Saturday night is KJ Jefferson’s final chance at a win in his home state of Mississippi as a Razorback.
KJ Jefferson is a native of Sardis, Mississippi.
Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State recruited him, but he chose the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Since his arrival on campus, he has never won a game in his home state that he played in.
He didn’t play in Arkansas’ victory over Mississippi State during the 2020 COVID campaign. When the team went to Starkville last year, he was injured and wasn’t cleared to play.
He started and played outstanding against Ole Miss two years ago but lost a 52-51 heartbreaker.
So it should come as no surprise that the senior is motivated to win Saturday night in Oxford.
“I think everybody in life needs a little bit of motivation to get to whatever you need to get,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “But I think this is a big deal going back. Last time we were down there just didn’t quite get it done. It sure wasn’t because of him.”
Jefferson set the school record for touchdowns accounted for during Saturday’s 34-22 loss to Texas A&M.
“I’m really weird about awards, records.” Pittman said. “Obviously if I would have, if we would have won, something like that, that would have been a really special moment, but I had forgotten all about it to be honest with you. It’s really great. You’ve got to stay healthy for a long period of time and you’ve got to be a good player to set any type of record. I’m real happy for him and I hope he puts it so far out there that the next guy has a long way to go to catch it.”
Welcome to Golfweek’s Best 2023 Casino Courses in the United States. This list focuses on courses owned and/or operated by or in conjunction with casinos, with data pulled from Golfweek‘s massive database of course rankings.
The hundreds of members of Golfweek‘s course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each that is then used to compile the Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
Listed with each course below is its average rating, location, designer(s) and whether the course is modern (m, built in or after 1960) or classic (c, built before 1960).
From the gated entrance to the 18th green, Fallen Oak rolls out the welcome mat in Mississippi.
SAUCIER, Miss. – Golf architect Tom Fazio is a heavyweight in the private club world. His designs pepper the Golfweek’s Best list of top private courses across the U.S., with dozens of such facilities among the top modern courses in the country.
Wade Hampton Club in North Carolina, Congaree in South Carolina, Estancia in Arizona — those and more than 50 others rank highly, and they’re all private. His courses tend to be part of clubs that excel in catering to their memberships’ every whim.
Fazio also has excelled in building courses for another segment of golf: casinos. Fazio either designed or collaborated on seven of the top 50 casino courses in the U.S. Best of all, these highly ranked layouts are open to the public, albeit sometimes only to guests staying at the affiliated casino resort.
Fazio’s Shadow Creek in Las Vegas has topped the Golfweek’s Best rankings of casino courses in the U.S. for years. The over-the-top desert layout in North Las Vegas is a testament to what might be accomplished when money is no issue, and the layout’s $1,000-plus green fee is aligned with that. The amount of play at Shadow Creek is also limited — stay at the MGM, take a limo to the course, be treated like a star.
But there’s another way to experience the best of Fazio casino golf that shouldn’t be missed, and it’s much more attainable.
No. 18 at Fallen Oak in Mississippi (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Fallen Oak near Biloxi, Mississippi, is a much more natural layout than Shadow Creek. And the course – operated in conjunction with MGM’s Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, a AAA Four Diamond award winner — might offer the best opportunity for public golfers to experience a top Fazio layout and all the first-rate trappings that generally come with it. Fallen Oak is No. 2 on the Golfweek’s Best list of top casino courses in the U.S.
From the gated entrance and long drive past live oaks and ponds to the stately clubhouse, all the way to the personalized lockers and frozen watermelon served at the turn on a hot day, Fallen Oak makes a public-access player feel like a member of an elite club. The service is second to none in the public-access golf world.
Director of golf Mark Powell makes sure of it.
“We want it to feel special, that, ‘Hey, I’m at a great golf course,’ ” said the longtime PGA of America pro who took the helm at Fallen Oak in 2021. “We want to be there every step of the way. We want everyone on staff to know your name.”
No. 17 at Fallen Oak in Mississippi (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Guests of the Beau Rivage gain access to all this on a course that’s never crowded, hosting just 14,000 or so rounds a year. Counting the several weeks a year Fallen Oak is closed for maintenance – a luxury most public-access layouts can’t afford — it works out to about 40 players a day.
Go ahead, stretch out. Enjoy the quiet. It’s rare these days.
Fazio’s layout at Fallen Oak opened in 2006, and for a decade it hosted the PGA Tour Champions event in Mississippi. And unlike the heavily manufactured Shadow Creek, Fallen Oak sits on a tremendous Southern site that seems entirely natural for golf. Aside from its high ranking among casino courses, Fallen Oak is the top-rated public-access course in Mississippi. The green fee tops out at $275 — you could play four rounds at Fallen Oak for not much more than one round at Shadow Creek — and the resort runs stay-and-play specials.
Fallen Oak’s rolling terrain is dotted with wetlands and specimen trees, some of which were relocated during construction. Conditioning is top notch, equal to elite private clubs even in the heat of a Mississippi summer. The greens have plenty of motion without ever crossing a line into too-difficult territory.
Best of all: the bunkering.
Many resort courses slash bunkers across their countrysides, threatening players of all levels and distance. Fallen Oak, by contrast, offers restrained bunkering, one well-placed trap often serving the job. Fallen Oak underwent a major bunker renovation in 2014 in which numerous traps were removed, and the remaining bunkers were given a face-lift again in 2022.
No. 3 at Fallen Oak in Mississippi (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Many holes feature only one fairway bunker. No. 2 is a long par 4, and there is just one fairway bunker on the left side – the hole doesn’t need any more protection. It’s similar at Nos. 4 and 9 on the front side. No. 11 has no fairway traps, and the rest of the back nine is similarly restrained. The ground moves enough through the wide corridors to provide challenge without every stray shot splashing into sand.
Same goes around most of the greens. Play a round at Fallen Oak and you’ll face more chips and pitches than bunker splash-outs. The entire layout, since the bunker renovations, shows a lovely level of understatement married to an extremely comfortable Gulf Coast motif. The terrain and the trees, the ponds and the greens are free to shine without too much sand in your face. You can always head to the beach if you want more sand.
“The first re-do they did, I tell ya, I was really impressed,” said Powell, who was working at another Mississippi club at the time. “I had played here before, back in the early days, and that was always kind of a knock on the course, too many bunkers. After the re-do, when I saw the course, I said this is even better. It’s awesome.”
The par-72 layout can be stretched beyond 7,500 yards, but from the proper tees it’s a treat of attempted shotmaking into smooth putting surfaces. Good shots are rewarded, and the roll-offs around several greens require strategic approaches to the proper sides of the hole. There’s not a thoughtless approach on the 510-acre property, and at the same time there’s not one that’s unattainable.
The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi (Courtesy of The Beau Rivage)
It’s a perfect attribute to the Beau Rivage, which is packed with highly rated dining and other curated experiences besides the golf. A word of advice: Plan your visit during baseball season, and take in a Biloxi Shuckers minor-league game at MGM Park across the street from the casino resort. It’s an intimate ballpark that provides a great break from the gaming tables.
The golf club is open to any guests of the Beau Rivage, with Powell and his staff hosting frequent special events for VIPs of the casino. Put in enough time at the tables and you might be invited to play in a sponsored tournament for casino credit that can run into the thousands of dollars. The club also has a small membership of invited casino regulars, and Powell hosts all kinds of interesting events for them, too.
“We just want to make it fun for everybody,” Powell said. “We’ve got member tournaments, a great club championship, all kinds of games during the week.
“We’re constantly looking to do every little thing we can to improve the guest experience. Sometimes a little thing goes a long way.”
Sound like a public-access private club? That’s the idea, executed perfectly.
Zach Evans offers the potential to become a No. 1 back.
Zach Evans was considered one of the top running backs in 2019 after the Houston-native ran for 4,867 yards and 76 touchdowns over his final three years in high school. He originally signed a letter of intent with Georgia but then was released from that commitment and eventually became TCU’s first ever five-star recruit.
His two seasons at TCU saw success though not to the astronomic level of high school. He only ran 54 times as a freshman as a part of a four-man rotation for their backfield. In 2021, he assumed a larger role and rolled up four-straight 100-yard games before injuring his toe and missing the rest of the season after just six games.
In 2022, he transferred to Ole Miss, missing TCU’s Cinderella season, and splitting the backfield there with freshman phenom Quinshon Judkins who ran for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns on 274 rushes compared to Evans’ 144 runs for 936 yards. The Rebels’ backfield had platooned three average backs in 2021 when Evans decided to join them. Judkins surprised everyone, not the least Evans.
Evans’ chance to become the primary back in a promising backfield was cut short by Judkins’ monster season. Rather than spend his final year as the relief back for Judkins, Evans declared for the NFL draft. Unlike in high school, Evans never again played as the featured back in college, so his ceiling hasn’t been fully explored.
Table: Player NCAA stats (2020-22)
Year
School
Games
Runs
Yards
Avg.
TD
Catch
Yards
TD
2020
TCU
9
54
415
7.7
4
8
62
0
2021
TCU
6
92
648
7.0
5
10
102
1
2022
Ole Miss
12
144
936
6.5
9
12
119
1
Pros
Smooth and natural runner
Has the jets to take it to the house when he breaks free
Elite burst, explosive acceleration
Speed to get around the corner on sweeps
Fights for yardage, can absorb hits and keep running
Prototypical size for running back
Balance through contact a major plus
Sets up defenders to miss their tackle
Agility and power combine to reach second level and beyond
One of the top pure runners in this rookie class
Cons
Five fumbles on just 290 college carries
Minimal experience as a receiver
Lack of creativity when he runs
Ideally in a zone-heavy scheme
Pass protection needs further development
Fantasy outlook
Evans is a Day 2 prospect that should be within the first five or six running backs selected. He’s likely to be added to a team searching for rushing talent to add to a committee backfield though he has the potential to become a full-time back, even if his college resume denied him that role. He’s always been an effective rusher but will need to add more work as a receiver to become what the NFL looks for in a full-time or even a primary back.
His college experience wasn’t as great as his high school production suggested and his production was a function of the situations that he found at both of his colleges. The expectations for 2022 with the move to Ole Miss were high but he was eclipsed by the freshman Quinshon Judkins. That leaves Evans with an incomplete look at what he is capable of producing.
Evans timing has worked against him, so he’s harder to evaluate. That could mean that an NFL team gets a steal in the second or third round if he rises to what some believe his potential to be. He enters the NFL inside a deep and competitive running back class this year, so he’ll be somewhat overshadowed from the hype with Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. That will make him a value pick in fantasy drafts.
Where he lands and the situation there always impacts any rookie, and Evans hasn’t been overly lucky with what happened around him in college. But he brings solid potential as a committee back, particularly working with one of reception-heavy backs who need help with relief carries and early down runs. His upside is still notable and while a risk, he could surprise on the right team.
A preview of programs the Irish could be playing in the distant future.
In case you haven’t heard, the ACC-Big Ten Challenge is going away after this week. It will be replaced with the ACC-SEC Challenge beginning in 2023. Notre Dame will get a preview of the yearly meeting with the conference when it faces Georgia on Dec. 18 in Atlanta. That will be it for the two sides this season unless they cross paths again in the postseason.
With this new event, it only makes sense to see how the Irish have stacked up against the SEC. Against current members, they have an all-time record of 47-66. That does not include the following programs that they never have played: Auburn, Florida and Mississippi State. Here’s how the Irish have done when facing everyone else, including future conference members Texas and Oklahoma:
JACKSON, Miss. – Don’t blink, you’ll miss another birdie.
Moving day lived up to its mantra on Saturday at the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson. From the opening tee shot to the final cup rattling in the hole, there were plenty of birdies in the third round, leading to numerous players making big moves up the leaderboard. The scoring average has dropped every day through the first three rounds.
Among those at the top include a past champion, one looking to end a winless drought and someone looking for their first PGA Tour win.
Here are five takeaways from the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
JACKSON, Miss. – The first time Brandon Wu went to The Country Club of Jackson last year, he was scared of the greens.
When he arrived at the Sanderson Farms Championship, he’d heard plenty about the putting surfaces. How fast they were. How punishing they could be if you were in the wrong spot. Making only his second start as a PGA Tour member, Wu was intimidated.
A year later, his thoughts on the greens have changed. They have also gained his respect.
“I think they’re just perfect,” Wu said. “They’re super pure, so if you are hitting good putts, they’re going to break the way you think they are and they’ll go in. These are some of the best on Tour, for sure.”
The Sanderson Farms Championship is the second event of the PGA Tour’s 2022-23 schedule. Hosted at The Country Club of Jackson since 2014, the tournament has a knack for producing first-time winners, but it has also built a reputation for having tremendous greens. As many players put it, arguably the best on the PGA Tour.
When thinking of courses known for their greens, Augusta National comes to mind. Other venues get thrown out there, too. But The Country Club of Jackson has earned the respect of the best players in the world, and it’s one of the reasons many enjoy playing Mississippi’s lone Tour event.
“I’ll bet you could walk across that whole putting green and ask guys about this course, and they’ll tell you some of the best greens all year,” said Davis Riley, who grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. “It’s an awesome place.”
Golfers play the ninth green during the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Photo: Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger)
So, what makes a good green for the best players in the world?
Stanley Reedy has been the golf course superintendent at The Country Club of Jackson since 1997. He has been in charge of play and course conditions for not only the Tour event but also day-to-day outings for members.
There are numerous things that it takes to make the course’s greens as popular as they are, but Reedy said it’s all about his team’s attention to detail.
“They have to be built right,” Reedy said. “And then it’s the weekly maintenance. We may do things a little bit different, but our membership also has to let you do those things. And ours does.”
Monday is the normal maintenance day for the course, but if it happens to rain, Reedy said he will push it back to later in the week. It takes away a day of play for members, but it allows him and his staff to properly manage the course.
The greens are Champion bermuda grass, and many players say they’re so good because of how true putts roll.
“The greens are obviously really fast, but I think if you get in the right spots, you can make a lot of putts,” defending champion Sam Burns said. “The greens roll so pure.”
Part of the reason for the pureness is how they’re cut. Reedy said The Country Club of Jackson doesn’t use a vertical mower, instead using a groomer, which has tighter blades. When mowing, Reedy and his crew will never cut in the same pattern twice, which helps eliminate a noticeable grain pattern. After using the groomer mower, they use a walk mower that also has a groomer.
The green complexes for the Sanderson Farms Championship are fairly flat, so the strong, quick greens are the course’s natural defense. Reedy said someone who is a strong putter or has a good week on the greens is more likely to raise the trophy come Sunday.
The greens at The Country Club of Jackson reward good shots and penalize bad ones. They roll pure, require a good read and a solid strike, but those who manage the tricky complexes will find their way to the top of the leaderboard.
Every year, more and more of the best players in the world come to agree on one thing: the greens at the Sanderson Farms Championship are some of, if not, the best on the PGA Tour. And it brings a smile to Reedy’s face for each compliment he gets.
“It’s gratifying,” Reedy said. “You work your butt off all summer long. For your members, too, but when the best players in the world tell you your greens are in the top three or whatever, with Augusta National and U.S. Opens, it’s good.”
He earned an exemption after winning the PGA 2021 Gulf States E-Z-GO Section Championship last September.
JACKSON, Miss. – Scanning through a leaderboard at a PGA Tour event can lead to many different stories.
You have your stars trying to add another sentence to their legacy. You have rookies trying to break out. You have amateurs trying to prove they belong on the big stage.
If you scrolled to the bottom of the leaderboard of the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship and saw the guy at the bottom by a mile, well, his name is Joseph Hanko. He’s not a Tour pro. He’s the director of golf operations at Elm Lake Golf Course in Columbus, Mississippi, near the Alabama border.
So, how did he get into his first PGA Tour event with the best players in the world? He won a qualifier more than a year ago. Hanko earned an exemption after winning the PGA 2021 Gulf States E-Z-GO Section Championship last September in Madison, Mississippi. He shot a 2-under 70 in the second and final round to take first place.
“I was prepared, for the most part,” Hanko told Golfweek. “The pro here let me come down a lot. I came down a lot and knew the golf course. My game kind of fell apart, honestly, like eight days ago.”
Don’t let Hanko’s score fool you, he’s better than most golfers on the planet. He shot 84 on Thursday and 82 on Friday. He recorded three birdies during his 36 holes, including consecutive circles on Nos. 3 and 4 on Friday.
Joseph Hanko plays a shot on the 14th hole during the Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson on September 29, 2022, in Jackson, Mississippi. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
But being inside the ropes for the week helped give him a different perspective on what it’s like to be a Tour pro, even if he waited more than a year to tee it up.
“It was too long to wait,” Hanko said while laughing. “You exhaust the emotions of the moment. It didn’t really hit me until Wednesday night when we started talking about what time we wanted to come to the golf course, and that’s when I couldn’t sleep.
“It took me until the 11th hole (Thursday) for my insides to stop moving.”
Hanko’s caddie was Drew Spradley, a 25-year Air Force veteran who’s a member at Hanko’s course. He also had about 10 members and a handful of colleagues come out and watch him.
That doesn’t even include his family, some of whom flew down from Wisconsin to watch him compete while others drove two hours from Starkville. As the sun set behind the 18th grandstand on Friday night, Hanko’s group was the last on the course, yet it was one of the biggest galleries of the week.
That’s why, regardless of score, the week was a memorable one for Hanko.
“It didn’t get to me,” Hanko said. “I was playing really good until a week ago, just didn’t this week. I think I did good preparing as far as the emotions until it came to sleeping. I still enjoyed it.”
Here’s what you missed from the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
JACKSON, Miss. – If the first two days were any indication, fans are in for a treat come the weekend at the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Friday’s second-round action from The Country Club of Jackson was filled with tons of low scores. Players are positioning themselves for a run at the trophy in the second PGA Tour event of the 2022-23 season. Emiliano Grillo shot 7-under, and one of his best shots of the day came after he threw his club.
There’s a duo tied at the top, but six golfers are within two shots of the lead. There are 10 within three shots.
Here’s a look at five things to know from the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
The first two rounds of the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson are complete. It’s the second event of the PGA Tour’s 2022-23 season. Scores were lower during the second round, as numerous players climbed up the leaderboard to put themselves in position ahead of moving day.
Thomas Detry fired his second consecutive round of 5-under 67, and he leads at 10-under 134. Mackenzie Hughes caught fire Friday, shooting 8-under 64, and he’s one back of Detry. Sepp Straka is tied with Hughes after his round of 6-under 66.
The cut was 2-under 142. There are 78 players moving on to the weekend.
Here’s a look at a few notable names who missed the cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship:
