Tag: Sanderson Farms Championship

Anirban Lahiri ‘in a good place,’ shoots 66 Thursday at Sanderson Farms Championship

Off to a good start this week with a 66, Anirban Lahiri notched his first top-10 finish in nearly two years last week.

JACKSON, Miss. – Anirban Lahiri didn’t bother to book a flight home from the Dominican Republic last week. He made plans to catch a PGA Tour charter to the Sanderson Farms Championship despite the fact that he wasn’t in the field. Then he went out and shot 64 in the third round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship to vault into contention and finished tied for eighth to qualify for this week’s event.

“I just had that feeling that if I go out there and do what I’m doing right now, I should get on that plane to Jackson,” Lahiri said. “It paid off.”

It could pay even bigger dividends after Lahiri posted a bogey-free 6-under 66 at the Country Club of Jackson to trail Charley Hoffman and Jimmy Walker by two strokes during the opening round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

“Confidence is up,” Lahiri said. “I feel like I’m playing really well. I like this golf course. Last year was my first time here, and I really like the way it sets up. It reminds me a lot of the tracks I grew up playing in Asia. Probably not greens this quick, but similar to look at.”

Lahiri, 33, a member of the 2015 and 2017 International Presidents Cup team, has been mired in a slump. He finished No. 178 in the FedEx Cup standings in 2018-19 and needed to record back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to retain his PGA Tour status (which carried over to the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic).

The 2019-20 season wasn’t any better. He made only five of 13 cuts and hadn’t recorded a top-10 finish until last week in nearly two years (the 2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic). But Lahiri returned from his native India in August with renewed enthusiasm.

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“I think the lockdown really helped me,” he said. “I was in India for five months. I left pretty much the Monday after Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer Invitational) to go play the Asian Open, and then we got locked in. They closed the borders down. So, I was there for a long time. Spent about 40 days straight with my coach, Vijay Divecha, before I came back out here, and I got back to the basics, undid a lot of the bad habits that had crept into the game and just tried to clean up the game, clean up the mind and just get really – just prepare. So far so good.”

Lahiri rolled in two birdies on his opening nine, including a 24-foot putt at No. 7, and added four birdies coming home, highlighted by a 32-foot putt at 12.

Lahiri has won 18 times around the world on the Professional Golf Tour of India, Asian Tour and European Tour, but hasn’t hoisted a trophy since the 2015 Hero Indian Open and remains winless on the PGA Tour. The last six winners of the Sanderson Farms Championship have all been first-time winners on Tour. Could Lahiri be lucky No. 7?

“I haven’t been in this situation for a long, long time, and I think it’s good,” Lahiri said. “It’s been a wake-up call, and so far I’m responding to it positively.”

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Must be Thursday: Charley Hoffman grabs share of Sanderson Farms lead

Charley Hoffman has had at least a share of the lead after the first round on the PGA Tour six times in his career and No. 7 looks likely.

It’s not surprising that Charley Hoffman grabbed a share of the lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

It was Thursday, after all.

Hoffman has had at least a share of the lead after the first round six times in his career and No. 7 looks likely after he shot an 8-under-par 64 at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. He shared the lead with 2015 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker among the early finishers.

Michael Gligic shot 65 while four players were at 66, including 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley.

“Because I play better than everybody on Thursday,” Hoffman joked when asked about his first-round success. “No, I mean, I think I come in with a good game plan. I think on Sunday I may in the past have not tried to execute the same game plan depending on where I am in the lead. That may be why I haven’t played as well as I’ve wanted to on Sundays. But on Thursday the game plan I set up early in the week and I follow through with it, and it usually pans out pretty well.”

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Hoffman has four PGA Tour titles, his most recent coming in the 2016 Valero Texas Open. None of the four, however, came after he took at least a share of the lead in the first round. His best finish after grabbing at least a share of the first-round lead was a tie for seventh in the 2013 Travelers Championship.

In hopes of turning his Thursday triumphs into a Sunday trophy, Hoffman will follow his game plan – hit fairways and greens – and rely on his new found length.

Spurred by his birth certificate – he’s 43 – and the enormous length of reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Hoffman has worked to get longer. In the first round, he hit nine of 14 fairways in regulation and was ranked fifth in driving distance at 303.7 yards. He also hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

Hoffman has been working with Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Center in San Diego to lengthen his swing, thus lengthen his drives.

“I’ve never struggled with yardage until the last like couple years,” Hoffman said. “That was never something I really explored before, so I started exploring how to do it. (Rose) trained a bunch of long drive guys, and it’s something that I’ve trained to do, be a little more efficient, swing longer. The reality is in this day and age it’s more important to be long than straight, so that’s something I’m trying to do.

“I’ve gotten in better shape throughout the years, but I wouldn’t say I’ve trained to hit it longer. I’m learning to be more efficient and hit it longer.

“It’s just the game is changing.”

But Hoffman won’t try and keep up with the big hitters all the time.

“As an older guy I’ve got to pay attention when I’m swinging it hard,” he said. “As I’ve said to people, my speed, I can get it up there pretty high. I don’t hit it on every shot. If there’s a par-5 where I need to get home in two I’m going to swing hard and hopefully hit the fairway. The other holes, like 18, I’m going to try to put it in the fairway and probably not swing quite as hard.”

Sanderson Farms Golf
Caddies walk up the ninth fairway during the first round of the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Walker made the softest shots he hit count. After missing birdie putts from five feet on his first two holes, Walker made a slight adjustment in his stance and started making a bunch of putts. His 64 was his lowest round by five shots since golf returned in June following a 13-week break due to COVID-19.

“I haven’t been playing very well, but I feel good, and it just hasn’t really clicked yet,” Walker said. “I had a really good nine holes last week at home, and I was like, this is starting to feel pretty good, and seeing some putts go in. I had one good round at the U.S. Open.

“But last week at home was good. I’ve had some tendonitis in my elbow, shoulder has been hurting, so it’s been tough. I didn’t do much last week at home. I just rested quite a bit and I was with my buddies, but it actually felt pretty good day.”

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‘Fuzzy’ among the gators roaming the grounds at Sanderson Farms Championship

The Country Club of Jackson, home to the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship, is also home to about 10 alligators.

Fuzzy might be near the bottom of a list for words that would describe an alligator.

But not in Jackson.

Fuzzy (which may or may not be the gator pictured above) became the only named alligator at The Country Club of Jackson according to Head Golf Professional Jason Prendergast ahead of this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship.

“One of my assistants was out giving a junior golf lesson, and they ran into [an alligator], and he named it ‘Fuzzy,'” Prendergast said. “So that’s the only alligator that I’m aware of that’s been ever named out here.”

Prendergast, who started at The Country Club in 2004, spotted his first gator within two years.

Now, about 10 gators occupy the bodies of water at the course.

“The members certainly look for [gators] as they’re playing,” Prendergast said.

Signs warn golfers not to stand near the ponds’ edges. According to Prendergast, a large alligator looms on the left side of No. 16, and another large gator on the left side of No. 17, and hole No. 2 on the Cypress Nine.

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“Sometimes you have to be a little nervous when you walk over by a pond’s edge to just make sure that there’s not one — just out of sight,” Prendergast said. “But in general, they’re more afraid of us than we are of them, and when they see you they scurry themselves down into the water. And it gets a little spooky, because they’ll submerge and disappear, and you don’t exactly know where they are when they go under.”

Once the gator becomes too large or its attitude becomes too skittish, the Country Club has The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks remove if from the premises.

Sanderson Farms Championship
An alligator lies in the sun at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson. Photo by Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

The Country Club of Jackson called the MDWFP earlier this spring to remove an alligator, and they found an interesting surprise.

“The tag showed that the alligator had already been removed from our property one time before,” Prendergast said. “So I’m not sure where they moved that alligator to – if they moved it up into the reservoir somewhere – but ultimately, that gator had been removed once before, a year or two earlier from our property, and it came back. I guess: They find home somehow.”

Junior programs for Crocs and Gators

The Country Club of Jackson’s junior program began with two names; “Crocs,” for children ages 3-9, and “Gators” for juniors 10-and-up. An alligator head with a golf ball in its mouth is the logo for the program.

“The junior program grew from those two names,” Prendergast said. “Now, we have a National Junior event here at the club, and it’s still referred to as ‘The Gator.'”

The Gator Invitational Junior Championship began as a high school team event for schools in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky. Arkansas and Georgia from 2013-2017.

It transitioned to an elite individual championship In 2018, and the field has featured players from 25 states and six countries – Mexico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Thailand, China and South Korea.

More than 100 Gator alums have played at, or committed to, the collegiate level.

According to the Gator’s Co-Chairman Mark Markow, the 2020 event was canceled due to the historic flooding in the Jackson area, but it was scheduled to be held March 12-15, a time where the COVID-19 pandemic started to become a pressing issue.

The event is still finalizing a date for 2021.

“Typically, this event is done in late February or early March, Predergast said, but we’re looking at late summer, early fall, with the hopes of getting through COVID.”

Five Gator alums have competed in the Sanderson Farms Championship: Camden Backel, Ross Bell, Wilson Furr, Braden Thornberry and Hayden Buckley.

Isaiah Jackson will become the sixth when he tees off at 2:50 (ET) on Thursday.

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The return of the pro-am: Push carts, COVID testing and gift cards, oh, my

Instead of a pro-am pairing party, the Sanderson Farms Championship had a COVID-19 test party.

JACKSON, Miss. – Instead of a pro-am pairing party, the Sanderson Farms Championship had a COVID-19 test party.

“We gave everybody an hour window where they could come and be tested, 15-minute results and 100 percent negatives and everybody’s here,” said Steve Jent, tournament director. “We’re just trying to turn lemons into lemonade.”

The PGA Tour resumed pro-ams last week at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic, following in the footsteps of PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour, which first did so at the Ally Challenge and Price Cutter Charity Championship, respectively, in July.

Gone is hobnobbing amongst pros the night before at the draw party, the chummy team photo and the fist bump celebration for a birdie putt.

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“It was totally different,” said Sebastian Muñoz, the defending champion of the Sanderson Farms Championship, who played with the chancellor of Ole Miss.  “They’re having to take their bags and not have any caddies around, so my caddie had to rake all the bunkers, so he was not loving it. But it was good, nine holes actually played pretty fast. It was like under two and a half hours, which for a pro-am is really good, and just different but good in a sense.”

The biggest change of all may have been amateurs using push carts. In an effort to limit the number of people on site, caddies for the participants were eliminated this year.

“We’ve always done a walking pro-am and cart-path only is no fun, so, how do we do it without caddies? I thought, why not push carts,” Jent said. “I ordered 250 (from Bag Boy). You can’t find these things. They are not to be found. The local Edwin Watts has asked me if they can buy some.”

PGA Tour rules allow a maximum of 28 teams during a Monday pro-am and 52 teams on Wednesday. The pro-am was sold out before the COVID-19 shutdown. Jent said courses in Mississippi remained open, and he worked with Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state’s chief medical officer, to develop a plan, which was submitted to the Tour and received approval from the players.

Tour veteran Peter Jacobsen long has contended that Wednesday is the most important day of the week on Tour because of the money generated for local charities. Jent said the Sanderson Farms Championship raised $1.6 million for charity in 2016, with $1.3 million earmarked for Batson Children’s Hospital near downtown, and 30-to-40 other non-profits such as First Tee and Make-A-Wish Foundation splitting the other $300,000. The loss of revenue due to no spectators or corporate hospitality is significant.

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“Maybe we’ll get close to halfway there,” Jent said, referencing last year’s $1.6 million as a benchmark. “Without the pro-am, we’d have been close to break-even so having it is a big impact.”

A cool story is emerging at PGA Tour tournaments across the country as corporate partners have continued to make charitable giving a priority even if they aren’t able to enjoy wining and dining clients in their corporate chalets.

“A lot of sponsors for the pro-am couldn’t come because of corporate travel restrictions. Several that didn’t participate donated some or all of their fee to support the local hospital,” Jent said.

Nathan Grube, tournament director of the Travelers Championship, echoed that sentiment: “We had sponsor after sponsor say we understand what the tournament is about. Take our entire sponsorship fee and use it for charity.”

Jent said some of his corporate guests were renting out space at restaurants to do team dinners in smaller groups or grabbing take out and going back to their hotels. “We told them you need to semi-self-quarantine before you come here,” he said.

On Monday, 60 golfers participated in a pro-am at the Country Club of Jackson and 105 amateurs did so on Wednesday. As for the push carts, they were a big hit. Pro Bo Van Pelt joined his amateurs and used one on Monday. The amateur gift package included a Callaway gift card, but participants were given an option of keeping their cart in exchange for a reduced amount on their gift card – the tournament also offered to ship the cart to them.

“I think the push cart could be the future of the pro-am,” Jent said. “I think we showed we can safely do a pro-am and still give them a chance to participate. My message to my fellow tournament directors is you can do this. It’s just a little extra effort but you can do this.”

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Sanderson Farms Championship matchups, placings and first-round leader bets

Check out the best odds at the Sanderson Farms Championship for matchups, placings and first-round leader bets.

The PGA Tour shifts back to the USA this week for the Sanderson Farms Championship and several prominent names return to the field. Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi hosts the event for the seventh straight year and has allowed for six consecutive first-time PGA Tour winners.

Below, we’ll look for the best value bets in the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship betting odds and lines with tournament matchups, placings and first-round leader (FRL) picks and best bets.

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 9:25 a.m. ET.

Matchup bets

Denny McCarthy vs. Robby Shelton vs. Bronson Burgoon (+210)

Burgoon has the best history at Country Club of Jackson of this group with an average of 0.99 strokes gained per round across nine career rounds, according to Data Golf. McCarthy (+130) is consistently the best putter of the group, but in a Thursday 3-ball match, Burgoon just needs a strong start at a personal favorite course.

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Doc Redman (-143) vs. Chez Reavie

Redman comes into the Sanderson Farms Championship with two T-3 finishes in his last three events. Reavie shared the T-3 at the Safeway Open but followed it up with a missed cut at the U.S. Open. Reavie also makes his debut in Jackson, so give the edge to Redman following a T-52 finish last year with his strong recent form.

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Placing bets

Top 5: Scottie Scheffler (+250)

Scheffler is +900 to win this tournament outright so the value isn’t all that much worse with a wider margin of insurance. He has three top-5 finishes in his last four events but hasn’t played since the Tour Championship after being forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open following a positive COVID-19 test.

Top 10: Sam Burns (+300)

Burns is fifth by the outright odds at +2500. He’s one of many in the field looking for his first PGA Tour win and should be in contention on Sunday against the relatively weak competition. He tied for third in this event in 2018 but slipped to T-45 last year.

Top Canadian: Nick Taylor (+300)

Taylor was the inaugural winner at Country Club of Jackson in 2014. He has played sparingly since the PGA Tour’s mid-June restart and has missed the cut in three of his last five events. Conners hasn’t been much better, however, and is coming off a missed cut in an even weaker field at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Side with Taylor’s experience with both golfers struggling.

First-round leader bet

Nick Taylor (+8000)

Double down on Taylor at the site of his first of two PGA Tour wins. He has 18 career rounds played here with an average of 0.95 strokes gained per round. He won last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am but missed the cut in four of his next eight events on the 2019-20 schedule.

He’s routinely among the PGA Tour leaders in first-round scoring average and will go off the first tee Thursday morning at 8:11 a.m. ET. Taylor missed the cut last year but broke 70 in the first round of each of his previous four appearances in this event.

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Sebastian Munoz in right frame of mind ahead of Sanderson Farms Championship title defense

Sebastian Munoz is in the right frame of mind ahead of his Sanderson Farms Championship title defense.

Columbia’s Sebastian Munoz joined the fraternity of PGA Tour winners last year with a thrilling Sunday finish to capture the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson, making birdie on the 72nd hole and then defeating Sungjae Im with a par on the first extra hole.

Now, for the first time in his career, he will defend a title with his return this week to Mississippi.

“I thought about it when I was coming in, and I was like, well, if you think about it, if I don’t win, like everything would be negative if I don’t win,” Munoz said Wednesday after his pro-am round. “And that’s not fair. So it’s like, I’m just glad to be here in a place that I’ve played really good, where I like the people, and just try to do my best. It’s not like I’m going to focus on just defending my title but just having a good tournament at a place that I like.”

It’s a thoughtful approach, and the latest example of Munoz working on the mental side of the game. His victory set forth his best season on the PGA Tour, as he added three more top-10s, cracked the top 100 in the official world rankings for the first time, started the FedEx Cup Playoffs with seven consecutive birdies, and made it to the Tour Championship for the first time, where he tied for eighth in the FedEx Cup.

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But he also missed 10 cuts, half of them coming after the Tour restarted following a 13-week break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the way, as he continued to work on his game, he attended to the six inches between his ears.

“I’ve been really happy with my mental toughness. I think that’s a big improvement from a couple years ago,” said Munoz, 27, who is ranked No. 76 in the world. “I had a really good fall and then kind of falloff after COVID. I had a little bump coming back from COVID, which was hard to take, but I remained positive and tough and managed to steer around.

“I still think I can control all the environment and all my results, and it’s just not true. I mean, golf is a tough sport, and it’s a really tough sport that you might be feeling great but you still might not be getting the results that you get.

“I think one thing I can get better at is just kind of not let the golf course play around with my mind at home.”

That would be his new home in Dallas he and his new bride, Daniela Granados, purchased three months ago. Back in Big D, he didn’t mind thinking about the Country Club of Jackson, where he feels right at home. He shot 70-67-63-70 last year and remembered quite a few of those shots during practice rounds and the pro-am this year.

“I just couldn’t help it; every hole I just remember last time I was here,” he said. “Like on 11 the draw I hit, and on 15 where I made bogey and then that little corner where me and my caddie talked about turning it around and making a big hole somewhere.

“I just couldn’t help it. Then on 18, like walking up the green, it was like, oh, this is nice. It’s different, there’s not the grandstand, but I can still feel the magic, the aura, the energy of the place just buzzing. So it was pretty special.”

Speaking of special, Munoz will make his Masters debut in November. He would have made his debut in April but COVID delayed matters. The Masters is the only major he hasn’t played in – he’s missed three cuts and tied for 59th in the U.S. Open this year. But he feels better prepared to tackled the grandest stages in golf, both physically and mentally.

“The goals this year are to keep improving my game, become a top-50 golfer in the world and just keep getting experience from the big tournaments,” he said. “I felt like I still feel a little more pressure in those events, so just feel more comfortable and see what happens.

“I feel really happy with my mind. I feel like the swing stuff has been working good since a year ago. there’s always little tweaks here and there, but the thing that’s improved the most is I think my head and not making it a big thing and just going out and playing golf, which is how I play the best.”

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Red-hot Will Zalatoris eyes PGA Tour status at Sanderson Farms Championship

Will Zalatoris shot a clutch final-round 65 to clinch a berth into this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship and now has sights set on more.

JACKSON, Miss. – Norman Vincent Peale would have been a big fan of Will Zalatoris.

Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking, would have admired how Zalatoris isn’t afraid to shoot for his goal. Like the time before the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes in July, when despite being winless since turning professional in 2017, Zalatoris wrote his caddie a check based on the winner’s share and went out and made it happen.

Then, last week, Zalatoris, who made the cut on the number at the PGA Tour’s Corales Puntacana Open, knew he needed a low round to vault into the top 10 and secure a start in this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship. Zalatoris set a goal of 64, and while he came up one short of the number, he posted a field-low 65 that catapulted him to T-8 and another week of living the good life on the PGA Tour.

When asked to explain what the difference was in his play in Sunday’s final round in the Dominican Republic compared to the first three days, he said, “I had my back up against the wall.”

Zalatoris, 24, continued a remarkable run of performance, which included a T-6 at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot two weeks ago when he earned more in one start than he had in 16 on the Korn Ferry Tour. His two-week run in the big leagues has lifted Zalatoris to the brink of earning special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, which would allow him unlimited sponsor’s exemptions this season (otherwise capped at seven).

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Zalatoris needs just a two-way tie for fifth place this week at the Sanderson Farms Championship to earn enough to do so.

There will be no rest for the weary, especially when opportunity knocks.

“At this stage of where I’m at, I can’t take a week off,” Zalatoris said on Sunday, noting he was “flat” the first two days at Puntacana. “At least I can admit it now, I was a little drained after (the U.S. Open).”

Will Zalatoris reacts to his made par putt on the 15th hole during singles at the 2017 Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Zalatoris looks to be a star in the making. He’s shown promise since his red-hot summer of 2014 when he won the U.S. Junior Amateur, Texas State Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship. After winning four times in college, playing on the victorious 2017 U.S. Walker Cup team and earning 2017 ACC Player of the Year honors, Zalatoris skipped his final semester at Wake Forest and turned pro in December of that year.

Zalatoris is a ballstriking specialist – he led the U.S. Open field in Strokes Gained: Approach – but willed himself to another Tour start this week by making a boatload of putts on Sunday. He took 30 putts in the first three rounds at Puntacana, but only 25 on the final day.

He’s made the step up in competition to the PGA Tour seamlessly after an impressive season on the developmental circuit. Zalatoris won the TPC Colorado Championship, finished tied for second at the Evans Scholars Invitational and shared third at the King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village among 10 top-10s in 16 starts. And he’s been killing it on the Korn Ferry Tour since returning from the COVID-19 break in June, recording 11 straight top-20 finishes en route to the top of the circuit’s money list.

The global pandemic eliminated a promotion to the PGA Tour this season – unless, of course, he wins three times on KFT for an automatic promotion, or two more times – but a victory this week at The Country Club of Jackson would resolve those concerns. Perhaps he should simply write his caddie another first-place check and allow the power of positive thinking to take care of the rest.

“I’ve been really working hard over the past couple of years, and nice to finally see it pay off on the big stage,” Zalatoris said.

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Sanderson Farms Championship, Thursday tee times, TV info

Check out tee times and TV info for the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at Country Club of Jackson.

The PGA Tour returns to Jackson, Mississippi, for this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship at Country Club of Jackson.

Since becoming an annual PGA Tour stop in 2014, the course and event have routinely allowed for low scores and long-shot winners.

The field sees a few big names — like Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler — return this week following the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Many of the top golfers are preparing for the Masters Tournament in November.

Reigning winner Sebastián Muñoz returns to defend his title. Muñoz is included in one of four featured groups for the first two rounds. He tees off his second round alongside Corey Conners and Ryan Armour at 9 a.m. ET from the 10th tee.

Other featured groups are the groups of Sergio Garcia, Adam Long and Henrik Stenson; Scheffler, Im and Keegan Bradley; and Stewart Cink, Hudson Swafford and Zach Johnson.

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All times are listed in Eastern.

Tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
8:05 a.m. Nick Watney, Sean O’Hair, Patrick Rodgers
8:16 a.m. Scott Brown, Bo Van Pelt, Sam Burns
8:27 a.m. Chesson Hadley, Cameron Tringale, Anirban Lahiri
8:38 a.m Jim Herman, Martin Trainer, Andrew Putnam
8:49 a.m. Pat Perez, Greg Chalmers, Charley Hoffman
9 a.m. Chez Reavie, Jason Dufner, William McGirt
9:11 a.m. Nick Taylor, Keith Mitchell, Russell Knox
9:22 a.m. Aaron Wise, Wesley Bryan, Luke Donald
9:33 a.m. Vaughn Taylor, Scott Harrington, Will Gordon
9:44 a.m. Hunter Mahan, Byeong Hun An, Jamie Lovemark
9:55 a.m. Chase Seiffert, Michael Gligic, Matthias Schwab
10:06 a.m. Kramer Hickok, Zack Fischer, Davis Riley
1 p.m. Peter Malnati, Sam Ryder, Xinjun Zhang
1:11 p.m. Fabián Gómez, Sepp Straka, Matthew NeSmith
1:22 p.m. Robert Streb, Tim Wilkinson, Zac Blair
1:33 p.m. Troy Merritt, Brice Garnett, Grayson Murray
1:44 p.m. Dylan Frittelli, Sung Kang, Ted Potter, Jr.
1:55 p.m. Sebastián Muñoz, Corey Conners, Ryan Armour
2:06 p.m. Adam Long, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia
2:17 p.m. Kyle Stanley, Mark Hubbard, Maverick McNealy
2:28 p.m. Charl Schwartzel, Chris Kirk, J.J. Spaun
2:39 p.m. Brian Gay, Beau Hossler, Cameron Davis
2:50 p.m. Hank Lebioda, Will Zalatoris, Sahith Theegala
3:01 p.m. Brandon Hagy, Sebastian Cappelen, MJ Daffue

10th tee

Tee time Players
8:05 a.m. Chris Stroud, Jhonattan Vegas, Branden Grace
8:16 a.m. Jonathan Byrd, Tom Hoge, Tom Lewis
8:27 a.m. Emiliano Grillo, Martin Laird, Doc Redman
8:38 a.m Richy Werenski, J.T. Poston, Kevin Tway
8:49 a.m. C.T. Pan, Brandt Snedeker, Jimmy Walker
9 a.m. Sungjae Im, Keegan Bradley, Scottie Scheffler
9:11 a.m. Hudson Swafford, Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson
9:22 a.m. David Hearn, Cameron Percy, Kyoung-Hoon Lee
9:33 a.m. Rafa Cabrera Bello, Kelly Kraft, Talor Gooch
9:44 a.m. Camilo Villegas, Matt Jones, Tyler McCumber
9:55 a.m. Rob Oppenheim, Mark Anderson, Kyle Ramey
10:06 a.m. Roger Sloan, Chris Baker, Steve Lewton
1 p.m. K.J. Choi, D.J. Trahan, Henrik Norlander
1:11 p.m. Brian Stuard, Carlos Ortiz, Bo Hoag
1:22 p.m. Aaron Baddeley, Bill Haas, Adam Schenk
1:33 p.m. Nate Lashley, Satoshi Kodaira, Si Woo Kim
1:44 p.m. J.B. Holmes, Austin Cook, Kevin Chappell
1:55 p.m. Michael Kim, Patton Kizzire, D.A. Points
2:06 p.m. Scott Piercy, Brian Harman, Kevin Stadler
2:17 p.m. Scott Stallings, Rory Sabbatini, Luke List
2:28 p.m. Lucas Glover, Bud Cauley, Wyndham Clark
2:39 p.m. Bronson Burgoon, Denny McCarthy, Robby Shelton
2:50 p.m. Kristoffer Ventura, Vincent Whaley, Isaiah Jackson (a)
3:01 p.m. Joseph Bramlett, Doug Ghim, Jay McLuen

TV, streaming information

All times are listed in Eastern.

Thursday, Oct. 1

TV

PGA Tour Live: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Twitter: 8-9:10 a.m.
Golf Channel on fuboTV (watch for free): 4-7 p.m.

Radio

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 2

TV

PGA Tour Live: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Twitter: 8-9:10 a.m.
Golf Channel on fuboTV (watch for free): 4-7 p.m.

Radio

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 1-7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 3

TV

PGA Tour Live: 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Twitter: 9:30-10:55 a.m.
Golf Channel on fuboTV (watch for free): 4-7 p.m.

Radio

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 2-7 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 4

TV

PGA Tour Live: 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Twitter: 9:30-10:55 a.m.
Golf Channel on fuboTV (watch for free): 4-7 p.m.

Radio

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 2-7 p.m.

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Fantasy Golf Power Rankings for the Sanderson Farms Championship

Check out this week’s fantasy golf power rankings for the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship at Country Club of Jackson.

The PGA Tour returns to Jackson, Mississippi for this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship at Country Club of Jackson.

This course and event have routinely allowed for low scores and long-shot winners since first becoming a PGA Tour stop in the fall of 2014. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings for the top 30 golfers for the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship.

The field sees a few big names return this week following the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship but it’s a much weaker competition than we have regularly seen since the PGA Tour’s mid-June return.

2020 Sanderson Farms Championship: Fantasy Golf Top 30

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. ET.

30. Davis Riley (+15000)

A two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner in 2020 playing just his second PGA Tour event of the year after missing the cut at the U.S. Open. He tied for 39th here a year ago while averaging 1.30 Strokes Gained: Approach per round, according to Data Golf.

29. Kristoffer Ventura (+8000)

Has been playing a little more regularly on the PGA Tour of late after winning twice on the KFT in 2019. Finished in the top-20 in three of his last four PGA Tour events.

28. Robby Shelton (+12500)

Missed the cut at the Safeway Open in the first event of the 2020-21 Tour season after making it to the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. His best PGA Tour result to date was a T-3 at the 3M Open.

27. Keith Mitchell (+12500)

A long hitter who’ll have an advantage on the 7,461-yard, par-72 track. His lone PGA Tour came against a much stronger field at the 2019 Honda Classic.

26. Brandt Snedeker (+12500)

The nine-time PGA Tour champ has struggled in 2020 with just one third-place finish and eight missed cuts in 15 events. His short game and putting stroke can carry him to a victory against the weaker competition.

25. Nick Taylor (+10000)

The inaugural champ at Country Club of Jackson. Taylor’s winning score of minus-16 is the highest in the six runnings of this event at the course. His 18 rounds played here are tied for second in the field.

24. Bud Cauley (+5000)

Coming off a T-14 at the Safeway Open for his best result since a T-4 in a strong field at The American Express. He averaged 0.54 SG: Tee-to-Green in the 2019-20 season.

23. Lucas Glover (+7000)

His 0.95 strokes gained per round through 18 rounds at Country Club of Jackson are the most of anyone in the field with at least 14 rounds played here. He tied for 17th at the US Open for his best result of 2020.

22. Pat Perez (+6600)

Has started the new season well with a T-9 at the Safeway Open and a T-21 at the Corales.

21. Chez Reavie (+5000)

Tied for third at the Safeway before missing the cut at the U.S. Open. Needs to be average with the putter to capitalize on a strong approach game.

Looking to place a bet on the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship? Place your legal, online bets in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet Now!

20. Zach Johnson (+3300)

Tied for 14th in his debut at this event last year. Doesn’t fit the mold of the long hitters but is accurate and can get to the winner’s circle with a strong putting performance.

19. Dylan Frittelli (+4500)

Finished T-6 a year ago while averaging 2.98 SG: Tee-to-Green and 2.76 SG: Approach per round. His 0.44 strokes lost on the greens separated him from the win.

18. Brian Harman (+3300)

Also tied for 14th last year. Has made six straight cuts coming in with a top result of T-11 in a strong field at The Northern Trust.

17. J.B. Holmes (+8000)

The second-best player in the field by the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings at No. 15. Five-time PGA Tour winner making his debut at this event.

16. J.T. Poston (+7000)

Has struggled against the tougher competition of late but tied for 11th in this event last year while averaging 1.17 Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green per week.

15. Patrick Rodgers (+6600)

Consistently one of the top putters on Tour and has 12 rounds of experience on this course with an average of 0.44 strokes gained per round.

14. Hudson Swafford (+6600)

Last week’s winner is coming in at a still-lofty number in only a slightly stronger field. He tied for 26th here last year after missing the cut in his debut.

13. Denny McCarthy (+6600)

Ranked No. 1 on Tour in SG: Putting last year. Led the field in that metric while finishing T-7 in 2018 and tied for 18th last year with 0.59 SG: Putting per round.

12. Corey Conners (+4000)

Was one of the betting favorites last week but missed the cut by five strokes. He’s in poor overall form, though he still enters at 64th in the Golfweek rankings.

11. Luke List (+3500)

A long hitter who struggles with the putter looking to join the first-time winners club at Country Club of Jackson. Won the Korn Ferry Challenge earlier this summer against similar competition.

10. Si Woo Kim (+5000)

Kim enjoyed a stretch of 10 straight made cuts in strong fields before falling short of the weekend at the US Open. He tied for 61st here last year but lost 0.88 strokes per round with the putter.

9. Xinjun Zhang (+6000)

Missed the cut in three of his last seven events but finished inside the top 15 in each of the other four.

8. Will Zalatoris (+1800)

The top player in the field by the Golfweek rankings. He was BetMGM’s favorite entering the Corales last week and finished eighth with a final round of 7-under 65.

7. Adam Long (+3500)

Finished fifth last week following a T-13 at the U.S. Open. Tied for 23rd here last year despite losing 0.31 strokes per round around the green.

6. Doc Redman (+3300)

Missed the cut at The Northern Trust in between T-3 finishes at the Wyndham Championship and Safeway Open. Is strong off the tee and on approach and showed improved putting at the Safeway.

5. Sam Burns (+2500)

A T-3 finisher in 2018 who tied for 45th last year despite a vastly improved putting performance. Tied for seventh at the Safeway while averaging 1.87 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.

4. Sebastian Munoz (+2800)

Last year’s champ has just two top 10s and eight missed cuts through 20 events in 2020. Both of those top-10 finishes came during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

3. Scottie Scheffler (+900)

The reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year returns for the first time since having to withdraw from the U.S. Open due to a positive COVID-19 test. He’s the betting favorite while still looking for his first PGA Tour win but enters at 22nd in the Golfweek rankings and coming off a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship by 72-hole score.

2. Byeong Hun An (+2500)

Last year’s second runner-up at minus-17. He enjoyed a rare positive putting performance and gained 2.76 strokes per round overall.

1. Sungjae Im (+1400)

Though he ranks just 26th in the Golfweek rankings, Im should be viewed as the class of this field. He was the runner-up in this event last year then went on to win on the Korean Tour and the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic just a few weeks and months later, respectively.

Get some action on the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.

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Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Sanderson Farms Championship odds, predictions and PGA Tour best bets

Feeling lucky? Here’s some advice in case you decide to wager on this week’s PGA Tour event, the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The Sanderson Farms Championship will have three of the top-25 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings tee it up this week at Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi.

Will Zalatoris (9), J.B. Holmes (15) and Scottie Scheffler (22) front the 144-man field. Louis Oosthuizen withdrew Monday. Below, we look at the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship betting odds, and make our PGA Tour picks and best bets to win.

Jackson has hosted this event each year since the fall of 2014. Each of the last six champions collected their first career PGA Tour win at this event, so it’s a good week to bet long shots in a weak field and a course favorable for scoring.

Favorite

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 11:33 p.m. ET.

Sungjae Im (+1600)

Im was the runner-up in this event last year, losing in a playoff to Sebastian Munoz after finishing 18under through 72 holes. He won his first PGA Tour event just a few months later in a much stronger field at The Honda Classic and followed it up with a third-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

He finished 11th at the Tour Championship and 22nd at the U.S. Open. He has the second-best odds to win this week and is one of the top players in attendance with a Golfweek ranking of 26th.

Looking to place a bet on the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship? Get some action on it at BetMGM. Bet Now!

Contender

Kristoffer Ventura (+8000)

Ventura is coming off a disappointing T-52 finish in a weaker field at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship last week, but he has now made four straight cuts on the PGA Tour. He tied for seventh at the Safeway Open for his best result on the main circuit after winning twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019.

He’ll make his debut at this event and will be able to lean on a strong putter after ranking fourth on the PGA Tour in the 2019-20 season in Strokes Gained: Putting through 48 rounds.

Long shot

Brandt Snedeker (+12500)

Snedeker has missed three straight cuts and has fallen all the way to 194th in the Golfweek rankings. The nine-time PGA Tour winner will play this event for just the second time but the second year in a row after a T-45 finish last year.

He gained over 0.90 strokes per round on the field both around-the-green and with the putter last year, according to Data Golf, and can get as hot as anyone. Each of the six champions at Country Club of Jackson ranked in the top 10 of that week’s field in SG: Putting.

Get some action on the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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