If you're fortunate enough to ever find yourself playing a round of golf on Sea Island, a luxury resort in Georgia, do be sure to make the most of the facilities before you tee off. Golfers the world over know that sometimes, usually around about the 13th hole and no halfway house in sight, you simply have to go. But if you do that here, you might just be defacing a by the likes of George Bush, Tony Blair, or Margaret Thatcher. Perhaps make sport of it, and read the plaque before making your choice.
Relaxation is of course key to getting that task done quickly and efficiently, but it's been the scourge of those punting the PGA Tour event which has been held here for a decade now. The RSM Classic has produced skinner upon skinner, the end-of-term atmosphere cultivated by Davis Love and his barbecue tongs contributing to the randomness that saw Tyler Duncan beat Webb Simpson and, last year, Robert Streb take down Kevin Kisner.
What Tommy Gainey does to relax is his business, but there's another one who contributes to a roguish roll-of-honour. Gainey shot 60 here in the final round back in 2012, rendering the private duel between David Toms and Jim Furyk utterly pointless. Subsequently we've seen Charles Howell win for the first time in 11 years against a player who made the cut on the number, Billy Horschel miss a tiny putt as Mackenzie Hughes took a five-man play-off, and Briny Baird's excruciating implosion just as a first PGA Tour win had seemed at last to be coming his way.
It's just a bit of an odd event, made more so by the two-course format introduced in 2015. The first renewal played under such circumstances hinted at something more predictable, as in-form Kisner won by six. Since then, only rookie Austin Cook has managed to break the play-off spell as he also dominated soon after graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour. Like Kisner, he's a fairways-first golfer prone to hot putting streaks, and at least in that we have a formula with which to work.
Noren has had a good 2021, without quite elevating his play to the levels required to make the European Ryder Cup side. There are some who would argue he ought to have been under strong consideration, though, as while he never really looked like winning, the Swede played to a consistently high standard, perhaps paying the price for doing so out of the spotlight.
Right now he's on a nice run of cuts made dating back to the Open, and it's notable how often he's contended at some stage: four of his subsequent eight starts, to be precise, flirting with the lead in the Olympics, The Northern Trust, the Dunhill Links, and two starts back at the ZOZO Championship.
Henley ranked sixth in strokes-gained approach last season and is first so far this, putting him up there with the mighty Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas. That he's not managed to win despite this reflects an equal downturn in his putting, flipping his profile on its head. Back in 2013, Henley ranked eighth for the season — these days he struggles to reach the top 100.
That said, there have been some indications that his former strength could at some stage return, particularly on Bermuda greens. At the Honda Classic back in March he led the field, which helped secure his best result of the year as he finished third to runaway winner Matt Jones. At the Wyndham, three months ago, he was a solid 27th and again hit the frame. Last week, 12th in putting helped him to seventh overall. When he putts well he places, the exception being the US Open which he led before nerves got the better of him.
Hoge has done it himself, finishing ninth in 2015 when third best at the Seaside Course only to fail to take advantage of one round at Plantation. He shot a first-round 64 back then and while less effective since, there has been encouragement throughout and his 68.41 scoring average stacks up nicely.
With some of his best golf coming at the Sony Open and down in Mexico, Hoge is best on short courses like these two and since finishing a career-best fourth in The Northern Trust back in August, he's continued to play well. All told he's made six of seven cuts this season, impressing in particular with his approaches to rank fourth, not far behind Henley.
Last week, on a massive course which so clearly favoured big-hitters like Jason Kokrak, Hoge was the third-best iron player in the field. He finished mid-pack because he doesn't hit it miles and because his putter let him down, and I suspect it'll dictate how well he does here, because his iron play has been so reliable and so good for quite a while now.
He's generally putted well here in the past and Bermuda has been his best surface historically, so this capable maiden looks to have enough in his favour to roll the dice at 100/1 and bigger.
HANK LEBIODA can hopefully be relied upon to make his share and the left-hander could be nicely set up for a personal best at Sea Island.
Lebioda has upped his game this year, top-five finishes in the Travelers and Rocket Mortgage Classic the best two performances of his career, and the likes of 13th in the Valspar and last week's 15th place in Houston not too far behind.
I put him up for the recent Bermuda Championship and argued that a run of missed cuts was misleading, his game still in good shape. Unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the draw there but having missed another cut on the number in Mexico, where he carded a second-round 66, things fell into place at Memorial Park.
Since then, Norlander has placed again in the 2019 edition, his form prior to it reading MC-MC-MC-MC-45-28-41. Two years on and he's been fourth and 18th from five starts so far this season, making the cut in all four events which had one and closing with a round of 64 at the ZOZO Championship.
Last week's course was too long for a fairways-and-greens type who is capable of outstanding iron play when he's on, a fact demonstrated by his field-leading performance in the Sanderson Farms last month. Here at Sea Island he's made the cut on all four starts since narrowly missing on debut, and after not getting into the field a year ago he'll be itching to return.
Norlander went to college in Georgia and still resides there so this is something of a home game, and as with Henley while his putter isn't always reliable, it's best on Bermuda. He can be a little hard to predict but shorter courses are undeniably the place to start, and he should be looking forward to this suitable challenge.
Less sensibly, Jim Herman came into consideration having often caught the eye here. Herman is a three-time PGA Tour winner under largely similar conditions, and he's been playing reasonably for a while now. Perhaps he's one to watch in-play given his strike-rate, but seven and eight places make him hard to leave out.
Veteran Vaughn Taylor has a good record at Sea Island and was undone by the draw when selected in Bermuda so he too is worth a second glance, while Lee Hodges and Greyson Sigg are capable youngsters with local ties, but I'll side with the even greater potential of DAVIS THOMPSON.
Considered by some to be one of the brightest young talents in the US, Thompson turned professional this summer and has made six cuts in eight starts, failing only when putting terribly in the Travelers Championship and then in the final event of the season at the Wyndham.
It's true that the Texan relied on a brilliant 61 at the Plantation Course when contending here last year, but he held firm at the Seaside Course on Saturday and was right in the mix heading into the final round.
Though fading to 15th, it was by some way Burgoon's standout performance of 2020, and that's key: he's playing better now. Granted, two missed cuts in four confirm he's hardly reliable, but 16th in the Fortinet Championship was a good start to the new season, and he again struck his irons well when 35th in Houston last week.
It's noticeable how far Burgoon's approach play has come over the last few months and doubtless that helps explain why he was able to finish second in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship during Korn Ferry Tour Finals, ensuring he earned back his card. From that collection of players, Lucas Herbert has already won, Patrick Rodgers has certainly stepped up, and so have Sahith Theegala and J.J. Spaun.
This is the time of year that new graduates and those who took their second chance need to capitalise, and Burgoon has in the past when second in the low-scoring CIMB Classic. If his approaches continue to fire, this sweet-swinging underachiever can work is way into the mix once more.
Posted at 0945 GMT on 16/11/21
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