It’s been three years since Harry Higgs has possessed a 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour. Entering the weekend sharing the top spot on the leaderboard with Andrew Putnam and Cole Hammer at 12 under, the lovable Higgs will be up against it after enduring a 2021-22 season that saw him lose full-time status on the PGA Tour.

Finishing in the 125-150 category in the FedEx Cup standings, Higgs was forced to participate in the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs where he missed three consecutive cuts. He began this season in a similar fashion before firing a 9-under 62 in the second round at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. At Sea Island on Friday, Higgs mounted another valiant second-round effort, and this time signed for a 7-under 63 on the Seaside Course which players will take to for the final 36 holes.

Meandering his way up the top of leaderboard by day’s end, Higgs was flawless, carding seven birdies and zero bogeys. More of the same will be needed over the course of the weekend as a congested leaderboard features not only his co-leaders but also Joel Dahmen, Beau Hossler and Sahith Theegala one stroke back at 11 under.

The leaders

T1. Andrew Putnam, Cole Hammer, Harry Higgs (-12)

Putnam is a player of particular interest based on the consistency he has been playing with throughout the fall. Collecting a paycheck in each start, the 33-year-old has now made 12 straight cuts dating back to last season. During this span, he has experienced a couple close calls with a T5 result at the St. Jude Championship and runner-up result at this season’s Zozo Championship as he looks to contend come the final nine once again this weekend.

“My driving accuracy’s been probably the best in my career this last year, so that’s really helped,” said Putnam. “The putting’s back to pretty good like it normally is, and my irons this week have been pretty sharp. Pretty much every part of my game has been pretty good right now, so it’s a fun time to play golf.”

Other contenders

T4. Beau Hossler, Joel Dahmen, Sahith Theegala (-11)

T7. Kevin Streelman, Seung-Yul Noh, David Lingmerth, Callum Tarren (-10)

T11. Alex Smalley, Ben Martin, Will Gordon, Chris Gotterup (-9)

T15. Seamus Power, Justin Suh, Patrick Rodgers, Dean Burmester (-8)

It has been a splendid fall swing for Dahmen, and in particular these last four starts. In contention heading into the latter stages of the RSM Classic, the 35-year-old arrived at Sea Island off three straight top-20 finishes including a T3 effort at the World Wide Technology Championship. He spoke after his second round on his motivation this season as it marks his first campaign without a winner’s exemption since his victory at the 2021 Corales Championship.

“You’re always anxious. Golf’s hard. Golf is very hard, and it can go sour quickly. To play with freedom for a year and a half, two and a half years really, never had that in my career,” said Dahmen. “So yeah, like teeing up in Napa was like OK, we’re back at square one. If you don’t play well, you don’t have a job. I was very aware of that, for sure. And maybe, yeah, I don’t think about it necessarily when I’m out there, but there’s been a couple extra days of practice for sure. I mean, I’ve always kind of played better when my back’s against the wall a little bit, and it’s hard to say your back’s against the wall when you’re starting out a year, but for the first time in a couple years it was different for me, for sure.”

2022 RSM Classic updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Andrew Putnam: 5-1
• Sahith Theegala: 7-1
• Joel Dahmen: 7-1
• Beau Hossler: 12-1
• Harry Higgs: 12-1
• Cole Hammer: 14-1
• Will Gordon: 20-1
• Callum Tarren: 22-1
• Alex Smalley: 25-1
• Seamus Power: 25-1
• Kevin Streelman: 25-1
• David Lingmerth: 30-1

Putnam was my selection at the onset of the week, and it’s comforting to see him atop the odds board for the second straight day. There is still confidence in him moving forward, but if looking for another pick with a bit more juice, Power may be the man for the job at 25-1. The Irishman has been terrific this fall with a win and another podium finish to his credit. He factored over the weekend at this tournament a year ago, and there is nothing to suggest he won’t again over the next 36 holes.

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With the overnight leader heading in the wrong direction in the second round of the 2022 Zozo Championship, the door was swung wide open for a number of candidates to put their claim on this championship. Andrew Putnam was the man who marched through first as the 33-year-old was simply brilliant around Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on Friday.

Signing for an 8-under 62, Putnam secured not only a new course record — which was later bested by John Huh’s 61 — but also a share of the 36-hole lead at 10 under. Beginning the day with two straight birdies, he added birdies on the par-3 fifth and par-4 eighth to turn in 4-under 30. Four additional birdies on his inward half were all he needed to claim the new low score around Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, but it was nearly one less as he experienced a brutal lip-out for eagle on his final hole of the day.

One worse than Putnam on the day was fan-favorite Rickie Fowler who carded a 7-under 63 to share the lead at the halfway point. Coming off a short week at the Shriners Children’s Open, the five-time PGA Tour winner is still clearly working through swing changes, but Friday did mark his first bogey-free effort of the young season.

A big step in the right direction, Fowler will need to continue to play in this manner if he is to overtake Putnam and fend off Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland — all of whom are currently inside the top 10.

The leaders

T1. Andrew Putnam, Rickie Fowler (-10)

The question heading into the weekend is whether Fowler can continue to drive the golf ball the way he currently is. Losing nearly four strokes off-the-tee at TPC Summerlin a week ago, the 33-year-old struggled with a two-way miss and was left scrambling more times than not in the desert. 

It has been a completely different story through 36 holes as he ranks 12th in driving accuracy having connected on nearly 66% of the fairways. With a necessity of playing approach shots from the short grass, Fowler understands the importance the big stick holds moving forward.

“I need to drive it well around this place, which like I said, I’ve managed my way with what I’ve had the first two days, but looking forward to a little bit of work and tighten that up,” Fowler said. “Yeah, just continue to have fun on this golf course and hopefully I’m playing from the fairway.”

Other contenders

3. Keegan Bradley (-9)

4. John Huh (-8)

5. Keita Nakajima (-7)

T6. Matthew NeSmith, Sam Ryder (-6)

T8. Adam Schenk, Collin Morikawa, Joel Dahmen, Viktor Hovland, Luke List (-5)

It was an impressive bounce back for Morikawa in the second round as he signed for a 6-under 64 to catapult his name into contention. Earlier in the week, he mentioned the effects of jet lag having only been in Japan for 30 hours before the onset of the tournament and admittingly looked sluggish in the first round. 

He now appears to be back to his normal self and having experienced a winless 2021-22 campaign, he will relish the opportunity to get off the schneid and back into the winner’s circle. The world No. 9 ranks second in driving accuracy and fifth in greens in regulation through the first two rounds and it is hard to imagine his reliable ball-striking going anywhere over the weekend.

2022 Zozo Championship updated odds and picks

• Keegan Bradley: 18/5
• Rickie Fowler: 4-1
• Andrew Putnam: 5-1
• Collin Morikawa: 14-1
• Viktor Hovland: 16-1
• Xander Schauffele: 18-1
• John Huh: 20-1
• Matthew NeSmith: 25-1
• Keita Nakajima: 40-1
• Cameron Young: 45-1
• Sam Ryder: 45-1

Ideally, the ball will be played down in the second half of this tournament as Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club continues to dry out from previous rain. This puts an added importance on ball-striking as around-the-green play will prove to be more difficult and greens will firm up. 

With this in mind, Morikawa makes a ton of sense at 14-1 which is roughly the same as his pre-tournament price. As mentioned, he is driving it beautifully and his iron play looks like peak Morikawa which makes him ultra dangerous as a chaser. The two-time major champion stands alongside a potential long shot option in Luke List at 5 under who possesses a similar skillset and is listed at 55-1 if looking for a bit more juice for your squeeze.

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