This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Sanderson Farms Championship
Country Club of Jackson
Jackson, MS
The PGA Tour heads to Jackson for another edition of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
With the Presidents Cup now in the rear-view mirror, we are truly starting to wind down the 2024 season. What we have in front of us are a handful of events where we'll see some big names, but mainly this period is for the players a little further on down the line to improve their status for the upcoming season. It's also the time of year when we see new faces emerge and stake their claim as the next big thing. I say this knowing it's not easy to stay focused on golf this time of year. Football is in full swing, and the MLB playoffs are starting this week, it's a lot to compete with, which begs the question of why the PGA Tour continues to play through the fall. It can't be all that lucrative to hold events when most of the sporting world's attention is elsewhere, so what's the motivation? Perhaps it has something to do with what I mentioned earlier that this is the time for new players to get their feet wet and build a foundation before they're thrown to the wolves? In a sense, it's helping build the tour as it's not like there is a lot of space for all the new players once January rolls around. Maybe that's it, this fall portion is more like a filter than anything else, it's used to figure out which players we'll see most often once all the best players come back in January. Yeah, I'm going with that. That makes sense.
All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 5:00 PM ET Tuesday.
LAST TIME
Luke List shot a final round 70 on his way to a playoff victory over Henrik Norlander and Ben Griffin.
FAVORITES
Nick Dunlap (22-1)
With no big names in the field, we are going to get a ton of value on just about everyone. While Dunlap is the favorite, he's still getting a big number, so if you were ever thinking about betting him to win, this might be the week. This will be Dunlap's first go here, but when this event was moved to Jackson in 2015, it saw first-time winners in three of its first four years, so course knowledge might not be all that important.
Keith Mitchell (22-1)
When I started doing research on Mitchell, it was with the thought that he was maybe the only multiple winner on the PGA Tour in the field, only to find out that he has in fact won just one time on the PGA Tour. That being said, he's contended several times, and he did close once, so he knows how to do it, which is something that many others in the field can't say.
Mackenzie Hughes (28-1)
The week after the Presidents Cup, in his home country, and Hughes is back out here on the grind. You have to wonder where his mind is right now however. After all, it's not easy going from the excitement of a team event, to a fall event with no big names. With that said, he did win this event in 2022 and I'm sure he sees this as an opportunity to get back to where his game was a couple years ago.
THE NEXT TIER
Ben Griffin (33-1)
A two-week break might not seem like a lot, but to PGA Tour pros, it's an eternity. The break, especially between the summer and fall can be an opportunity to reset and that's what Griffin needs. Griffin had a strong season, but he didn't get much done near the end. The fall season is a great opportunity to get back on track. Griffin finished runner-up here this past year.
Eric Cole (35-1)
Speaking of resets, Cole was on fire this time a year ago and he kept that roll into 2024, but his game fell off in mid-March and it took months to get it back. Seeing as how he took advantage of the weaker fields last fall, I fully expect him to do the same this year. He's been very sporadic over the past six months, but he still has the upside and I think we might see it this week.
Stephan Jaeger (35-1)
Jaeger is another guy who needs a reset heading into the fall season. Jaeger peaked earlier in the season when he outdueled Scottie Scheffler at the Houston Open, but things fell apart soon after. He didn't fall off the map, but he failed to secure a single top-10 over the next five months. Jaeger is a late bloomer and as such, he doesn't have time to go through peaks and valleys, he needs to capitalize on his good play while he's still in his 30s, so I'd expect some urgency this fall.
LONG SHOTS
Harris English (50-1)
English has had to deal with a lot as a PGA Tour professional and it looks like he's having some issues finding his game right now. How else do you explain these odds on a guy who is probably more accomplished than anyone else in the field? English has not played well in 2024, he has just two top-10s, but he's only a year removed from a season where he earned over $5 million and he's still in his mid-30s, so don't put him out to pasture just yet. His track record here isn't great, but he did post a T6 in 2019.
Daniel Berger (110-1)
Berger did not play well in his return to the PGA Tour this year, but with Berger it's not a matter of if he'll get back to his old self, it's a matter of when. Berger is just 31 and he's only a couple years removed from being one of the best players on the planet, so he will get back to that at some point, it's just a matter of when. Following the reset theme, perhaps this break will have done wonders for Berger.
ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES
Highly-Chosen Pick: Mackenzie Hughes - It's tough to say who will be the most popular play as there isn't a clear favorite, but Hughes checks a lot of boxes. He's won this event before and he's one of a few guys that has played competitive golf recently. Sure, his head might be elsewhere, but it's not like the International team had a tough loss, it wasn't much of a match on Sunday, so I'm sure he'll be focused in plenty of time this week.
Moderately-Chosen Pick: Eric Cole - If you couldn't tell already, I'm expecting Cole to be one of the better players this fall and although his game hasn't been where he wants it lately, I think the break will do him wonders.
Lightly-Chosen Pick: Stephan Jaeger - I thought about putting one of my longshots here, but Berger in particular is too much of a risk in this format. Jaeger is a much safer play, even if he hasn't played his best golf since March.
Buyer Beware: Nick Dunlap - This time of year it's tough to fill this spot as there generally aren't a lot of options that are overpriced, but Dunlap might be in Jackson. Dunlap might have more talent than just about anyone in the field, but he's just 20 years old and being the favorite for the first time could mess with his head a bit.
FANDUEL PICKS
Upper Range: Eric Cole ($10,700)
Middle Range: Justin Lower ($9,800)
Lower Range: Daniel Berger ($8,400)
