Sanderson Farms Championship: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The PGA TOUR returns after the Presidents Cup with the Sanderson Farms Championship, and Mike Glasscott has eight players to watch.

• More Golf news

Sanderson Farms Championship Tips

Win: Nick Dunlap (25/1), Matt McCarty (45/1)
Top 10: Mark Hubbard (11/2), Ben Griffin (33/10)
Top 20: Wilson Furr (17/4), Greyson Sigg (33/10)
Top 40: Tyler Duncan (12/5), Chad Ramey (29/20)

The Country Club of Jackson course guide

Founded in 1914, the course presently has 27 holes, but the Dogwood and Azalea nines are used for the Sanderson Farms Championship.

In 2008, architect John Faught, with the help of Mike Gogel, renovated the property for PGA TOUR play.

Hosting for the 11th year in a row, the Par-72 will play 7,461 yards for the fifth consecutive season.

The Bermudagrass fairways are framed by two-and-a-half inches of Bermuda/Zoysia rough, a half an inch increase over 2023. Strategically placed bunkers, 56 total, plus seven water penalty areas scattered across five holes, will provide the deterrence.

Champion Bermudagrass, tricky and grainy, covers the putting surfaces, which range to 6,200 square feet on average, and run at 11.5 feet and up.

The Par-5 holes rank in the top 15 of most difficult faced on TOUR.

Finding fairways this week will be the first challenge.

Holing putts and keeping the card clean is also necessary. The last five winners have not squared more than five bogeys for the week.

The range of winning scores includes 22-under in 2021, the tournament scoring record set by Sam Burns (not entered) to 16-under in the inaugural event in the fall of 2014.

Will Zalatoris (not entered) posted 61 (11-under-par), also in the 2021 edition, and owns the course record.

In each edition, the 36-hole cut has been under par, including a record 5-under last year and in 2021.

Sanderson Farms Championship preview

Golf in Mississippi has been on the PGA TOUR schedule since 1968, but the Country Club of Jackson and the Sanderson Farms Championship both debuted in October of 2014 as part of the 2014-15 season.

An opposite field event until the 2019-20 season, the 2019 edition was awarded full FedExCup points and benefits.

Luke List, currently listed at 90/1 at Bet365.com will defend the title and look to become the first player to win in back-to-back years.

No player has won this event at the Country Club of Jackson more than once.

The first six events produced first-time winners on the PGA TOUR.

The last four events have crowned previous champions.

The winning total has been 18-under or better in eight of ten events.

All ten champions have ranked in the top 15 of Putting: Birdie or Better Percentage.

Winners have ranked in the top 15 in Ball-Striking in seven of ten events.

Former champions in the field this week also include Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ, the youngest winner at 23, Ryan Armour, the oldest winner at 43, Cody Gribble, and Peter Malnati.

The field of 132 players includes four open qualifiers and will play 36 holes before being cut to the top 65 and ties.

The winner will pocket $1.368 million of the $7.6 million prize pool plus 500 FedExCup points.

This is the second of eight events in the FedExCup Fall.

Top of the Board  

Keith Mitchell (22/1): Ranking in the top 10 of most ball striking categories, the Tennessee native has cashed solo 12th and T12 in his last two events on TOUR. A previous winner on TOUR, the former Georgia Bulldog has never made the cut in four previous visits.

Seamus Power (22/1): The Irishman hit the top 10 for the first time in 2024 on TOUR in his last outing at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Cashing T10, he extended his streak of play on the weekends to six straight and four registered T28 or better. Making his seventh start at the Country Club of Jackson, the two-time TOUR winner has never been better than T18 but has four paychecks inside the top 30.

Mackenzie Hughes (25/1): The only player entered this week who played in the Presidents Cup, the Canadian enjoys the Bermudagrass of Mississippi. The 2022 champion posted 70-70 (-4) in defense last year, but that wasn’t low enough to play the weekend. Coming off T4 at the Procore Championship, I would expect him to pop right into contention again.

Nick Dunlap (25/1): The Alabama native began the season as an amateur and ended the season in the Top 50 at the BMW Championship. The winner at The American Express in January as an amateur also won and event as a professional at the Barracuda Championship in July. Playing in the final group at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he couldn’t keep up with eventual champion Hideki Matsuyama but cashed T5 to secure top 50 playing privileges for 2025. I’m not sure anything is going to bother him!

Maverick McNealy (28/1): Still on the hunt for his first victory on TOUR, my choice to win in this column at the Procore Championship, missed the cut. Playing for the first time since the 2021 edition, his best finish in Jackson is T17 on his last visit. Outstanding throughout the bag, a sharp week on approach will be necessary to contend.

Ben Griffin (30/1): The 18-hole, 36-hole, and 54-hole leader last year could not close the deal in regulation and fell short in the five-man playoff. Posting a career scoring average of 68.63, he owns five rounds from eight of 68 or better at the Country Club of Jackson.

J.J. Spaun (30/1): Rolling into town with T29 or better in five of his last six events on TOUR, the Californian is hoping the sixth time in Mississippi is the charm. His best finish in five starts is T34. Recent top-10 paydays at the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship are hard to ignore.

Others to consider:

Patrick Fishburn (33/1): The run of form is third, missed cut, T6, third, and T15 for the GIR machine.

Mark Hubbard (50/1): The leader after 54 holes two years ago, the Californian posted 74 in the final round and shared fifth. Last year, he posted 17-under and missed the playoff by a shot (T6). He’s 30-under over the last eight rounds.

Andrew Novak (55/1): Making the cut in 15 of 20 events in 2024, the Sea Island resident cashed in the top 10 four times and nine times in the top 25. Sitting 20th in SG: Total, he’s quietly under the radar.

Cameron Champ (45/1): The 2018 winner in just his second event with a PGA TOUR card ran T9 here last year. Owns a 68.17 scoring average here over 12 rounds.

Matt McCarty (45/1): Bypassing the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the three-time winner has cashed in the top 10 seven times in his last nine starts. He won’t be lacking confidence or form.

Chad Ramey (125/1): The Mississippi native, already a winner on TOUR, arrives with five consecutive paychecks deposited on TOUR. Davis Riley (100/1), a two-time winner on TOUR, is also a Mississippi native and in the field.

Greyson Sigg (90/1): T4 at the Procore Championship broke a streak of six missed cuts. Stay hot!

Tyler Duncan (275/1): Cashing T16 and T14 in two of the last three years, the man from Indiana has found something in Mississippi.

Wilson Furr (125/1): The winner of the Gator Invitational at the Country Club of Jackson in 2018, the Jackson native calls this his home course.