It isn’t very often the PGA Tour has to play second fiddle to the European Tour but that is the case this week and it is the Sanderson Farms Championship which has drawn the short straw in that regard. That is nothing new for this event though as usually it is being run alongside the last WGC of the year.
Cameron Champ took advantage of the absence of the big stars to land the title last year and he is back to defend the crown this year but he will face a stronger field even allowing for the big event across the pond.
Recent Winners
2018 – Cameron Champ
2017 – Ryan Armour
2016 – Cody Gribble
2015 – Peter Malnati
2014 – Nick Taylor
2013 – Woody Austin
2012 – Scott Stallings
2011 – Chris Kirk
2010 – Bill Haas
2008 – Will MacKenzie
The Course
The Country Club of Jackson stages this tournament again. It has been lengthened slightly so it is a par 72 which measures 7,460 yards. When you look at the statistics of the recent winners there is a bit of a mish mash which doesn’t really help but the one thing they all have in common is that they are either all decent putters or they putted out of their skins for the week they won.
That is very much one of my focuses this week. I don’t think length matters too much but I do like authoritative ball strikers as those with club head speed tend to take these classic type setups to the cleaners these days. Greens in regulation is another statistic to look at as this tournament is all about making birdies so the more chances you get the better the likelihood is that you’ll make some.
The Field
It is only the second tournament of the season and less than a month after the play-off series in the previous campaign concluded so I wouldn’t expect a decent field but the fact that Brandt Snedeker is here gives the event a life in terms of its profile. Joaquin Niemann, the winner last week, has honoured his entry into the competition too which is another boost to the event.
The rest of the field is largely much of a muchness but we’ve seen some stars emerge from the competition in the past. Cameron Champ was the latest of those and he is here to attempt to defend the title against what is mainly a bunch of qualifiers from the Korn Ferry Tour and a few faded forces from the PGA Tour.
Market Leaders
It is the winner from last week Joaquin Niemann who tees it up as a 14/1 favourite to win the first two tournaments of the season. There were clues that he would go close last week but they don’t exist as much here. I’m never one to back the winner from the previous week anyway and that is even more the case when a player has won for the first time at Tour level. Niemann deserves to be favourite this week but he’s not for me.
Sungjae Im is the second favourite for the title this week. He can be backed at 18/1 but that is no more than a fair price now. I don’t think we’re going to get much more than a fair price about him anymore as his credentials are well known but I’m not sure I want to be getting involved at this price on a man who hasn’t won even allowing for the fact he surely will win at some point. If he wins so be it but his price isn’t for me. Brandt Snedeker is the same price and I’ll come on to him in a little while.
Byeong-Hun An and Scottie Scheffler are next in the betting at 25/1. I was extremely keen on Scheffler last week and I will be again in the weeks to come I’m sure but his weekend putting last week means I’ll give him a miss. After getting himself into a great position at halfway he couldn’t hole a thing at the weekend which is a huge negative here. There isn’t a lot to dislike about An in terms of his game but he doesn’t get into contention nearly as much as he should do.
Corey Conners and Lucas Glover are 28/1 shots to win this week. Conners got over the line last season after being the closest challenger to Champ here last year but his putting over the course of the campaign was bang average and was the reason why the man who led the Tour is GIR didn’t win more. Putting is always a concern for Glover as well although when the short stick cooperates he is more than capable of taking this thing down.
Main Bets
I’ll go with a couple of main bets as ever this week with the first of them on a Brandt Snedeker who really should lead this lot a bit of a merry dance. He is clearly the class act in the field and it isn’t like he is in bad touch or anything because he ran hot in the FedEx Cup play-offs just last month. He is one of the best putters on the Tour and his approach game is of the standard required to go well here. It is hard to see him being out of the frame and 18/1 is a fair price on the standout star this week.
Brian Harman got his season underway nicely last week with a solid effort which saw him finish ranked 11 for strokes gained putting. That is no surprise as he’s a very good putter but his long game was in good shape last week too. When Harman is in good form he can take down events a set or two up from this one and there appeared to be nothing wrong with his game last week. He was always on the edge of things rather than being deep in contention but that is fine as it won’t have used up much mental energy so he should be free for another decent showing here.
Outsiders
I’ll throw darts at three outsiders this week with the first of those being on the man who I thought was going to land me a punt at massive odds last week in Robby Shelton. In the end I had to settle for a place but he showed enough to suggest he could be involved again here. Shelton was one of the best college players there has been and he has transferred that into the second tier having come out of the Korn Ferry Tour with an excellent record. There was a lot to like about him last week and a repeat of that might just get the job done. Given that he’s had a week out on show to settle himself we might see even more from him so at 80/1 he’s a no brainer pick even if he isn’t the huge price of last week.
Richy Werenski didn’t do a whole lot wrong last week and although burnout is always a concern for players like him who need to play so much to earn a tour card I think adrenalin and confidence will get him through here. He came fifth in strokes gained putting last week and while there are improvements to be made in his long game the hot and humid conditions of Jackson at the minute should mean that there is no real need for accuracy round here so he should get by with his long game. Werenski made 21 birdies last week. A similar number here should see him go close.
Patrick Rodgers is a man I’ve followed closely over the last couple of seasons. When he broke onto the tour I narrowly missed out on a big price win with him a couple of times but then he went missing, or his form did at the very least, but he showed very good signs last week where he was stalking the top end of the leaderboard until a bad final round sent him plummeting down the list. Although last season was a write off for him he was T14 here last year, his second best finish of the campaign and he was T20 in his only other spin in this tournament. Rodgers was eighth for strokes gained putting last week and one of the best on Tour in that last year. If the lack of pressure on his long game yields dividends this week we could be nicely rewarded.
Tips
Back B.Snedeker to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 19.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back him here:
Back B.Harman to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-8)
Back him here:
Back R.Shelton to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Betway (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back R.Werenski to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back P.Rodgers to win Sanderson Farms Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
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