Following the Presidents Cup on the schedule is not a good place to be. Most of the top golfers will be taking some rest this week so we get a pretty crappy field in the Sanderson Farms Championship. This is a tournament when many golfers got their first win. The list of golfers who won for their first tournament on the PGA Tour includes: Mackenzie Hughes (2022), Cameron Champ (2018), Ryan Armour (2017), Cody Gribble (2016), Peter Malnati (2015), Nick Taylor (2014) and Chris Kirk (2011). There is a good chance we will get another first time winner this week.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
The Country Club of Jackson will be the course this week. The Sanderson Farms Championship has been played at this course every year since 2014. Many of the golfers should be familiar with the layout.
The Country Club of Jackson is a 7,461 yard par 72. It is a pretty long course, but there are also some shorter holes which will allow the “bunters” to score too. The fairways are normal width and the rough is not too tough. This typically turns into a birdie fest and the golfers who put well are typically at the top of the leaderboard. The golfers who are dialed in from 100-150 yards tend to win this tournament.
Click here to see the course: Country Club of Jackson
KEY STATS FOR SANDERSON FARMS CHAMP
– Shots Gained Tee-to-Green
– Strokes Gained Approach
– Shots Gained Putting (Bermuda)
– Birdie or Better %
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
TOP 30 GOLFERS SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP
CORE GOLFERS FOR SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP
SANDERSON FARMS STRATEGY
This is going to be a tough week to find the best golfers for our DFS lineups. Most of the golfers have not played in a competitive tournament since early August. The easiest way to predict who will play good is to look at recent form. We do not have much recent form this week. I am focusing my picks on the golfers who have good course history at the Country Club of Jackson. I am also going to be taken some shots with some new golfers to the PGA Tour, because we have seen a lot of young future stars play well in the Sanderson Farms.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST LINEUP
J.J. SPAUN ($9,900): There is a lot to like about Spaun this week. He has made the cut in his last seven tournaments (dating back to May). He finished in the top-10 in two of his last three starts. Spaun ranks No. in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 1 in Ball-Striking, No. 3 in SG Approach and No. 2 overall in the key stats. Spaun will have a good chance to win Sunday.
BEN GRIFFIN ($9,500): Griffin is my pick to win this week. He finished 2nd in the Sanderson Farms tournament last year. He ranks No. 10 in the key stats. The only weakness in his game is length off-the-tee. That should not be an issue at this short course. Griffin has the best scoring average (68.6) over his last four rounds. He is a good golfer to have in your Cash or Tournament Contest with.
RICO HOEY ($8,000): Hoey is not a golfer that most people know, but his name is going to be mentioned a lot if he keeps playing the way he has at the end of the season. Hoey made seven cuts in a row (dating back to mid-June). Five of those seven finishes were in the top-26. Hoey ranks No. 20 in the key stats. He may not win this week, but he should be a solid golfer for our Cash Contest lineups.
ANDREW NOVAK ($7,800): Novak had a good 2024 season. He made the playoffs and I expect Novak to pick up where he left off last year. Novak has made the cut in his last six starts (dating back to May). He ranks No. 8 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 6 in SG Approach and No. 5 overall in the key stats. Novak is one of the best golfers in the $7K price range this week.
C.T. PAN ($7,500): Pan is a “horse for the course.” He finished 9th, 67th, 12th and 12th in his last four trips to the Sanderson Farms. The only reason Pan is not priced higher is because he WD from his last two tournaments with a stiff neck. Pan has had two weeks to recover and the reports are that he is OK. Pan ranks No. 9 in the key stats. He should have a good chance to play well at one of his best courses.
NICK HARDY ($7,100): Hardy did not have a great 2024 season, but he does play well in the Sanderson Farms. Hardy has never missed the cut here (3 for 3) and he finished 5th in this tournament in 2023. Hardy finished the season with three consecutive made cuts. I am betting that he found something in his game that he can build upon in 2025. I will take a chance with Hardy at the bottom of my Cash Contest lineup this week.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
MAVERICK MCNEALY ($9,800): McNealy may be the best golfer in the field. He finished 54th in the FEDEX Playoffs last year and was 19th on the tour in birdies made. McNealy has not played the Sanderson Farms since he finished 17th in 2021. He told Jason Sobel of SiriusXM Golf Channel, “I want to get an early start to build up some points. I worked hard the last month to finish at the top of the leaderboard in many of these fall events. I really like where my game is now.” That sounds good to me.
NICK DUNLAP ($9,700): Rob Bolton (@RobBoltonGolf) is a friend of mine and he is the Fantasy Golf expert for pgatour.com. He picked Dunlap to win this week and I can see why he thinks that. Dunlap is the No. 34 ranked golfer in the world. He is much better then most of the golfers in the field. He ranks No. 4 in the key stats and he finished 5th in the playoffs at the St. Jude. I would not be surprised if Dunlap won Sunday.
CHAN KIM ($8,900): I know I wrote that I was going to lean on course history this week, but the recent form and the key stats for Kim are too good to pass up. This will be the first trip to the Sanderson Farms for Kim. He ranks No. 2 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 4 in Ball-Striking, No. 5 in SG Approach and No. 2 overall in the key stats. I just need Kim to keep hitting it the way he has in his last three tournaments and this pick should work out well.
HENRIK NORLANDER ($7,500): Norlander has the best course history of any golfer in the field this week. He lost the Sanderson Farms tournament in a playoff last year. He also finished 4th in 2022 and again in 2021. Norlander ranks No. 20 in the key stats this week, but he ranks No. 1 if your sort the stats for this tournament only. He is too cheap to pass up based on his course history at the Country Club of Jackson.
MATTI SCHMIDT ($7,400): Schmidt has made seven cuts in a row dating back to early July. He has been busy keeping his game in good form. He enters the Sanderson Farms after playing professional tournaments over the last three weeks. At least we know Schmidt is in good form and does not need to knock off the rust this week.
MATTHEW NESMITH ($6,700): NeSmith missed the cut in his last two tournaments. One was a stacked field in the playoffs and the other was at a course that did not fit his game. NeSmith finished 25th last year at the Sanderson Farms and 9th in 2023. This course fits his game, so I expect a bounce-back week from NeSmith this week.
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contest: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
ONE & DONE PICK: Ben Griffin (Sanderson Farms Championship)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: None
BEST BETS FOR SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP
NICK DUNLAP (25-1)
J.J. SPAUN (30-1)
BEN GRIFFIN (30-1)
RICO HOEY (45-1)
HENRIK NORLANDER (60-1)
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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