JACKSON, Miss. – The sale of Sanderson Farms to Cargill and Continental Grain Co. was finalized in July, creating Wayne-Sanderson Farms in the process. The sale of the poultry farm, along with Jackson’s ongoing water crisis, creates some questions ahead of Thursday’s first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship, the second event of the PGA Tour 2022-23 schedule.
What happens this week looms large for the event’s future. Tournament executive director Steve Jent will welcome Wayne-Sanderson Farms’ new executives to Country Club of Jackson to see Mississippi’s lone PGA Tour event for the first time. The original contract with Sanderson Farms to sponsor the tournament runs through 2026.
“There’s still five years left in the original agreement,” Jent said. “Their executives are focused on combining two companies into the country’s third-largest poultry company. What we’re excited about is … (we’re) hosting all their new executives who have not been here. They haven’t seen the tournament.
“That’s really our immediate focus. We really want to get this year behind us, and it’s still too early to talk about an extension. You talk about that when there’s maybe two or three years left. We know we’ve got five years. We’re excited about having them come and see it for this first year as their new title sponsor.”
Pic Billingsley, the executive vice president of retail for Wayne-Sanderson Farms, declined to answer whether the original Sanderson Farms contract was transferable to the new company.
“I can’t answer that question,” Billingsley said.
The tournament impacts the children’s hospital at University of Mississippi Medical Center, along with a variety of other charities throughout the state. In collaboration with Century Club Charities, which promotes golf and philanthropic interests in Mississippi, proceeds from the 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship led to a $1.5 million donation to UMMC.
Jent is confident in new leadership continuing to support Century Club Charities, along with the children’s hospital. Phillip Carpenter, president of Century Club Charities, is prepared to continue the company’s contract through 2026 with Wayne-Sanderson Farms.
The tournament is also a massive economic boost for the Jackson area, with about a “$40 million impact,” according to Carpenter. Jackson’s ongoing water crisis, which took a turn for the better Sept. 15 after Jackson’s city-wide weeks-long boil water notice was lifted, never threatened this year’s championship. The Country Club of Jackson has its own well system that provides irrigation and water to the grounds. Jent was also assured by city and state officials that the crisis would be solved in time.
The focus in the short term is showcasing the event to the new leadership and continuing to support charities across the state.
Defending champion Sam Burns is the headliner, fresh off a victory for the United States over the International team in the Presidents Cup. Burns, and a field including former major winners, gives the tournament something to build on.
“There is a totally new group of leaders that have come about because of the merger and that will be their first time to be able to see it and be involved in it,” Billingsley said. “It’s going to be exciting for some of us old timers at Sanderson Farms that are in leadership roles with a new company to be able to showcase Mississippi and showcase what this tournament ultimately does for the people in the state.”
The Clarion Ledger’s Wicker Perlis contributed to this report.
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