The Sanderson Farms Championship is back at The Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, marking its 12th consecutive year at this venue. The par-72 course stretches 7,461 yards for a sixth straight season. This second event of the FedExCup Fall features a 132-player field, highlighted by 2024 champion Kevin Yu (+2500) and five other former champions.

Kevin Yu (+2500) makes his fourth start at Sanderson Farms. Yu became the sixth first-time winner on the PGA TOUR in Mississippi, and he did so in style. Victorious in a playoff over Beau Hossler, he matched the tournament scoring record on 23-under. His victory was highlighted by his putter. He joined the list of 10 previous champions who ranked in the top 15 in Putting: Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage. His 27 birdies on the Bermuda putting surfaces matched the best haul of the week. Before claiming the title, he missed the weekend at the 2023 event but did cash T19 on his first visit in 2022. With a victory in 2025, he would become the first player to win the event more than once at The Country Club of Jackson and become the first player to successfully defend the championship, regardless of the host course. Five of 11 past Sanderson Farms winners were victorious on their first visit, but none of the last four champions won on debut.

Putting: Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage

(2025 season rank; entered this week)

In 2024, The Country Club of Jackson produced the third-hardest fairways on TOUR. The 2 1/2 inches of zoysia rough was not enough of a deterrent, nor was the 7,461 yards, to slow down scoring. The 72 holes produced a scoring average of 69.42, almost three shots under par for the week. The scoring average was a new record for the event and ranked in the top six least-difficult courses on TOUR.

• The par 5 holes do not get run over here; but the par 4 chances, 10 of them, ranked 45th of 50 courses used in 2024.
• Players need to make as many birdies as possible. Over the last four editions, the 36-hole cut has been 5-under, 2-under, 5-under and 6-under in 2024, a record.
• The top seven players in 2024, under perfect scoring conditions, posted 20-under par or better. The top SIXTY players were 10-under or better.
• The 54-hole leaders during the last two seasons, including Keith Mitchell in 2024, were 20-under, tying the event record. Neither player went on to victory on Sunday. Over the last two editions, only FOUR players who finished in the top 35 posted a round above 72 for the week.
• The previous three tournaments and four of the last six have needed extra holes to determine the champion.
• The top players on the leaderboard on Sunday will find greens in regulation and hole birdie putts at an unrelenting pace or will be left behind.

Select former champions

Luke List (+12500), the winner from 2023, joins 2015 champion Peter Malnati (+35000) as the only two former champions to have multiple finishes on the podium. List shared second place in 2016, while Malnati missed forcing a playoff by a shot in the 2020 event. List is currently on a run of four consecutive years playing the weekend, while Malnati’s streak of five straight ended in 2024.

Mackenzie Hughes (+4500) lifted the trophy in 2022 and owns four paydays from five starts, including his second top-10 result in three events with T8 in 2024. The Canadian owns a scoring average of 68.67 over 18 rounds, including nine loops of 68 or better. Last year, he opened with 65 and closed with 64. His best round, 63, was produced during his winning run in 2022. The only time he did not qualify for the weekend, he produced two rounds of 70-70 (4-under), which missed the cut by a shot!

Cameron Champ (+4500) announced his arrival on the PGA TOUR in 2018 by winning the Sanderson Farms Championship on his first try. It was only his ninth start on TOUR with his card. After signing for T28 the following season in defense, he did not return until the 2023 edition, where he made the top 10 with T9. A victim of the event-record, 36-hole cut in 2024, his 70-69 (5-under) did not qualify for the weekend, but his scoring average of 68.36 over 14 rounds cannot be dismissed.

2024 Top 15 leaderboard

(Players who are entered this week)

Oddsmaker’s extras

Beau Hossler (+4500): The forgotten man from the duo who set the tournament scoring record on 23-under in 2024, the Californian also earned T10 on debut in 2017 and has produced nine consecutive rounds of 71 or better. He has qualified for the weekend in all four career starts.

Keith Mitchell (+4500): His total of 22-under would have won every other Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson. It was his first time playing the weekend in five attempts.

Henrik Norlander (+15000): One of two events during the fall where the Swede has lost in a five-man playoff, he is not daunted in Mississippi. His P2 in 2023 arrived after a three-year run of T4-T4-T24. In 2024, he added T28, his fifth-consecutive top-30 result. His streak of rounds under par is 20 and counting.

Emiliano Grillo (+4000): The Argentine snapped a streak of four consecutive paydays inside the top 40 by falling short in 2023. His best of the bunch, T5 in 2022, was followed by T11 in 2024. In 22 career loops, 20 have resulted in par or better.

Alex Smalley (+3500): Over his last eight rounds, he owns an aggregate of 33-under par and earned T16 money in 2023 and T5 money in 2024. His T31 result on debut in 2021 came with a 63 in Round 2.

Stephan Jaeger (+6000): In 28 career rounds, the German scoring machine has produced 14 in the 60s. And while not everyone eats on the par 5s in Mississippi, he owns a career-best 46-under on the five-shot holes here, the best of any course in his career. Over the last four visits, he has produced four results of T30 or better and makes a lovely outsider.

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