A COMMUNITY EVENT: RSM Classic week offers something for everyone

Nov. 8—One doesn't have to be a fan of golf to enjoy RSM Classic week in the Golden Isles.

But it would be difficult to not at least develop a passing interest in the sport after partaking in the experience cultivated around the PGA Tour event. Entering its 13th year at Sea Island Golf Club next week, the RSM Classic is now circled on the calendar of fans and golfers alike.

On the course, the tournament has grown from its humble beginnings in 2010 as the McGladery Classic to one that features some of the biggest names in the sport past, present and future.

Of course, having an event hosted by two-time Ryder Cup captain and World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III in a location that serves as home to PGA pros like Zach Johnson, Harris English and Brian Harman will make for a solid field on its own, but the group has continued growing stronger over the years.

Incidentally, a schedule change in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a boon to the star power of the tournament's field.

"I think besides who we have here at St. Simons, that lives here and plays here, and the quality of players we have here, we take those guys and then you add, starting in 2020 when we were right behind the Masters, we got some guys here who normally had never come like Adam Scott, Jason Day," said RSM Classic tournament director Todd Thompson.

Although the Masters has returned to its traditional spot in April, those standouts continue to come — a testament to the positive experience in the Golden Isles, from the events put on around the tournament, to the local restaurants, and down to the resources available at the club.

"The other thing too is the quality instructors that we have here at Sea Island — guys like Justin Parsons, Chan Reeves and some of the other guys," Thompson said. "Especially Justin, I'm not just singling him out, but he's had a lot of guys start using him based on his people's performances. That's been a positive here."

Players talk amongst one another, and the word from the RSM Classic has been overwhelming positive. That is how you get a field like the one currently set for next week's event.

Along with local residents Love, Johnson, English, Harman, Keith Mitchell, Matt Kuchar, Jonathan Byrd, Patton Kizzire, JT Poston, Davis Thompson, Will Gordon and more, Day returns, as do players like Stewart Cink, Cameron Champ, Austin Cook, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson and Sepp Straka.

And last Friday the RSM Classic announced one of its biggest commitments yet in Tony Finau.

Looking to play a few more events as the year comes to a close, Finau decided to return to the RSM, where he made he first and only appearance in 2014. Since finishing tied for 14th in the third event of his rookie season on the PGA Tour, Finau has gone on play 211 events, winning four and finishing top 10 in 50 more.

Even now, he is coming off a career year in the 2021-22 season that saw him earn back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic while finishing second at two other events, and he is ranked 15th in the World Golf Ranking.

It's been quite the rise for a player who made one of his earliest starts at the RSM Classic, and it's representative of the type of young up-and-comers who lurk in the field when you have the most recent Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup captains recruiting in Love and Johnson, respectively.

"They obviously carry a lot of weight with the guys they're around all the time," Thompson said. "The If I'm a young player and Zach or Davis says, 'Hey, do you want to come down and see where we live and where we play?' That's a pretty good selling card."

And there are plenty of selling points off the course to peak fans' interest next week, beginning Tuesday with the annual Wiffle Ball Classic, which pits PGA Tour Players and their wives against one another on teams also comprised of students from Altama Elementary School.

Held at Frederica Academy, the event has raised more than $200,000 for Blessing In a Backpack, a nonprofit organization that provides food on the weekends to disadvantaged elementary school children.

Wednesday is a jam-packed day that also serves as the tournament's Community Day, where it welcomes the local community to free admission to the course to get a look at the PGA Tour professionals, and a few other notable names such as current/former MLB players Adam Wainwright, Jackie Bradley Jr., Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield, at the Yamaha Pro-Am and various putting challenges.

Later that evening, fans will have the opportunity to meet some of the players they will watch tackle the course over the ensuing days at an event hosted by the St. Simons Rotary Club to benefit local children's charities.

The 11th annual Meet the RSM Pros is schedule for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, now at the A.W. Jones Heritage Center on St. Simons. Available at ssirotary.org, tickets are $110 per person and will include cocktails, heavy hors d'oeuvres, silent and live auctions, a one-day pass to the tournament, and of course, an opportunity to meet some of the Tour pros following a Q&A.

"Since the Rotary Club of St. Simons Island introduced Meet The RSM Pros 11 years ago, it has grown in reputation, popularity and charitable impact. Many of The RSM Classic corporate partners such as Nalley, McGinty-Gordon & Associates, Marsh's Edge and Georgia Power, are also significant partners of the Rotary's event. The missions of both The RSM Classic and Meet the RSM Pros align perfectly and provide support for charities serving children," Thompson said. "We are so fortunate in the Golden Isles to have such a generous and giving business community."

The following day, the floodgates open as tournament play begins. Food trucks and venues will be set up throughout the course, including the new Seaside Cabana, or spectators can enjoy the day in the Golden Isles Green fan village, where screens are set up airing the Golf Channel broadcast of the tournament.

On Thursday evening, the fan village will also serve as the setting for the inaugural Golden Hour on the Green from 4:30-6:30 p.m. with music by Owen Plant and Three Little Birds.

"It's golf, there's a lot of good food and beverage out here — we've expanded our food trucks that are coming," Thompson said. "We know it's a golf tournament, but we also realize it's an experience, and we want people to have a good time when they come out whether they're a golf fan or not. They can come out and enjoy the beauty of Sea Island, and get some good food and drinks."