While the cream of the crop are in China for the HSBC Champions event the lesser lights of the PGA Tour get the chance to shine in America when the Sanderson Farms Championship takes place in Mississippi.
Whoever wins this week will guarantee playing rights for three years as well as the other financial and ranking benefits that come with it. Cody Gribble did just that last year and he is back to defend the title here.
Recent Winners
2016 – Cody Gribble
2015 – Peter Malnati
2014 – Nick Taylor
2013 – Woody Austin
2012 – Scott Stallings
2011 – Chris Kirk
2010 – Bill Haas
2008 – Will MacKenzie
2007 – Chad Campbell
2006 – D.J. Trahan
The Course
The Country Club of Jackson hosts the tournament for the fourth time this week. It is a par 72 which once again will measure 7,421 yards. The only difference to the course this year could be that the rough will be thicker after the extra rain that has been in the area this year compared to last.
By and large though this tournament is a putting contest. Scoring is likely to be low and those who better the field on and around the greens are likely to prevail as evidenced by the leaderboards in previous renewals.
Good putters who don’t spray it everywhere off the tee are the ones to be on this week in what could be a very competitive tournament.
The Field
The majority of the household names are on the other side of the world this week so this field, while competitive, is not full of big names.
William McGirt might be one of the bigger names in the field with some leading contenders from the Web.com Tour showing up at the front of the field in the likes of Chesson Hadley and Bronson Burgoon. Chris Kirk is one of a few former champions in the field.
Market Leaders
Chesson Hadley is the 18/1 favourite this week. He had an excellent season on the Web.com Tour last year but being favourite of a PGA Tour event so soon after that is a big thing. He is good enough to win this but I’m not sure I’d want to be backing anyone at 18/1 given how wide open this tournament feels.
Jason Kokrak is 22/1 to nail the title this week. He is a big hitter who could use his length to his advantage although this isn’t really a course where length is a massive factor. He has competed in some bigger events over the last couple of years though which may interest some here.
William McGirt is a tee to green specialist and if his putter is hot he could lead this lot a merry dance on his best form. We’ve not seen that for a while though which would be a concern but it only takes a few good holes to bounce back. If they come early 28/1 could certainly look big but I’d rather know he was in form than have to guess.
Kevin Streelman and Chris Kirk are also 28/1 shots this week. The latter should be popular given how good a putter he is while the former is very streaky but if his putter is hot he shouldn’t be far away either. It is 33/1 bar.
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Main Bets
I’ll go with a couple of main bets here with Ben Martin being the first of them. He finished last season very well after rediscovering his form with the putter and opened the season with a top 20 finish at the Safeway. He was in the top 20 here last year too despite not being in the best touch but with new found confidence he should be capable of a big run here.
I took Andrew Landry in the Safeway a few weeks ago and he finished in the top 10 and I’m going to take him again. Nobody putted better in that tournament than he did which bodes well here and I would expect his short stick to stay warm as he was one of the better putters on the secondary Web.com Tour last season. I fancy he’ll go close here.
Outsiders
I’ll go with a couple of outsiders this week as well. I’ve had this feeling for a while that Hunter Mahan is going to come good again soon and this seems like the right week to take my chances on that hunch being correct. We know one thing. When he is playing well he is one of the better putters around so if a much improved finish in the Safeway a few weeks ago has got his confidence up don’t be surprised if he gets in the mix here.
Jonathan Randolph is a member of this course which may well count for something this week. Even if someone has teed it up in the previous renewals here they will only have played 12 competitive rounds so Randolph could have something of an advantage especially as most of the field are much less experienced than that. If he can get going early then comfortable surroundings and support could take him a long way.
Tips
Back B.Martin to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Betbright (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back A.Landry to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back H.Mahan to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back J.Randolph to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
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