekend has the 25-year-old's engine revved. He posted 18-under (T5) at the Shriners Children’s Open shootout in Las Vegas in his only other start of the FedExCup Fall. Making his sixth start, his best finish was T23 at the 2019 edition as a teenager.

Overvalued or undervalued?

Mackenzie Hughes ($8,800): A winner here from 2016’s five-man playoff, the Canadian has cashed solo second in two of his last three visits. His 2023 total of 25-under – including a course-record-tying score of 60 in Round 3 – would have won every other edition of The RSM Classic, but it was four shots behind Åberg. Making birdies for fun with a white-hot putter, I hope his final round of 77 in Bermuda last week scares off investors. The wind won’t be as intense this week, but it will not be as warm either.

J.T. Poston ($9,400): Already a winner in the FedExCup Fall, the three-time winner on TOUR has never cracked the top 10 in eight starts and never posted a round lower than 66 in his backyard.

Makers or breakers

Denny McCarthy ($10,000): The third choice on the board comes with top-10 paydays in three of his last five starts at Sea Island, including T5, his best last year. I would take him in a putting contest against anybody, especially on Bermudagrass. Making his eighth consecutive appearance, he has not teed it up since the BMW Championship, the same schedule he played last year that produced his best result.

Ben Griffin ($9,300): The RSM Classic has produced nine first-time winners in 14 tournaments, which bodes well for Griffin. The bad news, at least for this Sea Island resident, is no locals have won ANY of the previous editions. Closing with 61 last year, Griffin cashed T8, nine shots behind Åberg.

J.J. Spaun ($8,400): A late-season rally continued with an additional top 10 in six FedExCup Fall events. The 2017 runner-up has played the weekend in seven of eight trips and cashed T16 or better here over the previous three years. I hope he gets lost in the clutter.

Greyson Sigg ($7,300): Cashed T23 or better in five FedExCup Fall events, including T9 last week in Bermuda and T4 in Napa Valley. The ball-striking numbers far outweigh the putting stats. I don’t need a great putter. I need a couple of great rounds! Over the last two years, he's cashed T8 and T15.

Garrick Higgo ($6,800): Ok, I’ll bite. A former winner at a wide-open Congaree, the lefty rolls into this week after T17 in Bermuda after T6 in Mexico. The South African needs another top finish to force his way into the top 125.

Brandon Wu ($6,700): His best results on TOUR are on windswept coastal layouts, including a wide-open Puerto Vallarta and the Puerto Rico Open. Cashing T30 and T23 over the last two weeks, I'll ride the heat and avoid the crowds.

Tyler Duncan ($6,600): The site of his only victory on TOUR in 2019, the Indiana man hit the podium again last season, sharing third on 22-under. Last week, two late double bogeys knocked him to T29, his second top-30 in four weeks.

The lineup

Here’s a look at how I would devise a six-team roster this week while staying below the $50,000 salary cap offered for DraftKings contests.

• Denny McCarthy ($10,000)
• Ben Griffin ($9,300)
• Mackenzie Hughes ($8,800)
• J.J. Spaun ($8,400)
• Garrick Higgo ($6,800)
• Brandon Wu ($6,700)

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