Sanderson Farms Championship 2024 Tips: Taylor looking for Moore in Mississippi

After the USA recorded a resounding 18 ½ - 11 ½ win in last week’s Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal – their largest away margin of victory since 1998 – we now get back to the important matter of the FedExCup Fall on the PGA Tour. Where players will reconvene the battle to stamp their status for the 2025 season.

There are just seven official events left on the tour in this calendar year and before we head to Utah for the inaugural edition of the Black Desert Championship next week, we first take in the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi.

As always, here are Jamie Worsley's Sanderson Farms Championship Tips, as well as his usual long-read preview.

The Sanderson Farms Championship debuted on the PGA Tour in 1986 and throughout much of its history it occupied opposite-field status, played on the same week as high-profile events such as The Open Championship and Ryder Cup. It last took on this role in 2018, when it was played opposite the WGC - HSBC Champions.

Brian Henninger (1994, 1999) and Fred Funk (1998, 2004) are the only two players to have won the event on multiple occasions, with familiar names such as Luke Donald (2002), Chris Kirk (2011) and Nick Taylor (2014) among the other past champions.

Last five winners:

• 2023 – Winner: Luke List (-18, playoff); runners-up: Ludvig Aberg, Ben Griffin, Henrik Norlander, Scott Stallings (-18)
• 2022 – Winner: Mackenzie Hughes (-17, playoff); runner-up: Sepp Straka (-17)
• 2021 – Winner: Sam Burns (-22); runner-up: Nick Watney, Cameron Young, (-21)
• 2020 – Winner: Sergio Garcia (-19); runner-up: Peter Malnati (-18)
• 2019 – Winner: Sebastian Munoz (-18, playoff); runner-up: Sungjae Im (-18)

The 2023 edition saw Luke List claim his second PGA Tour victory, as he made a 45ft bomb for birdie on the first hole of a five-man playoff. He returns to defend this week.

THE COURSE

The Country Club of Jackson has hosted the Sanderson Farms Championship since 2014. The club was founded in 1914, however it moved across different locations until Dick Wilson designed a course here in the early 1960s. Several changes have been made since, most recently in 2008, as John Fought and Mike Gogel completed a Donald Ross-inspired renovation.

The CCoJ plays as a par 72 and measures 7461 yards. It possesses 10x par 4s (330-505 yards), 4x par 5s (554-612 yards) and 4x par 3s (168-223 yards). The course provides a good, fair and scoreable challenge, averaging a winning score of -18.8 across the 10 renewals of the event here.

This loosely tree-lined course features water in-play on seven holes and is largely flat, with little in the way of elevation changes.

The narrow fairways rank as the fifth-most-difficult to find on the PGA Tour. However, despite being predominantly doglegged, they aren’t severely so and with minimal punishment for missing – with white sand fairway bunkers striking but sparse and accompanied by non-penal rough – it ranks as one of the most forgiving driving tests on tour.

The crowned bermudagrass greens are large and often narrow/shallow in shape. They can be tough to hold if firm, though as the sixth-easiest scrambling test on the tour, players aren’t overly penalized for errant approach play.

The course ends with a trio of potentially dangerous par 4s, finishing with the 505-yard closing hole, but scoring chances are prevalent throughout. The four par 5s can be reached in two and of the 10 par 4s, seven come in at under 450 yards and five under 425 – including the drivable 330-yard 15^th - which can all be attacked with a solid drive and a wedge.

If the weather doesn’t play its part in amping up the difficulty, we should expect another decent scoring week at the Country Club of Jackson.

THE WEATHER

The players are set for a dry and sunny week in Mississippi, with warm temperatures in the 30s forecast for every day. The humidity brings with it a suggestion of rain on Friday, but with little wind on show, the field should have things their own way for much of the week.

KEY STATS

• SG: Off-the-Tee
• Driving Distance

The forgiving nature of this course off the tee gives players the confidence to let fly with the big stick and as a result, we’ve seen many strong drivers enjoy success in this event.

Last year’s winner, Luke List is a strong and lengthy driver of the ball, and he ranked top-20 in each of those areas when winning. Ludvig Aberg was part of that five-man playoff and ranked top-6 both OTT and in driving distance, whilst Henrik Norlander – also in the playoff – ranked 6^th OTT.

Mackenzie Hughes didn’t drive it all that well when winning in 2022, though his nearest challengers did. Sepp Straka in 2^nd ranked 13; Garrick Higgo in 3^rd ranked 8^th OTT and 17^th in driving distance; and Dean Burmester in 4^th ranked 3^rd OTT and 8^th in driving distance.

2021 and 2020 winners, Sam Burns and Sergio Garcia ranked 1^st OTT; 2019 champion, Sebastian Munoz ranked 4^th; and Cameron Champ ranked 3^rd in this area when taking the title in 2018. All were also top-10 in driving distance.

• SG: Approach
• Proximity from 125-150 yards

This is a course that requires a competent all-round ball-striking game, and many players have been able to contend due to quality approach play.

Each of the top-3 in 2022 ranked top-10 in approach, with winner, Mackenzie Hughes ranking 6^th. Sam Burns ranked 2^nd in this area in 2021; Sergio Garcia ranked 3^rd in 2020 and barring Luke List last year, each of the previous winners at the CCoJ ranked no worse than 34^th, with 2017 winner, Ryan Armour ranking 4^th.

In addition, a strong wedge game is very important, especially on those shorter par 4s and players who excel between 125-150 yards should find many approaches on this setup right in their wheelhouse.

• SG: Putting (bermudagrass)

Lastly, a hot week on these bermudagrass greens has often been a necessity.

Four of last year’s top-5 ranked inside the top-7 on the greens, including winner, Luke List ranking 7^th. All of those who finished inside the top-4 in 2022 ranked no worse than 14^th in putting; Nick Watney led the field when finishing 2^nd in 2021; Sebastian Munoz ranked 5^th in 2019; and each winner from 2015-2018 ranked inside the top-2 with the putter.

CORRELATING EVENTS (COURSES)

Procore Championship (Silverado Resort)

The Procore Championship at the Silverado Resort is a strong statistical comp for the Sanderson Farms Championship. Its narrow fairways rank as the toughest to hit on tour, though are fairly forgiving should players stray from the short grass, whilst it also possesses almost identical averages in greens-in-regulation and scrambling.

In addition it has a closely-matched collection of approach distances to the CCoJ

Notable correlating form:

Cameron Champ:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / Procore (1^st)

Luke List:

Sanderson Farms (1^st, 2^nd) / Procore (4^th)

Mackenzie Hughes:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / Procore (4^th)

Nick Taylor:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / Procore (6^th, 9^th)

Cody Gribble:

Sanderson Farms (1^st)) / Procore (8^th)

Jason Bohn:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Procore (3^rd)

Chesson Hadley:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Procore (3^rd)

Sungjae Im:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Procore (4^th)

Brian Stuard:

Sanderson Farms (4^th) / Procore (3^rd)

Aaron Baddeley:

Sanderson Farms (4^th) / Procore (4^th)

Emiliano Grillo:

Sanderson Farms (5^th) / Procore (1^st)

C.T Pan:

Sanderson Farms (9^th, 11^th, 12^th) / Procore (6^th)

ISCO Championship (Keene Trace Golf Club)

With non-penal fairways and possessing equivalent averages in greens-in-regulation and scrambling, Keene Trace Golf Club can help us find this week’s winner.

Notable correlating form:

Luke List:

Sanderson Farms (1^st, 2^nd) / ISCO (5^th)

Ryan Armour:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / ISCO (5^th)

Sepp Straka:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / ISCO (3^rd)

Henrik Norlander:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd, 4^th, 4^th) / ISCO (5^th)

J.T Poston:

Sanderson Farms (3^rd) / ISCO (2^nd, 5^th)

Trey Mullinax:

Sanderson Farms (4^th) / ISCO (1^st)

Kevin Streelman:

Sanderson Farms (4^th) / ISCO (2^nd)

Mark Hubbard:

Sanderson Farms (5^th, 6^th) / ISCO (3^rd)

Lucas Glover:

Sanderson Farms (5^th) / ISCO (5^th)

Dominic Bozzelli:

Sanderson Farms (6^th) / ISCO (9^th)

D.J Trahan:

Sanderson Farms (7^th, 10^th) / ISCO (6^th)

Seung-yul Noh:

Sanderson Farms (8^th) / ISCO (6^th)

Matthew NeSmith:

Sanderson Farms (9^th) / ISCO (2^nd)

Wyndham Championship (Sedgefield Country Club)

The tree-lined and Donald Ross-designed Sedgefield Country Club provides a similar test into and on the large bermudagrass greens as here in Jackson.

Notable correlating form:

Ryan Armour:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / Wyndham (4^th, 8^th)

Sungjae Im:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Wyndham (2^nd)

Jason Bohn:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Wyndham (2^nd)

Ben Griffin:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Wyndham (4^th, 7^th)

Nick Watney:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Wyndham (5^th)

J.T Poston:

Sanderson Farms (3^rd) / Wyndham (1^st)

Lucas Glover:

Sanderson Farms (5^th) / Wyndham (1^st)

C.T Pan:

Sanderson Farms (9^th, 11^th, 12^th) / Wyndham (2^nd)

Rocket Mortgage Classic (Detroit Golf Club)

Detroit Golf Club is another Donald Ross design that is sympathetic off the tee and serves up a similar approach challenge to the CCoJ, with GIR percentages close and requiring players to hit iron shots from comparable distances.

Notable correlating form:

Ryan Armour:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / Rocket Mortgage (4^th)

Cameron Young:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Rocket Mortgage (2^nd)

Brian Stuard:

Sanderson Farms (4^th) / Rocket Mortgage (5^th)

Lucas Glover:

Sanderson Farms (5^th) / Rocket Mortgage (4^th)

Cam Davis:

Sanderson Farms (6^th) / Rocket Mortgage (1^st, 1^st)

Troy Merritt:

Sanderson Farms (9^th, 11^th) / Rocket Mortgage (2^nd, 8^th)

Bermuda Championship (Port Royal Golf Course)

Lastly, the loosely tree-lined Port Royal Golf Course ranks closely to the CCoJ in most aspects. Its narrow fairways are tough to find and not too penal should you miss, whilst it has similar averages for GIR, scrambling and putting into, around and on the large bermudagrass greens.

Notable correlating form:

Ryan Armour:

Sanderson Farms (1^st) / Bermuda (8^th, 8^th)

Ben Griffin:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd) / Bermuda (3^rd)

Scott Stallings:

Sanderson Farms (2^nd, 6^th) / Bermuda (5^th)

Aaron Baddeley:

Sanderson Farms (4^th) / Bermuda (6^th)

Carl Yuan:

Sanderson Farms (6^th) / Bermuda (4^th)

Denny McCarthy:

Sanderson Farms (6^th, 7^th) / Bermuda (4^th, 6^th)

THE FIELD

This week’s field is lacking strength at the top but that makes it no less interesting. Nick Dunlap is the top-ranked player at #32 and is one of just three players who finished in the FedExCup top-50 to secure their status for next season – along with Eric Cole and Stephan Jaeger – meaning the vast majority of this field still have plenty on the line.

2023 champion, Luke List returns to defend and he is joined by a further six former winners: Mackenzie Hughes (2022), Cameron Champ (2018), Ryan Armour (2017), Cody Gribble (2016), Peter Malnati (2015) and Bill Haas (2010).

Rickie Fowler makes his first start since The Open Championship back in July; Sami Valimaki, Ryan Fox and Ryo Hisatsune all return from a few weeks on the DP World Tour to try and secure their PGA Tour status for 2025; and the leading player on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, Matt McCarty – who has won three times in his last eight starts – makes his PGA Tour debut.

Sanderson Farms Championship Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Procore Championship market on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this tournament.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders: Mackenzie Hughes 22/1, Keith Mitchell 22/1, Seamus Power 28/1, Maverick McNealy 28/1, Ben Griffin 28/1, JJ Spaun 30/1, Patrick Rodgers 30/1, Nick Dunlap 30/1

We have a very open contest this week and with many of these players having only played once (twice at most) over the last two months, it feels like an event in which we can focus our attention away from those at the top of the betting.

1 pt Taylor Moore each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 50/1 

First up is Taylor Moore. His record here is solid and with some strong comp form, this quality driver of the ball has lots in has favour to go well in Jackson.

Moore has had a good year and at #64 in the FedExCup, he’ll have his sights set on moving inside that top-60 to get into the first two Signature Events in 2025. His best effort came when he finished 2^nd in the Houston Open and he finished 12^th in the 3M Open three starts ago, though we haven’t seen him since he finished 66^th in the St Jude Championship in August.

He's been at his best with the driver this season and when we last saw him he’d started to find some consistency in approach, having endured a tough run of form with the clubs. As a competent putter who has shown a liking for bermudagrass, he ticks many boxes.

Moore finished 53^rd on his debut here in 2018 and has continued to perform well at the course, finishing 17^th in 2021 and 24^th in 2022. Possessing a strong record at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, with finishes of 4^th, 6^th and 10^th, as well as a top-5 in the Wyndham Championship, he has some eye-catching comp form that suggests he’s capable of going even better.

1 pt Michael Thorbjornsen each way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 80/1 

I backed Michael Thorbjornsen in the Procore Championship last time out and though ultimately finishing 50^th, there was much to like about his performance there. This huge talent and strong driver looks well worth chancing again this week.

The former #2 amateur turned pro back in June and showed himself to be right at home on the PGA Tour – as he had done previously as an amateur, finishing 4^th in the 2022 Travelers Championship – by finishing 2^nd in the John Deere Classic on his third pro start. He struggled to replicate that across his following four starts but looked much better in the Procore, sitting in 14^th position thru 54 holes before a final-round 78 saw him slip down the leaderboard.

He was stronger with the driver there than in previous starts, where he’d finally found some accuracy to match his power. This has been the area in which he’s excelled most among his small handful of starts in pro events, though he does look a good all-rounder, with plenty of quality also displayed on the greens.

Thorbjornsen will make his debut at the course this week, but he fits the bill of many a main challenger here and with a higher ceiling than perhaps anyone in the field, he’s taken to swiftly win a first PGA Tour title in Mississippi.

1 pt Pierceson Coody each way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 100/1

Pierceson Coody – once the #1 amateur in the world – has finally found consistency at this level across his last 10 starts. Sitting at #121 in the FedExCup, he’ll need to go well over these closing events, and he can go a long way towards securing his card next year by performing at this suitable course.

Coody has made each of his last nine cuts in a row, over which time he’s recorded his two best finishes of the season, when 2^nd in the ISCO Championship and 5^th in the Charles Schwab Challenge.

He’s excelled on the greens, ranking 11^th, although he has shown quality across most areas. At 18^th in driving distance he has the firepower to attack this course, especially now he’s started to find a greater level of accuracy and he produced his second-best approach performance of the season last time out, ranking 12^th in the Procore Championship.

Coody makes his debut here but that runner-up finish in the ISCO Championship gives me confidence he can be a big contender in this competitive contest.

1 pt Trace Crowe each way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 90/1

Trace Crowe has started to find form at the right time and hitting his irons better than at any other point this year, the rookie can earn himself another go on the main tour next season.

Crowe had some solid efforts at the start of the year, finishing 11^th in the Corales Puntacana Championship and 25^th in the Farmers Insurance Open. He’s found his chances limited, though comes into this having recorded two of his three best finishes of the year over his last three starts, finishing 7^th in the Wyndham Championship and 24^th in the 3M Open.

He has shown ability throughout his bag in 2024, but it’s been notable how improved he’s been in approach over his most recent starts, gaining strokes in four of his last six appearances and ranking a handy 20^th between 125-150 yards for the season.

Crowe is my third debutant but his 7^th-place finish in the Wyndham Championship should serve him well and he can take advantage of the lack of star power in the field this week.

1 pt Garrick Higgo each way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 100/1

It’s been a long, difficult season for Garrick Higgo, which leaves him sat at 144^th in the FedExCup as we continue this season-ending run-in. However, he did show some positive signs on his last start when 26^th in the Procore Championship and having gone well at the CCoJ on each of his two previous visits, he can improve further this week.

Higgo has only recorded one top-20 this season when 16^th in the Cognizant Classic and prior to the Procore Championship, he’d missed eight of his last 10 cuts.

He improved right through his bag there, recording his second-best approach performance of the year and his fourth-best showing on the greens, whilst he also had the driver under greater control. All enhancements that I’m hoping this big-hitter can better again this week.

Higgo made his debut here in 2022, missing out on the playoff by one shot and having to settle for 3^rd. He returned to finish 16^th last year and having both driven it well and putted these greens well on each of those visits, this looks to be his best chance of moving up those season-long rankings.

1 pt Brandon Wu each way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 125/1

At 139^th in the FedExCup standings, former high-class amateur, Brandon Wu needs a good end to the season to move into that top-125 and retain his PGA Tour playing privileges. He has had some good results over recent weeks, over which time his irons have started to fire, and he can find another sound performance in Jackson.

Wu has missed four of his last six cuts but over that time he’s also recorded his two best finishes of the season, finishing 10^th in the ISCO Championship five starts ago and 13^th in the Procore Championship on his latest start.

He’s blown hot and cold with his irons all season, though has found consistency with the clubs in recent starts, gaining strokes in four of his last five, which includes a ranking of 7^th when he finished 10^th in the ISCO.

Wu missed the cut here on debut in 2021, but has made each of his last two, finishing 39^th in 2022 and 62^nd last year. It’s encouraging that those two positive recent efforts came on comp courses mentioned above; his 8^th-place finish in the 2022 Wyndham Championship gives me added confidence that this talent can make his winning breakthrough in the Sanderson Farms Championship.