DraftKings Picks for The 2021 Sanderson Farms Championship
Chance For Young Guns to Shine at Sanderson Farms Championship
Some will consider a week like this following an awesome 2021 Ryder Cup a big let down. To obsessed golf addicts like the Tour Junkies, it’s another week of glorious golf. On deck, the PGA Tour heads to The Country Club of Jackson for the Sanderson Farms Championship. A young field with nobody higher than 25th in the official world ranking awaits.Let's get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.
What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick preview of the upcoming PGA Tour event. I’ll give you the lowdown on the course, the players, some key stats, and our favorite DraftKings picks for the week.
As a Canadian watching the Ryder Cup I was able to just sit back and enjoy the golf. The golf did not dissapoint. Brooksy had a sick round on Sunday and made some great shots all week. Bryson had some incredible drives. 417 yard bomb on a par 5 and then drove the green on #1 on Sunday. BK and Bryson even hugged several times. We even got to see Dustin Johnson finally return to form in a big way going 5-0-0. Hopefully you caught the Ryder Cup preview show last week and tailed some of the plays from DB and Pat who hit a few doozies.
I also just have to bring up quickly the most ridiculous and likely best bet of 2021 that hit on Sunday. One lucky bettor played a 12-bet parlay on every Ryder Cup match on Sunday. They turned $8 in just shy of $1,000,000. Ya... a milly. Unbelievable. No on to Chicken tourney talk.
The Field and Tournament Details for the Sanderson Farms Championship
Just one of the Ryder Cup contenders is in the field for the Sanderson Farms and that is the defending champion from 2020, Sergio Garcia. Yes, Garcia had to go to basically a Korn Ferry Tour event last year in order to get a win and putted with his eyes closed all week. Groan. Sam Burns is the top-ranked player teeing it up in Mississippi sitting at 25th in the OWGR and headlines the field at $11,000.
Will Zalatoris is second highest with Garcia, Sungjae Im, Corey Conners, Mito Pereira, Keegan Bradley, Si Woo Kim, Cameron Tringale, 2019 Sanderson Farms Champion Sebastian Munoz, Harold Varner III, Cameron Davis and Charley Hoffman round out the $9k and above range. Past winners of the event also include Cameron Champ (2018), Ryan Armour (2017), Cody Gribble (2016), Peter Malnati (2015), and Canadian Nick Taylor who scored his first PGA Tour win in 2014. The field is set at 144 with the top 65 and ties making it to the weekend.
Country Club of Jackson key stats & Course Breakdown
While the Country Club of Jackson first opened in 1914, it wasn’t until John Fought and Mike Gogel redesigned the course in 2008 that it caught the eye of the tour. It was 100 years later that CC of Jackson hosted its first PGA Tour event, bringing in the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2014. With winning scores around -20 in each start at CC of Jackson, the 7,461 yard par 72 delivers lots of birdie opportunities and a tough closing stretch.
Different types of Bermudagrass cover the course with 419 bermudagrass on the fairways and Champion bermudagrass across the putting surfaces. The rough is also bermudagrass mixed with zoysia though it is cut to just 2” so does not play much of a factor. Many players are on record saying they would much rather bomb into the rough and have the shorter club into the green.
The course does yield many birdies but they will not come easy. A little tidbit from our in-house Nut Hut caddie; “Love this course, old school layout, some of the best Bermuda greens on Tour - no joke and run fast.” Most of the defense is on the greens though the fairways can play tight and the course is tree-lined if things get array. Only 56 bunkers throughout and water in play on five holes.
Key Stats for the Country Club of Jackson
Cruising through the course breakdown on Fantasy National we can see right away how important approach and putting will be. This course definitely favors ball strikers but gaining strokes putting will be necessary. Driving accuracy is well below Tour average at CC of Jackson but greens in regulation % is above average. This goes back to the rough not being penal. Bombers should have an advantage but the list of winners proves it is anybody’s game.
Fire up the scoring stats. FNGC’s opps gained is always my favorite stat to include in models. It shows you who is giving themselves the best looks at lowering their score. Pair that with birdie or better % and DK scoring to see who’s capitalizing. It may be a little breezy throughout the week and there is a chance of some rain but should set up for a great week.
If you are not yet a member, join the Tour Junkies crew and some brilliant minds in Goalby’s Nut Hut. The Nut Hut is a discord chat with tons of insight, caddie news, banter, trash talk and most of all a collection of golf addicts that have won more than $4 million since the restart. Click the banner below to sign up!
The Picks & Fades
Each week we will give you some plays and a fade from each DraftKings salary range. For all of DB and Pat’s thoughts and picks make sure to check out and subscribe to the Tour Junkies Podcast.
$9K & Above
- DB: Play - Sam Burns | Fade - Mito Pereira
- Pat: Play - Corey Conners | Fade - Sergio Garcia
- AC: Play - Corey Conners, Mito Pereira, Cameron Tringale | Fade - Sergio Garcia
I’m sure everyone is shocked to see Corey Conners here. He’s the most accurate, elite ball striker here and he’s Canadian! A stroke or two gained on the greens will see him on top Sunday. Same with Mito, while he is a fresh face on Tour, the kid is a stud and will almost certainly make every lineup I have for the foreseeable future. Tringale is a great scorer and one of the best bermuda players in the field. He has all the talent, just needs to put it all together for one week. Sergio is coming off a losing week at the Ryder Cup and coming in at over 15% ownership. And it’s Sergio.
$8K Range
- DB: Play - Carlos Ortiz | Fade - Mattias Schwab
- Pat: Play - Seamus Power | Fade - Gary Woodland
- AC: Play - Seamus Power, Matthew Wolff | Fade - CT Pan
Power has been lights out tee to green over the last three months. He is likely my favorite play this week. The par 4, par 5, and dk scoring numbers are top tier in this field. I think this will be the first time Matthew Wolff has ever made this write up. He has been so awful for a while now but this may be the type of course and field he needs. Lots of room to miss, lots of par 5s, lots of scoring. As for Pan, I just don’t like the price. He has by far the lowest ownership in all of that range but his last 24 rounds on bermuda are not enticing.
$7K Range
- DB: Play - Taylor Pendrith | Fade - Mackenzie Hughes
- Pat: Play - Scott Stallings | Fade - Keith Mitchell
- AC: Play - Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith, Chris Kirk | Fade - Brendon Todd
It’s bermudagrass. It’s a long course. Killa Keith has been grinding. Play Killa Keith. I was very excited for Taylor Pendrith to get on Tour and I love this spot for him. He’s a bomber but does not lack talent in the short game. Pendrith has the game to lead the field in strokes gained off the tee and on the green. I’m hoping Kirk comes in under the radar this week as he doesn’t have the best overall game or recent form but his bermuda numbers are way better. He also finished runner up at this event a few years ago. Todd certainly isn’t a bold fade this week. I just don’t like his form or course fit.
$6K Range
- DB: Play - Rory Sabbatini, Nick Hardy, Wyndham Clark
- Pat: Play - Denny McCarthy, Greyson Sigg, John Augenstein
- AC: Play - Adam Schenk, JT Poston, Peter Malnati
There are a lot of solid options down here this week. I’ve been on Schenk for a while and getting his potential at such a low price is awesome. I like Rory Sabbs and Sigg from the boys’ picks but also like the course history plays of Poston and Malnati. Both have stellar short games and even if they are wayward with the ball striking, their short games can give them opportunities.
That will do it for this week. So happy for golf to be back on a regular basis for the next eight weeks or so. Lots of talent getting legit shots with some weaker fields during the swing season. keep that in mind when you are building your lineups. Don't chase too much chalk when their is always a sneakier option lurking nearby.
THE INS & OUTS
OUT: Talor Gooch
IN: Brett Drewitt
Monday Qualifiers:
65 (-7): Grant Hirschman (bogey-free; 1 eagle, 5 birdies), Sam Saunders (1 eagle, 6 birdies, 1 bogey)
67 (-5; via 3-for-2 playoff): Quade Cummins (6 birdies, 1 bogey), Kyle Reifers (8 birdies, 3 bogeys)
*Field is set at 144 with the top 65 and ties making the cut after 36 holes.