Griffin tied for 24th at last year’s Sanderson Farms.
In 2021, Ben Griffin was working as a loan officer for a mortgage group in North Carolina. Fast forward two years, and he’s 18 holes away from being a PGA Tour winner.
Griffin, using a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Saturday, leads the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi by three shots at 20 under. Carl Yuan is alone in second at 17 under after a 5-under 67 on Day 3.
The 27-year-old Griffin made a trio of birdies on both nines during his third round and made several clutch saves along the way. He was feeling it with the flat stick, confidently walking in putts as his lead continued to grow.
“Very proud of myself the way I stuck to the game plan,” Griffin said after signing his card, “and I missed a few tee shots on the back nine but was able to escape, and that’s always been one of the strengths of my career.
“As much as I want to be aggressive, I’ve learned on the PGA Tour you’ve got to be extremely disciplined. It’s fun when I mis-hit shots because it gives me the opportunity to pull off something creative, but it’s a lot more fun when you have stress-free golf, and I felt like I did a good job of that for probably 14, 15 holes today.”
Tied for third are Scott Stallings (7-under 65), Henrik Norlander (4-under 68) and Luke List (4-under 68).
“I feel really comfortable here, and the course is only going to get a little bit faster as it goes along, but I still think it would be very receptive, and the scores will continue to be good,” Stallings told the media after his round.
Final-round coverage will air on Golf Channel from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. ET Sunday.
Two rounds of the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi are in the books and the top of the leaderboard is crowded.
Ben Griffin is alone in first at 14 under after shooting a 9-under 63 on Friday afternoon. His round included a 65-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole.
Four players are tied for second at 12 under including Luke List, winner of the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open. Four players are tied for sixth, including Harry Higgs, at 11 under.
On the flip side, several notable names are leaving Jackson a few days early, including the defending champion Mackenzie Hughes.
Here are eight big names who missed the cut â which came in at 5-under 139â at the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship.
“Being on a winning Ryder Cup team is like winning a major.â
Henrik Norlanderâs wife and two kids rank in the top 3 in terms of importance in his life. But for the Swedish golfer who walked off the course at the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship on Thursday atop the leaderboard with a score of 7-under 65, thereâs a clear No. 4 on that list:
The Ryder Cup.
âGrowing up in Sweden, itâs like everything,â Norlander said after his first round at the Country Club of Jackson. âYou can probably see when you watch it â I’m not saying the Americans don’t care. They do. But we just were born that way. Being on a winning Ryder Cup team is like winning a major.â
Norlander wasnât part of last week’s winning European team, but he watched from afar. He says the scenes and success only inspired him more to make a future roster, and he came out in Mississippi on a mission.
Norlander birdied the second and third holes before seven consecutive pars. His second shot on No. 11 traveled 236 yards to land within 14 feet of the pin on the par 5, setting up a two-putt birdie.
On the par-4 12th, he drained a birdie putt from nearly 40 feet, then made it three straight birdies with a putt from 8 feet on No. 13. Norlander capped his sizzling back nine with a chip-in eagle on the par-5 14th.
âItâs easy to say, but the last two years I haven’t played great golf, and I haven’t really been in the right head space,â Norlander said. âYou put a lot of pressure on yourself. My attitude was good today. I felt very calm. I didn’t get too up⊠The only shot that matters is the next one. It’s boring, but if you can do that, it really makes it easier.â
Henrik Norlander equals his best score of the season (2022 World Wide Technology Championship/R3) in individual stroke-play events with a first-round 7-under 65 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
He is making his 7th start at the event, with back-to-back T4s in 2020 and 2021.
Norlander hasnât finished in the top 10 this season, and heâs recorded just five top-25 finishes. Heâs missed the cut in three of his last four events entering Mississippi.
The struggles come as Norlander continues to work back from an injury suffered two years ago before the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina. Norlander hid behind a couch while playing hide-and-seek with his 18-month-old son. When his son found him, Norlander couldnât get into a, âvertical positionâ for about 48 hours.
âThen I went to New York to play the first playoff event hurting a lot, and that’s sort of where I think it started, without really catching it,â Norlander said of his struggles. âI started lifting on the way back, and you do it enough times, it becomes the norm. It’s taken a long time. We have a nine month old at home and a three and a half year old. They’ve been keeping me pretty happy, but this game humbles you pretty big time.â
A familiar face finished his first round just behind Norlander. Matt NeSmith, who shot 66 thanks to four birdies and an eagle, and Norlander share a coach in Gary Cressend.
Here are some of the best images from the week in Jackson.
After a few weeks off, the PGA Tour returns to action on Thursday at The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi, for the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Defending champion Mackenzie Hughes, who bested European Ryder Cupper Sepp Straka in a playoff in 2022, returns in an attempt to go back-to-back. The Canadian tied for 52nd in his last start, the Fortinet Championship.
The CC of Jackson is a par-72 track that measures 7,461 yards.
Accompanying Hughes in the field are Ryder Cupper Ludvig Aberg (the betting favorite at 11/1), Beau Hossler, Eric Cole, Cameron Champ, Emiliano Grillo and Keith Mitchell.
Here are some of the best photos from the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.
Mackenzie Hughes had plenty of motivation coming into the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Last week, he sat at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Presidents Cup was going on at Quail Hollow Club across town. Hughes, the 31-year-old Canadian, didn’t make the International team, so he was forced to watch from home. He wanted to make sure he did whatever he could to make the team when the competition returns to Montreal in 2024.
He’s off to a great start.
Hughes beat Sepp Straka on the second playoff hole Sunday at The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi, to win the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship. It’s the second career win for Hughes, who last won in 2016 at the RSM Classic. Both of Hughes’ Tour wins have come in playoffs.
“I’m over the moon,” Hughes said. “I had some moments today where I was tested and was able to pull through. It’s kind of my MO a little bit is to scramble and save some pars. I had to do that a little bit today on the back nine. Yeah, did everything I possibly could, just grinded my butt off, and luckily it was good enough.”
Hughes jarred an 8-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to secure the win, giving a huge fist pump as the ball dropped in the cup.
“Winning gives you a lot of confidence,” Hughes said. “It validates a lot of work I’ve been putting in. It’s just really hard to win. I know this gets said a lot, but I’ve been close a lot in the last five years, and to finally get one and get that monkey off my back for the second one is just the greatest feeling in the world.”
The duo went to a playoff after finishing at 17 under. Straka shot 5-under 67 in the final round. Straka’s round included birdies on four of his final five holes on the front nine. Hughes recorded a 3-under 69. He was even after eight holes and recorded three birdies and no bogeys in his final 10 holes.
On the first playoff hole, Straka found the green while Hughes’ ball came up in a bunker short of the green. He was able to get up and down from the sand, and Straka’s birdie missed just to the right of the cup.
On the second playoff hole, both players found the fairway, but Hughes stuck his approach shot tight. Straka’s approach leaked a bit long and left of the front left hole location, settling on the fringe. His putt again barely missed the cup, leaving the door open for Hughes to clinch the victory.
“Obviously wanted to get the win, disappointed with that,” Straka said. “But I played really well today. I shot 67 on a Sunday, came from behind and got myself in a playoff. Mac played great, birdieing 18. 18 is not an easy hole. Yeah, happy for him, and looking forward to some more.”
Hughes hit a clutch par putt on the 16th hole to remain at 17 under as the final round winded down. Moments later, Straka had a birdie putt on the 18th come up short. Hughes missed a birdie putt on the 17th hole and got up and down for par on 18 to force the playoff.
It’s the second time in the past three months (and his past four starts) Straka has lost in a playoff, including to Will Zalatoris on the third playoff hole at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first 2022 FedEx Cup Playoff event.
“Just more experience of getting myself in the hunt,” Straka said. “I think that’s huge, the kind of experience you can’t buy. It’s always the goal at the beginning of the week is on Sunday afternoon to have a chance, and I gave myself a chance. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, but next time it will.”
Rookie Dean Burmester also shot 5-under 67 on Sunday, finishing fourth. Defending champion Sam Burns, the highest-ranked player in the field, finished tied for 30th at 8 under.
Yet the Sanderson Farms Championship belongs to Hughes, and it could be the start of a run to the 2024 Presidents Cup.
“Honestly, probably a little bit of a relief. It’s been a while,” Hughes said. “I’ve had some close calls. Finishing second, while it’s still great, it kind of stings when you’re that close. I just wasn’t going to accept that today.
“Somehow was able to pull through, and it definitely feels a little sweeter than the first one.”
Everything you need to know for the final round at The Country Club of Jackson.
The Sanderson Farms Championship is 18 holes away from crowning a champion at The Country Club of Jackson, which is a par-72 track that has measured about 7,400 yards all week.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Final-round tee times
Tee time
Players
8:15 a.m.
Luke List, Carson Young
8:25 a.m.
Robby Shelton, Tano Goya
8:35 a.m.
Kyle Westmoreland, Sam Stevens
8:45 a.m.
Vince Whaley, Adam Svensson
8:55 a.m.
Michael Gligic, Kevin Roy
9:05 a.m.
Hayden Buckley, Chris Stroud
9:15 a.m.
Justin Lower, Lee Hodges
9:25 a.m.
Brandon Matthews, Stewart Cink
9:35 a.m.
Sam Ryder, Nick Watney
9:50 a.m.
Matthew NeSmith, C.T. Pan
10:00 a.m.
Brian Stuard, Peter Malnati
10:10 a.m.
John Huh, Joseph Bramlett
10:20 a.m.
Will Gordon, Austin Eckraot
10:30 a.m.
Paul Haley II, Davis Thompson
10:40 a.m.
Brandon Wu, Aaron Rai
10:50 a.m.
Russell Knox, Ben Griffin
11:00 a.m.
Scott Piercy, Erik Barnes
11:15 a.m.
Dylan Wu, Chris Kirk
11:25 a.m.
Denny McCarthy, Sam Burns
11:35 a.m.
Austin Smotherman, Brice Garnett
11:45 a.m.
MJ Daffue, Ben Taylor
11:55 a.m.
Taylor Moore, Adam Long
12:05 p.m.
Stephan Jaeger, Patrick Rodgers
12:15 p.m.
Kevin Streelman, Trevor Cone
12:25 p.m.
Greyson Sigg, Nate Lashley
12:40 p.m.
Zecheng Dou, Alejandro Tosti
12:50 p.m.
Adam Hadwin, Seamus Power
1:00 p.m.
Nick Taylor, Thomas Detry
1:10 p.m.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, William McGirt
1:20 p.m.
Andrew Putnam, Ryan Armour
1:30 p.m.
Henrik Norlander, Callum Tarren
1:40 p.m.
Kevin Yu, Dylan Frittelli
1:50 p.m.
Joel Dahmen, Davis Riley
2:05 p.m.
Cody Gribble, Taylor Montgomery
2:15 p.m.
Dean Burmester, Emiliano Grillo
2:25 p.m.
Nick Hardy, S.H. Kim
2:35 p.m.
Sepp Straka, Keegan Bradley
2:45 p.m.
Garrick Higgo, Scott Stallings
2:55 p.m.
Mark Hubbard, Mackenzie Hughes
How to watch
You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. All times Eastern.
Sunday, October 2nd
TV
Golf Channel: 4-7Â p.m.
Radio
SiriusXM:Â 2-7 p.m.
STREAM
Peacock: 4-7 p.m.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
JACKSON, Miss. â 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. â 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. â 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.”
Everything you need to know for the third round at The Country Club of Jackson.
The Sanderson Farms Championship heads to the weekend at The Country Club of Jackson, which is a par-72 track that will measure about 7,400 yards all week.
Thomas Detry has posted back-to-back rounds of 67 to open the tournament and is tied for the lead going into moving day. With Detry at the top of the leaderboard is Mackenzie Hughes. The Canadian caught fire Friday and signed for a 9-under 63.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship. |
Third-round tee times
Tee time
Players
8:30 a.m.
Nick Watney, Brandon Matthews
8:40 a.m.
Stewart Cink, Aaron Rai
8:50 a.m.
Adam Hadwin, Seamus Power
9 a.m.
Paul Haley II, Davis Thompson
9:10 a.m.
Carson Young, Dylan Wu
9:20 a.m.
Will Gordon, Austin Eckroat
9:30 a.m.
John Huh, Joseph Bramlett
9:40 a.m.
Justin Lower, Brian Stuard
9:50 a.m.
Patrick Rodgers, Peter Malnati
10:05 a.m.
Sam Stevens, Lee Hodges
10:15 a.m.
Taylor Moore, Matthew NeSmith
10:25 a.m.
Keegan Bradley, C.T. Pan
10:35 a.m.
Robby Shelton, Hayden Buckley
10:45 a.m.
Zecheng Dou, Tano Goya
10:55 .m.
Luke List, Chris Stroud
11:05 a.m.
Chris Kirk, Sam Ryder
11:15 a.m.
Alejandro Tosti, Scott Piercy
11:30 a.m.
Kevin Yu, S.H. Kim
11:40 a.m.
Adam Long, Greyson Sigg
11:50 a.m.
Cody Gribble, Dylan Frittelli
12 p.m.
Taylor Montgomery, Michael Gligic
12:10 p.m.
MJ Daffue, Ben Taylor
12:20 p.m.
Nate Lashley, Henrik Norlander
12:30 p.m.
Callum Tarren, Austin Smotherman
12:40 p.m.
Brice Garnett, Kevin Roy
12:55 p.m.
Vince Whaley, Joel Dahmen
1:05 p.m.
Denny McCarthy, Andrew Putnam
1:15 p.m.
Ryan Armour, Erik Barnes
1:25 p.m.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, William McGirt
1:35 p.m.
Adam Svensson, Sam Burns
1:45 p.m.
Dean Burmester, Russell Knox
1:55 p.m.
Kyle Westmoreland, Ben Griffin
2:05 p.m.
Kevin Streelman, Nick Taylor
2:20 p.m.
Tevor Cone, Brandon Wu
2:30 p.m.
Stephan Jaeger, Emiliano Grillo
2:40 p.m.
Davis Riley, Nick Hardy
2:50 p.m.
Garrick Higgo, Scott Stallings
3 p.m.
Sepp Straka, Mark Hubbard
3:10 p.m.
Thomas Detry, Mackenzie Hughes
How to watch
You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. All times Eastern.
Saturday, October 1st
TV
Golf Channel: 4-7Â p.m.
Radio
SiriusXM:Â 2-7 p.m.
STREAM
Peacock: 4-7 p.m.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
