Sanderson Farms Championship
The American drought on European soil, dating back to 1993, was extended last weekend as Team Europe defeated Team USA 16.5-11.5 in Rome to take back the Ryder Cup. The Europeans have won seven straight Ryder Cups on home soil. Team Europe has three of the top four players in the world — Rory McIlroy (No. 2; 4-1 record; 4 points), Jon Rahm (No. 3; 2-0-2 record; 3 points) and Viktor Hovland (No. 4; 3-1-1; 3.5 points) — and they all delivered like the top-ranked world players should. The Europeans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Friday foursomes and were ready to go right away. The Americans, on the other hand, were clearly rusty after more than a month off and wound up climbing uphill all weekend.
The Ryder Cup discussions and ramifications for go on for weeks, but the tours return to action this week and the PGA Tour makes its annual stop in Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Speaking of the Ryder Cup, rookie Ludvig Åberg posted a 2-2 record (2 points) including a 2-0 record in foursomes with Hovland as his partner. Åberg (12-1) is the current favorite this week at the Sanderson Farms. However, he could be a candidate to withdraw like his Ryder Cup teammate Nicolai Hojgaard did Monday.
Eric Cole (20-1) is still on the short list to win PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. Emiliano Grillo (25-1) finished fifth here last year and is a PGA Tour winner from earlier this year in the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. Stephan Jaeger (25-1) has made 21 of 23 cuts in 2023 but has just one top-10.
Aside from Åberg and Grillo, other OWGR Top 60 players in the field include Lucas Herbert (40-1), Tom Hoge (50-1) and Lee Hodges (55-1).
Several former Sanderson Farms champions are also in this week’s field, including the event’s defending champion Mackenzie Hughes (66-1), 2018 winner Cameron Champ (80-1), 2017 winner Ryan Armour (350-1), 2016 winner Cody Gribble (350-1), 2015 winner Peter Malnati (80-1), 2012 winner Scott Stallings (100-1) and 2006 winner D.J. Trahan (500-1).
The Event
The Sanderson Farms Championship has been part of the PGA Tour schedule since 1968 when it began as the Magnolia State Classic. It has had a variety of names over the years, including the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic, Southern Farm Bureau Classic, Viking Classic and the True South Classic before Sanderson Farms, the third-largest poultry producer in the United States and based in Laurel, Miss., took over as the title sponsor in 2013. The tournament began as a satellite event (money earned counted, but wins were unofficial) but became an official Tour event in 1994. After spending nearly a quarter-century as an alternate event, it became a full tour event in 2019. The winner now gets full FedEx Cup points, a two-year tour exemption and spots in the Masters, PGA, Players and Sentry TOC.
The Course
The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss., has hosted the Sanderson Farms since 2014. CC of Jackson was designed in 1962 by Dick Wilson and redesigned by John Fought and Mike Gogel in 2008. The track plays as a par-72 of 7,461 yards and there are only 56 bunkers and seven water hazards (in play on five holes). The Bermuda fairways are flat and relatively narrow (seventh narrowest on tour — 29.2 feet average fairway width). The Bermuda/Zoysia rough is not all that penal at just two inches.
The Champion Ultra Dwarf Bermuda Greens are 6,200 square feet on average and fast (12-13 stimpmeter). Fought was a longtime admirer of Donald Ross, so the greens are raised, slope from back to front and have run-off areas, which are Ross trademarks. The green surfaces resemble TPC Southwind, Trinity Forest, Quail Hollow and Sedgefield.
Along with fast greens, three of the four par-5s are quite lengthy at over 580 yards, so these will be three-shot holes for the majority of the field.
The 72-hole tournament record is 263 set by Dan Halldorson (1986 at Hattiesburg GC). The record on this CC of Jackson track is 266, set by Sam Burns in 2021.
The CC of Jackson course record is 62, set by Roberto Castro (first round, 2015).
Correlated courses to the Country Club of Jackson include Sedgefield, Memorial Park, Golf Club of Houston, Detroit Golf Club, Silverado and Congaree.
Sanderson Farms Championship Recent History
2022: Mackenzie Hughes (-17/271); 130-1*
2021: Sam Burns (-22/266); 16-1
2020: Sergio Garcia (-19/269); 70-1
2019: Sebastian Munoz (-18/270); 66-1**
2018: Cameron Champ (-21/267); 66-1
2017: Ryan Armour (-19/269); 125-1
2016: Cody Gribble (-20/268); 125-1
2015: Peter Malnati (-18/270); 250-1
2014: Nick Taylor (-16/272); 400-1
Playoff win over Sepp Straka – *
Playoff win over Sungjae Im – **
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