Living single at the TOUR Championship

Justin Parsons was a teenager living in Northern Ireland when he took a test offered in the book, "Eight Traits of a Champion Golfer." This questionnaire promised to recommend a career based on Parsons' strengths and passions. Parsons, like many young men, had aspirations of playing professional golf. The examination recommended a different path. "It said, ‘You really enjoy the idea of movement and how movement works, and you would be a much better coach than you ever would be a player," Parsons recalled recently. "I remember thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, this is kind of dampening my aspirations.' But at the same time, I've always enjoyed people, trying to figure out how people tick and how to get the best out of them." He's done that this year, helping several PGA TOUR players either reach new heights or find success after several tough seasons. He's had a quick impact since arriving at the Sea Island Resort, host of this week's The RSM Classic, last year. His current stable of students includes Gary Woodland, Louis Oosthuizen and Will Gordon, as well as Sea Island residents Harris English, Michael Thompson and Brian Harman. This year, English qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2015. Thompson won for the first time since 2013. Gordon, a year after turning pro out of Vanderbilt, earned his first PGA TOUR card. Harman finished 37th in the FedExCup last season, his best finish in three years. Oosthuizen finished third in the U.S. Open. "It's about making them a little bit better and not detracting anything from them," Parsons said. Or, as his mentor, Butch Harmon, told him, "Your first responsibility is to make sure you don't screw them up." That is sobering advice that Parsons takes seriously. "You're dealing with their livelihood," he said. His students have had fruitful seasons, especially English and Thompson. English, who won twice on TOUR before turning 25, fell to 149th in the FedExCup last year. He rose to 12th in 2020 and started this new season with a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Open. He's skyrocketed in the world ranking, rising more than 300 spots since last September. He's now ranked 36th in the world, just two spots off his career high. Parsons gave English a clear path out of the doldrums. "He just kind of brought me back from getting lost in this whirlwind of different swings and different mechanics and swing positions," English said. "He simplified it so much that I can know what I'm doing. (Golf) is actually a game now. I'm not worried about how my swing looks." Thompson won his first PGA TOUR title at the 2013 Honda Classic, but spent the next five years outside the top 100 in the FedExCup. That includes four straight seasons, from 2015-18, outside the top 140. Parsons also helped Thompson - who was once the No. 1 amateur in the world - get back on track by going back to what made him successful. "He's helped me to kind of rediscover the old feels that I had back in college, where the shot shape that I always liked to play was a low fade," Thompson said. "He's given me just so much confidence to believe that the unique move that I do through the ball is good enough to be world-class," Thompson said. Parsons arrived at Sea Island after serving as the Director of Instruction at the Butch Harmon School of Golf in Dubai. It was there that he became well-versed in the latest technology available in golf instruction. Sea Island is a sleepy coastal retreat, but the resort's Golf Performance Center also is a high-tech environment that features all the latest tools. Parsons prides himself on knowing when it's appropriate to include them in a lesson. He said instruction is now in the "sweet spot" when it comes to technology. Teachers have become well-versed in the latest high-tech tools, but also know when to leave them on the sidelines. "Technology is vital to help diagnose things and as a tool to re-check things," Parsons said. "If (players) need the technical, I want to give it to them, but if they don't need it, I'd rather they focus on getting the ball in the hole and winning golf tournaments."

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The PGA TOUR travels stateside for this week’s tournament, The RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia. The first two days of the tournament at Sea Island Resort will have a split field on both the Plantation course and the Seaside course. After Friday’s cut, the remainder of the tournament will be played on the Seaside course, which measures just over 7,000 yards, will play as a par 70 and be putt on Bermuda greens. The tree-lined Plantation course, which is more inland, will play as a par 72 and measure a little over 7,000 yards as well. RELATED: Course, field preview: The RSM Classic | Power Rankings | Expert Picks Last season, Seaside played as the 16th easiest course in scoring relative to par, and the Plantation course ranked as the 12th easiest. Both sit fairly close to the coast and can be subject to windy conditions, which happened during the second round of last year’s tournament. Average Friday scores on both courses totaled 71.02. Similar to last week, golfers shouldn’t have a hard time padding their fairway and greens hit in regulation stats, both are well over the TOUR average. Seaside registered an average of 71% fairways hit in regulation and 74% in greens in regulation. We should be focusing on the Seaside course this week with the majority of rounds being played there, and par 4 scoring should be at the top of our list when considering who to roster. If you want to dive deeper, par 4 scoring on holes between 400 to 450 yards will be even more important with eight holes on Seaside measuring within this distance range. We also should be looking at golfers who do well with their wedges, as 20% of all approach shots came from 125 to 150 yards. Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green will be the most important statistic to prioritize when building our lineups; golfers who’ve finished inside the top five gained more than twice the amount with their irons as they did in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. We’ll keep the trend going with focusing on par 5 scoring and driving accuracy again this week. TOP VALUES HARRIS ENGLISH ($10,000) English should continue his strong play in Sea Island after a top-five finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. Much of it was done with his irons, averaging 72% of greens in regulation. He’s missed the cut here twice in the past four years, so in order to do well he’ll need to lean on his strong iron play and his ability to score on par 4s measuring between 400 to 450 yards. The good thing is he ranks first in par 4 efficiency from 400 to 450 yards over his past six tournaments. SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ($9,200) Scheffler was a popular play early in the swing season and should get our attention again in Georgia. Scheffler dominated on the Korn Ferry Tour last season with 10 top-10s, a couple of second-place finishes and two wins (Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and Evans Scholars Invitational). Although he couldn’t get anything going down in Mexico, he still shot three rounds in the 60s and has made all six of his cuts on the PGA TOUR this season. DENNY McCARTHY ($8,600) McCarthy quietly has been great in the swing season with two top-10s, a top-15 and six straight made cuts. He’s putting extremely well, gaining close to five strokes on the greens in his past 10 tournaments en route to his solid finishes. He shot two rounds in the 60s last week but scorched the back-nine in his final round, carding four birdies and an eagle. He’ll look to take his momentum to Sea Island and feel confident in his ability to score on par 4s, ranking fifth in par 4 scoring, seventh in par 4 efficiency from 400 to 450 yards and first in overall birdie or better percentage in his past six tournaments. XINJUN ZHANG ($7,300) Zhang has made five straight cuts and should be excited to get on a course where his strong iron play can excel. Zhang ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and ninth in birdie or better percentage over his past 24 rounds. He made the cut back in 2018 and should keep his solid play going on this coastal course. KYLE STANLEY ($7,200) He’ll be a nice value play at his price, especially with him ranking first in par 4 wfficiency 400 to 450 yards over his past six tournaments. He also ranks second in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green over the same timeframe and hasn’t lost strokes in 11 of his past 12 tournaments with his irons. He struggles on Bermuda, but if he has an average week on the greens this week, he should be able to make the cut and do well on a course he’s had decent finishes at in the past. Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. 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