It was a fun week in Charlotte, North Carolina at Quail Hollow Golf Club for the President’s Cup.  While this event doesn’t get the fanfare of the Ryder Cup because the United States usually wins, it is always fun to see us compete against some of the best players in the world.  I’ll admit that I did not watch much of it, just kinda checked in on how things were going.  We also had the LIV Tour dark cloud looming as those players were not allowed to compete in the event.  The results would have been the same but you’d like to see all the best competing against the best.   

We are going to see a lot of weak fields during the fall portion of the PGA Tour season.  There are various reasons for this, one of those is the LIV Tour.  A lot of the players who have jumped ship would have participated in these fall events.  Another reason is the big names like to use the fall schedule to rest and spend time with their families.  It’s the every week grinders who need to tee it up consistently to keep their Tour Card.   

The PGA Tour returns to its regular scheduled programming with the Sanderson Farms Championship.  This event has been on the PGA Tour rotation since 1994.  This will be a full field tournament with 144 players competing in Jackson, Mississippi at the Country Club of Jackson which is a stock par 72 measuring out 7,461 yards.  You are not going to see the cream of the crop playing this weekend.  We’ve got defending champion Sam Burns leading the field but after him the talent level drops off a cliff.  Burns is one of only two players in the Top 40 in the world golf rankings in this field.  Despite the strength of the field, these players will own this course.  There will be lots of birdies, the last five winners of the Sanderson Farms have come in at -22, -19, -18, -21, and -19.  The winner will have to go low consistently through all four rounds to claim victory. 

If you’ve read my work, you know how important Strokes Gained: Approach is when it comes to picking players.  While it will be in the mix this week as always, I’ll be putting a little more weight behind Strokes Gained: Off the Tee because of the course.  Length will be an advantage because these fairways are not hard to land.  When you look at some of the recent winners and their driving abilities the importance is obvious.  2021 winner Sam Burns finished that season 24th in Driving Distance, Sergio Garcia won in 2020 and finished that season 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 2018 winner Cameron Champ  and finished that season 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.  These players can bomb away because the fairways are very forgiving.  Greens in regulation will be a key stat knowing these guys need to go low.  Putting is always important but when you look at the tournament history, we’ve seen guys finish middle of the pack and still have success.

There should be nothing to worry about this weekend in Jackson besides a little humidity.  The weather looks absolutely perfect with temperatures in the upper 70s with sunny skies.  We will see winds tickling double digits but nothing that these players can’t handle. 

Good Luck this weekend.

Stacks

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