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I didn't envision watching approximately 20 hours of the Presidents Cup last week but I was too enthralled to change the channel. I thought it was amazing viewing, and the immediate consequence and risk of Match Play kept it exciting. Needless to say, shifting to a 72-hole stroke play event this week feels like a bit of a buzzkill.
The Sanderson Farms Championship is on tap this week in our second event of the new PGA Tour Fall swing. What the field lacks in superstars, it makes up with trending players who are intensely focused on capturing a victory and changing their lives for 2025. The Country Club of Jackson once again will be the host venue and we have seen an eclectic group of past Champions who achieved victory in various ways.
As always, my primary goal with this article is to give you a place to start your research and preparation for the upcoming week. I have carefully evaluated the field-to-project proper course fits and looked heavily into how players' incoming form has been in the categories that matter the most here. Without further ado, Here are my top 10 players for the Sanderson Farms.
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No. 10 - Chan Kim
Chan Kim may not have been on your radar three months ago, but he should be now. Kim has finished inside the Top-30 in five of his last six tournaments played with highlighted results being a T10 at the ISCO Championship, T12 at the John Deere Classic, and most recently a T12 at the Wyndham Championship.
Last season was his first playing a regular PGA Tour schedule, and it came with expected bumps in the road early on. That said, Kim has proven to be a solid Driver of the golf ball, which should suit him very well around the CC of Jackson. He's been hitting over 70% of fairways in regulation while maintaining an average driving distance above the Tour average. His major weakness is putting, but you can't ignore Kim being ranked 2nd in the field in strokes gained OTT over the last 30 rounds.
No. 9 - Adam Svensson
When you look at historical course data and realize that the most important range to have success from comes inside 150 yards, you should immediately find Adam Svensson on your odds board. Svensson has been terrific from Tee-To-Green and should arrive in form given that his last two tournaments resulted in T7 and T13 finishes.
Svensson also finished 16th at this event last year and has elected to play in this tournament in four of the last five years. There is something about this place that clearly suits his eye. He seems to raise his level of play in the swing season events, likely with an understanding and enhanced focus since he knows this is the best chance to nab a victory. If he can bring a hot putter like he did at the RSM Classic two years ago, then it's on!
No. 8 - Patrick Fishburn
I actually enjoy the PGA Tour swing season quite a bit. It gives us the chance to learn the stories of those whose life-long dream it is to achieve a week of success in professional golf, and you can just tell how much it means to them. Patrick Fishburn would be one of those great stories. He came out of left field and managed to make over $1M on the PGA Tour in the last twelve months.
Fisburn has been on fire, taking home 3rd place at the Barracuda, then finishing T6 at the 3M Open, and finally securing a solo 3rd at the first event in the Fall swing, The Procore Championship. What a run! This guy is a stud off the tee. He's gained strokes in eight consecutive events by hitting it a good bit further and straighter than his colleagues. I think this tournament could further accentuate his greatest strength and he should have an amazing opportunity if he plays well to cash another big check.
Spent an epic few days with TOUR rookie Patrick Fishburn ahead of the Black Desert Championship. We visited his hometown of Ogden, the family horse ranch, his home course where he learned the game, and even took a quick trip 4.5 hours south to St. George to see Black Desert in… pic.twitter.com/TfXlutcPtH
— Celia Palermo (@CeliaPalermo) September 23, 2024
No. 7 - Eric Cole
It's universally uncontested that when a player becomes overhyped and lets everyone down, it's also a good idea to back him in his next event. We all thought Eric Cole was fully back, and he was an extremely popular pick to win the Procore, so he went along and missed the cut horribly. He's still so inconsistent with his irons but he flashes brilliance at times on fast Bermuda greens like we have this week in Jackson.
I'm banking on a redemption week for Cole, who has to be itching to tee it up again after a few weeks off with a bad taste in his mouth. This week should be another good course fit for Cole as I don't see him being overly penalized for his inaccuracies off the tee. Lean on short game, stand on the putter. Eric Cole knows no offseason, he's been out there grinding Minor League Tour events in Florida. What an animal!
Eric Cole is at it again on the Minor League Tour pic.twitter.com/wiosJdHqBi
— Andy Johnson (@AndyTFE) September 24, 2024
No. 6. J.J. Spaun
The number one player in strokes gained total over the last 8 weeks in this event is J.J. Spaun. Whatever swing feels that he was searching for earlier this year, Spaun has clearly found. He has now gained over four strokes on approach in each of his last three measured tournaments and he's been able to flip his putter to a positive attribute as well lately.
I would frankly have him ranked higher if I felt that this course required more precision, but it disadvantages players of Spaun's skill set a bit when it opens the door for bombers to swing hard without much consequence. Spaun has also played the Sanderson Farms four times and his best finish is a T34. I still think he's trending great, but maybe this isn't the best fit on the schedule for Spaun.
No. 5 - Mackenzie Hughes
He made himself one of the darlings of the International Team when Mackenzie Hughes began the Presidents Cup by dropping to one knee and chugging a 16-ounce beverage. Props to him. Hughes also won the Sanderson Farms Championship just two years ago in 2022 when he's putting the lights out and had his elite short game on full display for the fans in Jackson, MS.
Am I concerned about fatigue? Yes, I am. He'll likely be one of the favorites to win, but my hesitation comes from the fact that Hughes described last week as one of the most monumental and important weeks of his career. His iron play was not particularly sharp last week either in Montreal. He deserves to be in the top 5, but I wouldn't be all that surprised if he was on an early flight home on Friday night.
Mackenzie Hughes gets the crowd fired up with a quick beer chug on the 1st tee! 😂🇨🇦
📺 Golf Channel 📱 NBC Sports app | #PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/r3Y0FULpyX
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 26, 2024
No. 4 - Maverick McNealy
It's been a few years since Maverick McNealy played in the Sanderson Farms Championship, but in 2020 he managed to secure a T17 result. It's a familiar story for McNealy who is a player who always seems to look back on their end results fondly, but in reality, they never had a real chance to win. I think McNealy can rewrite the script this week and finally break through.
McNealy is great on courses that put added importance on wedge play. Historically, over 40% of approach shots at the CC of Jackson come from 75-150 yards, which is well above Tour average and ideal for McNealy. He came close to finally winning at the 3M Open a few months ago, but I think Jackson is an even better course fit and he should be able to leverage his elite putter to move up the leaderboard.
No. 3 - Ben Griffin
The two main things that have me quite encouraged about Ben Griffin are his excellent course history and his recent uptick in his iron play. Griffin ranks 2nd in the field in strokes gained on Approach over the last 30 rounds, and he's doing most of his damage in that category from inside 150 yards where he has been elite lately.
Griffin narrowly missed winning this event last season, finishing runner-up to Luke List. He's a consistently good putter on Bermuda Grass greens and he's fantastic inside of 10 feet on the greens. He's another player on the list hungry for their first win and the FedEx Cup points that go along with it. The vibes will be high for Griffin coming back to a place where he understands the formula for success.
No. 2 - Nick Dunlap
The sky is the limit for Nick Dunlap. With so many young studs immediately breaking through to have success on the PGA Tour, I feel like we forget the incredible story of Nick Dunlap from last season. He won a tournament as an amateur! He became the first since Phil Mickelson to do so, which left him a quite a predicament on whether to finish school or go pro. It was probably a difficult thing to go through, but Dunlap seems to have settled in now.
He ranks top-10 in the field over the last 30 rounds in SG: Off the Tee, Driving Distance, Putting, and Approach Play. What more do you want? He's the only player in the field that has won two events in 2024 and he's still one of the youngest players on Tour. This is a phenomenal course fit for Dunlap and should give him a great opportunity to go for win #3 this year!
It’s fun to watch how Nick Dunlap’s left hand and wrist move through his swing.
Starts with a weak left hand grip (thumb more down the middle of the grip) then adds lots of wrist flex by impact.
Rahm, Morikawa, Bryson other notables who do this. pic.twitter.com/YaXfvp0yYT
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) August 18, 2024
No. 1 - Keith Mitchell
As someone who is all aboard the "Course History Matters" bandwagon and has been for years, it feels awkward to make a player #1 in my power rankings who has missed four consecutive events in Jackson, Mississippi. Well, here we are, friends. Keith Mitchell should be sitting atop the odds boards and I believe he should be.
Mitchell is just on another level Tee-to-Green from the rest of his competitors, and he did it with a high level of consistency all year long. He's coming into this week off back-to-back top 12 finishes and I feel strongly that this course is actually right up his alley despite the results. Bermuda grass, plenty of water, but still room to swing freely off the tee. Those who followed my bets last season know that I was unfortunately a believer in Mitchell in 2024, but this may finally be his time to shine. Get him the rooster!
Enjoy the Sanderson Farms and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
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