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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While this time of year is not necessarily known for stars and superstars showing out on the PGA Tour, often interesting stories still emerge, and it seems like that’s going to be the case this weekend at the RSM Classic. Former Texas star Cole Hammer leads and former USC star Justin Suh is not far behind  after Round 1 at Sea Island, Georgia, in the last PGA Tour event of the fall.

Hammer went out and shot an 8-under 64 on the Plantation Course by making birdie on half of his holes. At 8 under, he leads by one over Ben Griffin with Suh one back of Griffin. Hammer hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation, which helps, but even the former No. 1 amateur in the world was a bit surprised by how many putts fell on a cold day near the Atlantic.

“I was almost blacked out there for a little bit,” Hammer said. “It went by in a heartbeat, but at the same time was a long day. It was cold and, like I said a little bit ago, I had very low expectations. And I’m glad I did because it was a tough day out there, there’s no question. I figured … par was a good score today and I found myself making putts for birdie early on and then just kind of kept going from there, but what a day.”

Hammer, who has conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour but had never made a cut on the PGA Tour until last week at the Houston Open, clearly carried some mental and perhaps physical momentum into the RSM from his T27 finish in Houston.

“This summer was tough on the PGA Tour,” said Hammer, who is playing just his 15th career event on the Tour. “I had some good finishes on the Korn Ferry, but I was batting zero on the PGA Tour. I needed to get that monkey off my back. To do that in my hometown event in Houston was huge for me. I was telling my parents, but the first tee in Houston was like the most nervous I’ve ever been, just with the hometown crowd.

“It’s kind of crazy since I’ve played in Walker Cups and stuff. But anyways, I basically told myself I’ll never be that nervous again. I just got comfortable after that and saw myself shoot a good round on Tour and now I believe that I can do it.”

Hammer talked about how he thought this summer you had to play perfect golf on the PGA Tour to have any success, but it’s been nice to see that’s not actually the case. You can make some bogeys, you can have a few bad holes and still contend on the PGA Tour. This is a common theme for players as they mature. In particular, Max Homa has discussed this idea quite a bit throughout his career. Hammer is a good player and has had a fascinating career. He played in the 2015 U.S. Open as a 14-year-old before becoming a star in Austin, Texas. At 45-1 to win the tournament after Round 1, he can easily play the “nobody believes in me” card, but the pedigree is strong, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed in the mix until Sunday.

Suh, another former No. 1 amateur in the world is coming off a tremendously successful 2022. After putting together 10 top 10s on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, Suh was named that league’s Player of the Year this week, and celebrated by dropping a 6-under 66 on the field at the Plantation Course.

“I think just being in the groove of this, being I think the third week on the road definitely helps,” Suh said. “I think confidence-wise, maybe subconsciously [winning the KFT Player of the Year] does [help]. Yeah, I mean, it still feels great, but I think for performance, I think just being on the road for three weeks, it’s kind of getting in the groove of the golf game.”

Suh has star written all over him. Though he’s taken longer to develop than some of his counterparts, he was part of a group including Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa that turned pro just after the 2019 U.S. Open. He’s made three consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour and will be a tough out over the next 54 holes.

A win this weekend would quietly make him one of the more intriguing young players to watch going into 2023. Here’s a look at the top 10 after Round 1 at the RSM Classic.

Round 1 leaderboard

• 1. Cole Hammer: -8
• 2. Ben Griffin: -7
• T3. Beau Hossler: -6
• T3. Callum Tarren: -6
• T3. Justin Suh: -6
• T6. Stephan Jaeger: -5
• T6. Brian Harman: -5
• T6. David Lingmerth: -5
• T6. Webb Simpson: -5
• T6. Chris Gotterup: -5
• T6. Henrik Norlander: -5
• T6. Alex Smalley: -5
• T6. Keith Mitchell: -5
• T6. Russell Knox: -5
• T6. Harry Higgs: -5
• T6. Andrew Putnam: -5

Putnam is actually the new favorite at 10-1, followed closely by Seamus Power (-4) at 12-1 and Brian Harman and Beau Hossler at 14-1. Hammer is 45-1, and Suh is 30-1 after their solid starts on Thursday.

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