Unlike most of its 52-year history, the Sanderson Farms Championship did not take place opposite last week’s Ryder Cup matches, but since 2019 has been a standalone event on the PGA Tour, the second tournament of the 2022 season that got underway two weeks ago with the Fortinet Championship.
Garcia returns to the 7,461 yard, par 72 Country Club of Jackson layout to defend his title
Max Homa collected his third career victory at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, California, continuing his strong play from 2021, when he collected a win and finished 35th in the FedEx Cup standings.
The Sanderson Farms Championship now enjoys full status as a PGA Tour event, with the winner gaining 500 FedEx Cup points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption, and an invitation to the Masters Tournament in April. The 2020 champion was Sergio Garcia, who birdied his final hole to defeat 2016 champion Peter Malnati by a shot with a score of 19 under par 269.
Garcia returns to the 7,461 yard, par 72 Country Club of Jackson layout to defend his title, the only Ryder Cup participant in the field, which includes eight former champions, including last year’s runner-up Malnati.
The former alternate PGA Tour stop that took place opposite the Masters from 1969 to 1993, and then a variety of other events has a record score of 21 under par 267 posted by Cameron Champ in 2018 on a course that generally yields low winning scores.
Without many of the top players entered, the Sanderson Farms Championship presents a great opportunity for players farther down the FedEx Cup points list or the Official World Golf Rankings to post a solid showing, with six of the last eight champions first-time winners on Tour.
The fields have improved since 2018, but most of the world’s best still skip the event in favor of a later start to their fall campaign.
Betting Odds
Last year’s Valspar Championship winner Sam Burns, who finished 2021 in 18th place in the FedEx Cup, is the betting favorite with odds of +1400. He leads a crowded group near the top of the odds list, including Corey Conners, Sung-Jae Im, and Will Zalatoris, who tied for 11th in Napa, at +1600.
Defending champion Garcia and Charley Hoffman, who started his season with a 22nd place tie, are at +2000, followed by Cameron Tringale, who tied with Hoffman in the Fortinet, at +2500.
Promising Chilean Mito Pereira, who began his year with a third-place finish is +2500, followed by former PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, 2017 Players Champion Si Woo Kim, and Seamus Power at +3000.
Four other major champions will tee it up in Mississippi on Thursday, with former U.S. Open winner Gary Woodland at +5000, two time major champion and Ryder Cup Vice Captain Zach Johnson at +8000, former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover with odds of +10000 and former PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker at +25000.
Other notables include 2019 winner Sebastian Munoz at +4000, 2012 Sanderson Farms champion and sixth-place finisher in the Fortinet Scott Stallings at +6000, and Brandt Snedeker with odds of +8000 after missing the cut in Napa.
