The final round of the final event of the 2022 calendar year is set up to be a doozy. With a crowded leaderboard exiting Round 3 at the 2022 RSM Classic, it is Patrick Rodgers and Ben Martin who will be tasked with successfully converting a 54-hole lead as the pair enters Sunday in possession of a slim margin at 14 under. 

With one career victory between the two of them — Martin won the 2014 Shriners Children’s Open — nothing will be handed to them. Martin entered this week at Sea Island simply hoping to find some form since the fall swing has largely been unkind to the former Clemson Tiger. Missing three of six cuts and failing to collect a single top-40 result, Martin has relied on the good vibes and familiarity with the property to turn his game around.

Rodgers, on the other hand, has been trending towards this very moment coming off of five straight top-30 finishes. With one of those finishes coming in the form of a T3 at the Bermuda Championship, Sunday will represent yet another opportunity for the 30-year-old to snatch his long-awaited first career victory on the PGA Tour.

Rodgers will not be alone in hoping to enter the winner’s circle for the first time. Twelve non-winners, including Sahith Theegala, Taylor Pendrith and Harry Higgs, will go into the final round within three strokes of the lead. With so much on the line and so much inexperience in contention, the final round of the 2022 RSM Classic has the potential to be the most memorable one of the young 2022-23 season.

The leaders

T1. Patrick Rodgers, Ben Martin (-14)

He was a standout at Stanford and contended plenty over his PGA Tour career, but Rodgers remains without a win. Slowly but surely, he’s gained more experience by playing himself into contention on Sundays. Will this finally be his time? 

Rodgers ranks second in strokes gained approach and sixth in strokes gained putting in two rounds on the Seaside Course. If he’s able to continue operating in such a capacity in the final round, it is conceivable he will finally raise a trophy on the PGA Tour.

Other contenders

T3. Andrew Putnam, Adam Svensson, Sahith Theegala (-13)

T6. Brian Harman, Taylor Pendrith, Taylor Montgomery, Alex Smalley, Kevin Streelman, Beau Hossler, Harry Higgs (-12)

T13. Ben Taylor, Seamus Power, Callum Tarren, Will Gordon, Harry Higgs (-11)

A total of 16 players will enter the final round within three strokes of the lead, making it anyone’s tournament to win. There is plenty on the line, including 500 FedEx Cup points, exemptions through the 2025 season and entry into major championships. 

Canadian Adam Svensson made the most of his Moving Day in Round 3 by signing for an 8-under 62. Without a major championship start on his résumé, the 28-year-old will be featured in the final grouping on Sunday with a chance to change that and capture his first victory on the PGA Tour.

“I knew I was playing well, I just kept plugging along,” said Svensson. “I knew one bogey, it’s all good, I’m going to make some birdies. But yeah, my game’s feeling really good and I just kept hitting it by the pin and if they don’t go in, they don’t go in, and making some putts.”

Can the Sea Island mafia finally break through?

A large contingent of Sea Island residents teed it up this week, including Harris English, J.T. Poston and Keith Mitchell. Without much group success in their home event, fellow locals Brian Harman and Will Gordon will pose as Sea Island’s best chance to break this hometown dry spell on Sunday.

“You know, they say a local’s never won here, but I mean, [Kevin] Kisner spends all kinds of time here. [Chris] Kirk lived here for seven or eight years,” said Harman. “I don’t think about it too much. There’s a lot of talent on this island and one of us is going to win this tournament sooner or later.”

2022 RSM Classic updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Patrick Rodgers: 5-1
• Sahith Theegala: 7-1
• Andrew Putnam: 7-1
• Ben Martin: 9-1
• Brian Harman: 10-1
• Taylor Montgomery: 11-1
• Adam Svensson: 12-1
• Taylor Pendrith: 16-1
• Alex Smalley: 18-1
• Beau Hossler: 22-1
• Kevin Streelman: 25-1
• Seamus Power: 28-1
• Will Gordon: 35-1
• Harry Higgs: 35-1
• Callum Tarren: 60-1
• Ben Taylor: 65-1

All of those listed above are within three strokes of the lead and could realistically win the 2022 RSM Classic. Despite the wide-open nature of the event, it is still Putnam with whom we will rock. The 33-year-old hardly had his best stuff on Saturday, yet was still able to sign for an under-par round and keep himself in this tournament. Putnam will be a part of the penultimate group, and given his consistent well-rounded game throughout the fall should be more than comfortable in this setting.

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SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Seamus Power knows the wind and Port Royal well enough to realize he’d better do his scoring early. He did just that Saturday, added a few birdies late and had another 6-under 65 to share the lead with Ben Griffin in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Power holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the daunting par-3 16th and made a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 17th to atone for his lone mistake, a double bogey on the par-3 13th.

Griffin followed the same script in a strong wind with three birdies to open his round. He kept his approach under the wind on the 18th to 5 feet for birdie and a 66.

They were at 18-under 195, two shots clear of Kevin Yu (67) and Aaron Baddeley (68).

Power at No. 48 is the highest-ranked player at Port Royal.

The 35-year-old Irishman is no stranger to windy conditions and has played the Bermuda Championship the last few years.

“I knew I had to get birdies before 11,” Power said.

He made four in a row early and was 6 under for the day until a missed green and bad chips led to a double bogey on the 13th.

“One mistake. The wind drifted it a crazy amount,” Power said. “But I was able to hang in there and it puts me in a good spot going to tomorrow.”

The 16th is the toughest tee because the green is just right of the ocean and the wind was ripping from left to right.

“I don’t know how comfortable you get when you get to 16 and you’re having to aim your ball in the ocean,” Power said with a laugh. The shot finished pin-high on the right side of the green to a left flag, and the putt crept in the low side of the hole.

Power has one PGA Tour victory, the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky last year. He would love nothing more than a win for a strong early start to the PGA Tour and to assure his spot in the Masters.

For Griffin, even more as at stake.

He gave up on the game a few years ago and was working as a loan mortgage officer when he was inspired playing in a member-guest, and the members put up money for him to Monday qualify into a Korn Ferry Tour event.

That was the start of baby steps — making it through Korn Ferry Tour qualifying, and then last year earning his full card onto the PGA Tour.

A victory Sunday comes with a two-year exemption.

“It’s been surreal really the last year and two months of just being comfortable on the golf course and just going out and trying to win,” Griffin said. “When you’re playing mini-tour events and you’re trying to grind for top 10 just to break even, just have enough money to maybe do a Monday qualifier, it’s not necessarily the easiest in terms.

“Now that I have this little bit of freedom, I can go out there and just try to win golf tournaments.”

Ben Crane, whose last win was in 2014, started the third round with a one-shot lead and stumbled down the closing stretch with four bogeys in a five-hole stretch before he birdied the last hole for a 73. He fell six shots behind.

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It has been three years since Ben Crane has notched a top-20 finish on the PGA Tour, and he will look to change that in a big way heading into the weekend at the 2022 Bermuda Championship. Commanding the solo lead at 14 under, the 46-year-old will be playing with house money after not even being in the field this time last week.

Gaining entry via a late sponsor’s exemption, Crane is taking full advantage of his opportunity through two days at Port Royal Golf Course. After opening his tournament with a 5-under 66, Crane was impressive in his second round, getting around the Robert Trent Jones design at 9 under to propel his name to the top of the leaderboard.

In what would be a bonus in his career, a victory for Crane would mean invitations into the Masters, PGA Championship, Players Championship and the Tournament of Champions. However, with weather rolling into Bermuda late on Friday, Crane will not only need to fend off his competition, but also Mother Nature over the final 36 holes.

Just one stroke off of Crane’s pace is another PGA Tour veteran, Aaron Baddeley. The Australian joins Crane as a seasoned presence on the first page of the leaderboard, and he is accompanied by young guns Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman and Ben Griffin at 13 under.

The leader

1. Ben Crane (-14)

The top-20 result mentioned above occurred at the 2019 Bermuda Championship as Crane has made a habit of teeing it up in this tournament. While the potential for Crane to notch a victory this late in his career would make for an unbelievable story, he will have the odds stacked against him over the final 36 holes. In 11 starts last season between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour, Crane missed eight cuts and was unable to collect a top-60 result, proving how much of an outlier his performance has been thus far. 

“I mean, couldn’t be more encouraged. Obviously played the best golf I’ve played in a long time, and to be in this tournament is super encouraging, get to play four rounds,” said Crane. “You know, I don’t get in a lot and then to get in and the weather starts getting bad right when I finished. So, really cool to shoot 62. That 29 on the back, I didn’t see it coming, but it adds up to 29, super fun day.”

Other contenders

T2. Adam Schenk, Aaron Baddeley, Robby Shelton, Ben Griffin, Austin Smotherman (-13)

T7. Seamus Power, Kevin Yu, Zecheng Dou, Nico Echavarria, Dylan Wu (-12)

It is not about how you start, but how you finish. Beginning the week by forgetting his golf clubs at home, Schenk has shot himself into contention heading into the weekend. Playing beautifully over the last month and capturing top-20 finishes at the Shriners Children’s Open and Zozo Championship, not even a logistical hiccup could slow down the Purdue product.

“We packed our car 5 a.m. or so and we went inside to say goodbye to our dog, Bunker. Walked right passed the clubs that were packed in the garage. Showed up at the airport and opened the trunk and they weren’t there,” said Schenk. “My wife and I looked at each other and like, well, I guess we’ve got to go back. And then we were looking for flights, which was a nightmare. Obviously it’s tough to get here, not many flights in and out, but found a Jet Blue flight that got me here Wednesday and then one opened up, a direct flight from Boston on Tuesday, so we ended up booking that one.”

The weather has arrived

Murmurs of a shortened event reverberated around Port Royal GC earlier in the week with a tropical storm in the forecast. While players were spared the wrath of Mother Nature in the first round, those off in the afternoon on Friday were not as lucky. With bad weather rolling into Bermuda, the weekend is sure to be action-packed as players deal with not only nerves of a potentially life-changing victory, but also the elements. 

These kids are good

It’s a great time to be a Tennessee Volunteer as freshman Caleb Surratt made his way through to the weekend in his PGA Tour debut. Finishing runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur this past summer, and more recently winning in his collegiate debut, the 18-year-old’s presence over the weekend goes to show just how deep the talent pool is in the world of golf.

2022 Bermuda Championship updated odds and picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Robby Shelton: 6-1
• Adam Schenk: 7-1
• Seamus Power: 15/2
• Austin Smotherman: 10-1
• Ben Griffin: 11-1
• Thomas Detry: 16-1
• Aaron Baddeley: 16-1
• Zecheng Dou: 16-1
• Kevin Yu: 18-1
• Ben Crane: 22-1
• Denny McCarthy: 22-1

Schenk was my selection earlier in the week, and there is still belief he will capture his first win on the PGA Tour. He is currently listed at 7-1, and with so much golf yet to be played in unison with some poor weather, it may be wise to venture down the odds board instead. 

Chesson Hadley is an intriguing option at 80-1 and has caught my attention. Hadley entered the week as one of the best iron players and par-3 scorer in this field, and he is only five strokes off the lead at 9 under. With the weather only getting worse, those two areas of the game will be tested, which should allow him to claw back into contention come Sunday afternoon.

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