Kevin Kisner cruises to RSM Classic title

A good day for Kevins at Sea Island, as Kisner finally got his first victory and Chappell came in second. GMac continued his good run of form.

After a year of second place finishes, Kevin Kisner finally got his first PGA Tour victory with a dominant display in The RSM Classic at Sea Island, Georgia.

Kisner took a three shot lead into the final round and he never looked threatened as he pulled further away from the pack. A birdie on the 2nd settled any nerves he may have been suffering and he went on to double his advantage by the end of the final day.

Another Kevin (Chappell) came in as a distant runner-up with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell continuing his good run of form, ending the week alone in third.

4 Talking points from The RSM Classic

1 – Kevin Kisner’s maiden win continues an amazing run for first-time winners on the new 2015-16 PGA Tour season. He’s the sixth from the first seven events. But this victory had been in the pipeline for the 31-year-old. Earlier in the year he lost in playoffs at Hilton Head, Sawgrass and the Greenbrier. He was also runner-up to Russell Knox in the recent WGC-HSBC Champions. With the victory he has climbed to 17th place on the Official World Golf Ranking. "I think all those close calls taught me to never give up and keep grinding," Kisner said.

2 – Graeme McDowell has finished 2015 strongly. After winning in Mexico last week, he was third in this event. He’s back up to 53rd on the Official World Golf Ranking but that might have been better had it not been for a blunder on Saturday. He received a one-stroke penalty in round three for picking up his ball after wrongly assuming the lift, clean and place rule was in operation.

Graeme McDowell on the 120-yard pitch:

3 – It was an important week for Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson. He missed the last four months of last season as his son had to undergo open-heart surgery. He was given a medical extension and had to earn a total of $326,111 to gain his card for the new season. He was struggling to do that until finishing alone in fifth at this event. Picking up $228,000 he now has nearly $356,000 in earnings for the year.

4 – Kevin Chappell also had a week to remember. Although he had to play second fiddle to Kisner, he won the battle for the runner’s-up spot. It was his best finish since 2013 and by far his best result this season. His best prior to this in the 2015-16 season was a tie for 29th in the CIMB Classic.

The RSM Classic Sea Island Resort, Georgia Nov 19-22 Purse: $5,700,000, par 70

1    Kevin Kisner (USA)    65    67    64    64    260    $1,026,000 2    Kevin Chappell (USA)    66    65    68    67    266    $615,600 3    Graeme McDowell (NIR) 67    68    65    67    267    $387,600 4    Jon Curran (USA)        67    70    66    66    269    $273,600 5    Freddie Jacobson (Swe)    65    67    71    67    270    $228,000 T6    Alex Cejka (Ger)        67    67    67    70    271    $190,950 T6    Russell Henley (USA)    66    72    68    65    271    $190,950 T6    Jeff Overton (USA)    64    72    66    69    271    $190,950

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage