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It’s time for an 11th visit to the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship . Back in 2020 Sergio Garcia lifted the trophy but a name of his quality on the honors board has been something of a one-off down the years because for the most part this is a tournament for the rank and file. That notion has, of course, been exaggerated since the event became part of the Fall schedule. For the most part those teeing it up this week are chasing cards or better playing opportunities for next year. A key factor this week is revealed in the location. The grass is Bermuda and because this is the south-east that Bermuda grass is as sticky as the air. They do a good job of producing fast greens but the rough is famously grippy and previous winner Cameron Champ said the ball can also descend down to the roots. Charley Hoffman said: “You’ve got to be in the fairway to put yourself in the right position on the green because you’re playing big-time defence if you don’t hit it in the fairway. You’ve definitely got to know where to putt from on these greens. They’re rolling a good 13, 14. I expect them to speed up and firm up and get even more challenging.” Doug Ghim said much the same thing: “You need to be in the fairway to be able to attack. Certain greens are really shallow and firm and really hard to get the ball in the right spot if you’re not coming out of the fairway.” Victory has come in many ways at Jackson since full Strokes Gained data has been collected. Sam Burns and Sergio Garcia both triumphed by ranking first for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, Cameron Champ was second and Sebastian Munoz was fourth. In contrast, Ryan Armour was third for Approach and Mackenzie Hughes was sixth (Burns was second, Garcia third). In even greater contrast, Cody Gribble was first for Putting, as was Peter Malnati (and Luke List was seventh). Originally designed by Mike Gogel and renovated by John Fought, the course is set to a par of 72 at 7,461 yards.
Angles to consider 1/ Sea Island For a long time it was very tricky to highlight the winner of this event but of the last six winners, five had played Sea Island and four of them had a top six finish. 2/ Grainy greens Similar to the point above, there has been a recent trend: six of the last seven winners had already finished first or second on Bermuda or Paspalum grass greens. 3/ Conditions Both Burns and Garcia play well on Bermuda and have plenty of form playing in hot, humid destinations (Burns is even from Louisiana). Before them, Ryan Armour had a win in Panama, Nick Taylor’s best finish on the second tier had been there, Gribble had led at halfway in Colombia, Sebastian Munoz hails from there and Peter Malnati had a win in Brazil. In the last two years, Hughes had finished second and third in the Dominican Republic and List had finished second in Panama (and fourth in Colombia).
Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Adam Svensson The Canadian ended the 2024 season in fine nick, contending in the Deere Classic and 3M Open, and finishing seventh in the Wyndham Championship. He was then T13 in the Procore Championship. He’s won at Sea Island and has also has a good record on sticky green in the Caribbean, contending in the Dominican Republic and winning in the Bahamas. He also has a win in the steamy south-east (Georgia). He played well last year when eighth with 18 holes to play ahead of finishing T16. Alex Smalley A three-time course visitor he thrashed a second round 63 on debut and was T16 last year. His best finish in 2024 came in the Dominican Republic (he’s also been second there) and he has a top five at Sea Island. Ben Kohles He’s finished second on the grainy greens in the Bahamas and also been second in Colombia, third in Panama and a winner in Chile. He missed the cut on course debut in 2021 but hasn’t been back since. He was fifth at Sea Island last year and played well into the greens last time out. Joel Dahmen He didn’t crack the top 50 in his first four course starts but he’s been T13 in both his last two appearances. He has seconds in Chile and Brazil, a win in the Dominican Republic, third in Mexico and fifth at Sea Island. He played well off the tee last week.
Tips: 1-3; +4.50pts 1.5pt e.w. Adam Svensson at 40/1 (Unibet, BetMGM, BetUK 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6) mc 0.5pt e.w. Alex Smalley at 100/1 (Skybet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 5th 0.5pt e.w. Ben Kohles at 100/1 (Skybet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 16th 0.5pt e.w. Joel Dahmen at 110/1 (PaddyPower 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) mc
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