After hitting the winner on the first tournament of the season and having to wait a week between the Fortinet Championship and this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, I was itching to get back into things.
This week’s Sanderson Farms Championship sees the tour head south to Mississippi to take on the Country Club of Jackson.
The Country Club of Jackson is a par 72 course that plays at just over 7,400 yards.
This is the tour’s ninth playing on this southern bell of a course.
The course was redesigned in 2008 by John Fought but incorporates and has an influence of Donald Ross signature designs. The Donald Ross influence is most notable around the green with the way they are established, mainly with the multiple run-offs off the green.
It will take a quality iron game for any eventual winner as quality ball-strikers will have a leg up. Additionally, those who hit well off the tee and do well in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green will have a leg up.
Birdies too will be at a premium as the winning score will likely be flirting with the under-20’s. Missed opportunities to capitalize will be detrimental this week.
This week’s field is far from star filled with the vast majority of the world’s best taking time off post President’s Cup. Sam Burns, last year’s winner of the event and World #12 highlights the field.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Sebastian Munoz are the only other two names that we saw last week at Quail Hollow to make the trip down south. Davis Riley is an interesting name as well in this field as a Mississippi native who also placed 33rd last season in the FedEx Cup in his rookie season.
With a lot of big names from the PGA Tour taking this week off we’ll get another chance to see many of the Korn Ferry Tour graduates in action. With a week of PGA Tour experience under their belts as well we got to see what some of these guys are made of.
Important statistics to consider this week include Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (SG: TTG,) Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT,) Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP,) Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT,) Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%) and Birdie or Better Percentage.
As for weather this week it looks pretty clear. There is a zero-percent chance of precipitation from Thursday to Sunday with highs increasing throughout this weekend ranging from 76-degrees on Thursday to 83-degrees on Sunday.
$10,000+
My favorite this week per my module can be found in this price range with Sahith Theegala ($10,400.) Theegala had a very impressive rookie season last year making a name for himself on tour. Two weeks ago at the Fortinet Championship Theegala led all golfers in birdie or better percentage. He also finished 12th in SG: PUTT, 22nd in SG: TTG, 23rd in SG: OTT, 26th in greens in regulation percentage and 50th in SG: APP. He placed T6th at the Fortinet and finished 28th in the FedEx Cup Standings a year ago during his rookie season. He’s a very calm and cool golfer that is set to break the win barrier on tour. This could be his week. Also consider Sam Burns ($10,700.) Burns is the biggest name in this tournament as the World #12 and the defending champion of the Sanderson Farms Championship. After playing at the Presidents’ Cup last week, this event will be his season debut. Last season he finished tenth on tour in SG: PUTT and birdie or better percentage. He was also 18th in SG: APP, 26th in greens in regulation percentage, 32nd in SG: TTG and 86th in SG: OTT. Burns was a three time winner on tour last season. We already saw Max Homa repeat as an event champion two weeks back at the Fortinet, Burns could be the second of the season this week.
$9,000-$9,900
This is an interesting price range this week without many marquee names in the event and DraftKings not knowing where to properly price the Korn Ferry Tour graduates. With that being said, the first name I have in this price range is Emilano Grillo ($9,200.) Grillo has a top 25 finish on the season at the Fortinet and had two second place finishes last season at the 3M Open and the John Deere Classic. Both his top finishes last season came towards the end of the year so his form could carry into the start of this season. At the Fortinet he finished fifth in greens in regulation percentage, 27th in birdie or better percentage, 35th in SG: PUTT, 39th in both SG: TTG and SG: OTT as well as 74th in SG: APP. All finishes placed him above average last week. Also consider tour veteran Keegan Bradley ($9,400.) Bradley had one of his better seasons on tour last year where he finished 54th in the FedEx Cup standings on the back of six top ten finishes. He also placed above average in five-of-the-six statistical categories we’ve taken into consideration this week. He finished 23rd in both SG: TTG and SG: OTT as well as 29th in SG: APP. He was also 76th in birdie or better percentage, 88th in SG: PUTT and 103rd in greens in regulation percentage. In a field full of Tour youth, the veteran Bradley could find himself a top the leaderboard.
$8,000-$8,900
Like the aforementioned price range, this $8,000 price range is a bit confusing as well. Leading off we have Thomas Detry ($8,800.) Detry, who has spent a few years on the tour thus far, had a pretty decent showing in the season opener in Napa. He finished third in SG: OTT, sixth in birdie or better percentage, tenth in SG: TTG, 26th in greens in regulation percentage, 71st in SG: APP and 91st in SG: PUTT two weeks back at the Fortinet Championship. He did all of that in route to a T12th finish. In this depleted field with a bit of Tour experience, the 29-year-old Belgian can make some noise. Also consider Harris English ($8,600.) English is a four time tour champion and is currently ranked 44th in the world, making him one of the premier golfers in this tournament. He did have a good showing two weeks back at the Fortinet where he finished T9th. Two weeks ago he finished the weekend 16th in SG: PUTT, 25th in SG: TTG, 27th in birdie or better percentage, 56th in SG: OTT, 78th in SG: APP and 86th in greens in regulation percentage. Like we’ve mentioned with this price range and the one prior, the experience may lead the way for a guy like English in this depleted field.
$7,000-$7,900
The two golfers in this price range rank very well in our module with their showings at the Fortinet Championship two weeks ago. First off we have Davis Thompson ($7,200.) Thompson is a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Georgia who went T9th at the opening event of the season. He led all golfers at the Fortinet in greens in regulation percentage. He was also 19th in SG: TTG, 24th in SG: PUTT, 27th in birdie or better percentage, 31st in SG: OTT and 45th in SG: APP. He’s at the bottom of the price range which will go a long way in lineup flexibility and is also +9500 to win. He’s played just a handful of Tour events but will get a few of my dollars this week. Also consider Justin Lower ($7,500.) Lower had a fantastic showing at the Fortinet Championship where he went T4th. He was fourth in birdie or better percentage, 12th in greens in regulation percentage, 17th in SG: TTG, 18th in SG: PUTT, 34th in SG: OTT and 59th in SG: APP. Last season Lower had two top tens on tour and is already underway this season with a top five. He’s at +6500 to win as well and like Thompson, will get a few of my dollars this week.
$6,900-
Now onto the price range where the money is made. Leading this price range we have Ben Taylor ($6,800.) Taylor has played 40 events on tour in his lifetime and went for a T25th two weeks back at the Fortinet. He was third among all golfers in greens in regulation percentage, 20th in SG: OTT and 27th in both SG: TTG and birdie or better percentage. He also finished 56th in SG: PUTT and 68th in SG: APP. A veteran presence in this price range could go a long way this week. Also consider Jimmy Walker ($6,300.) Walker is a six time tour winner and has played 385 events in his long career on tour. Like Taylor he finished T25th two weeks back at the Fortinet. He did so by finishing first among all golfers in birdie or better percentage, second in SG: APP and seventh in SG: TTG. He was also 26th in greens in regulation percentage and 65th in SG: OTT. His putting was what held him back last week as he finished 113th. We’ll hope a few fall for him on the greens this week.
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