Defending champion Sergio Garcia highlights PGA Tour players who missed the cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship

Who’s going home early from the Sanderson Farms?

JACKSON, Miss. — With just one player ranked inside the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking in the field at the Sanderson Farms Championship this week, a group of hopeful rising stars on the PGA Tour have taken advantage of the opportunity to reach the leaderboard.

Last season’s Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris took the early lead at 13 under after setting the course record (and tying the tournament mark) with a bogey-free 11-under 61 on Friday at Country Club of Jackson. Later in the evening he was joined atop the leaderboard by Nick Watney (6-under 66) and Sahith Theegala (5-under 67). Zalatoris’ former teammate at Wake Forest, Cameron Young, sits T-2, one shot back at 12 under alongside Mississippi local Hayden Buckley.

On the flip side, toward the bottom half of the leaderboard, you may be surprised when you see some of the notable players to miss the cut.

Sanderson Farms: Scores | Yardage book | Photos

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]