Fresh off the back of the Ryder Cup, we head on over to Jackson, Mississippi for the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship. While this lacks much of the star power of the Ryder Cup, and many other tour events, this should still be a nice bounce back into traditional golf tournaments for fans. With $6,000,000 up for grabs, there is still plenty at stake this week.

Let’s dive in!

 

Sanderson Farms Championship 2025: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

Established in 1968, the Sanderson Farms Championship (then the Magnolia Classic) was originally hosted at Hattiesburg Country Club, before moving to Annandale Golf Club before finally settling at the Country Club of Jackson in 2014. Despite being a tour event for all this time, it has only been an official money event since 1994, as prior wins counted towards the season long money list but wins did not count as official. Previously an alternate event, it was held opposite of many of the major as well as the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, and the AmEx. This event is organized by Century Club Charities, and has raised over 8.1 Million USD for charities in Mississippi. 

 

The Country Club of Jackson: Course Breakdown This Week

Established in 1914, this private club contains 27 championship holes, 18 of which were redesigned in 2008 thanks to John Fought. The redesign of the course shows clear Donald Ross inspiration, with parkland style throughout, and small greens that range between 5000 and 8,500 square feet. This course started hosting this event on it's 90th anniversary.

Coming in at a par 72 and just over 7,400 yards, this course is nothing to shake a stick at on paper. The four par 3s at the venue play between 168 and 223 yards, slightly on the longer side for the tour this year. The ten par 4s play mostly between 400 and 505 yards, with just one coming in at a much shorter 330 yards. Lastly, the four par 5s play between 554 and 612 yards. That said, this event is very much a birdie-fest as almost ever hole has angles that decrease the distance very heavily.

When looking at some of the key scoring stats for this event, bermuda putting is one that stands out. Putting sees the 2nd largest jump in importance this week, just shy of driving distance. Both will receive bumps in my model this week as a result. When looking at the approach game, a few buckets clearly stand out. The buckets between 75 and 150 yards see more shots than average across the board, and approaches from 250 and out see nearly double the amount of shots compared to tour average at this venue. Even with many ways to make this course play shorter, nearly 20 percent of approach play comes with a wood/hybrid in hand.

A few other stats really jump off the page when breaking down CCJ, namely Strokes Gained: Short-Game, which jumps into the top 5 in terms of statistical importance this week. As always, birdies or better gained and bogey avoidance remain extremely important, though they even see a minor bump given the birdie-fest nature of this event. Scrambling also sees a large jump as well. This course is very clear. Hit it far, be solid with wedges in hand, and putt well on bermuda and you should be in for a solid week of play. We’ve seen quite an eclectic group of winners here, but all of the players share many of those key features in their overall game. Mackenzie Hughes and Sam Burns (the 2021 and 2022 winners) were some of the best putters on tour that year, and their game off the tee was solid as well. Finding strong plays here should be more straight-forward than many of the events we cap this season. 

 

Sanderson Farms Championship 2025 Field: Golf DFS

As expected with this being right after the Ryder Cup and being a fall event, this is a much weaker field than most. Akshay Bhatia leads the field as the 34th ranked player in the OWGR, and is joined by just Min Woo Lee, Sam Stevens, and J.T. Poston as players in the top 50 in the world. There are many former winners in the field at least, with 2024 Champion Kevin Yu returning to defend his title. Joining Yu as previous winners here include Luke List, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ, Ryan Armour, and Peter Malnati who have all won after the Country Club of Jackson became the host course for this event. 

 

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PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship (24-34 Overall, +11.75 Units)

  • Kevin Yu: Top 20 (+140)
  • Garrick Higgo: Top 20 (+200) 
 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier

Akshay Bhatia ($10,100 DraftKings/$12,000 FanDuel)

Akshay hasn’t played particularly well here in his career on tour, but it’s clear that Akshay’s turn around with the putter puts him into contention here. Bhatia is looking to continue to make that next jump and will need to be able to compete in events like this for that to happen. He’s coming off solid starts in his last two appearances at Procore and the TOUR Championship, and his iron play and play off the tee have been his biggest strengths in that aspect. At a venue where a player can use creative shots to their advantage, I think Akshay deserves an arbitrary boost for that as well, as his creative shotmaking is one of his calling cards. 

Kevin Yu ($9,900 DraftKings/$11,900 FanDuel)

Believe it or not, it’s actually pretty rare that I want to find a way to force the defending champ into lineups, but I have this weird feeling that Yu is the type of guy to do it with. Yu had some solid stretches of golf in 2025, though is on the tail end of a handful of poor performances. He’s had some time off, having been eliminated from the playoffs after the St. Jude, but this reset is one that I think can be good for him. He’s played consistently well at this venue, with a T19 finish to go with his win last season. His driver and long irons remain a clear strength in his game, and if he has his putter playing as hot as he did through the end of the season, he’s going to be near the top of the board come Sunday.

Michael Thorbjornsen ($9,500 DraftKings/$11,600 FanDuel)

This is exactly the type of venue where someone like Thor can shine. He’s a masher off the tee, and has great upside with all other parts of his game. When he debuted here last season with a T8th finish, he showed that he understands putting at this venue, even when his putter isn’t cooperating with him. He’s performed well at many similar birdie-fest events, and when you can score at the rate he can, sky’s the limit. 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID-TIER

Alex Smalley ($8,900 DraftKings/$10,700 FanDuel)

It’s been quite a while since I had to hop off the Smalley train, but it’s safe to say I’m back on. Smalley has consistently played well at this venue, with T16th and T5th finishes here over his last two season, and while he lost most of his game towards the end of the year, his driver remains an absolute weapon that cannot be denied as he only lost strokes with this club twice in 2025. In each of the last two seasons, this has been a bounce back event for him, showing he’s confident here regardless of his game.

Luke Clanton ($8,600 DraftKings/$10,300 FanDuel)

Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to stop talking myself into Clanton, but today is not that day. Clanton has performed historically well in birdie-fest events where trouble isn’t a factor, and this event is just what the doctor is calling for to fix his game. When he’s on, he’s deadly off the tee and around the greens, and when his putter is hot he’s a sharpshooter from all distances. He hasn’t been any of that since officially turning pro, but I’m betting on him once again.

Garrick Higgo ($8,200 DraftKings/$9,600 FanDuel)

Higgo found something in his game last week. After struggling mightily after winning the Corales Puntacana, Higgo put together almost all of his game en route to a T7th finish at the Procore. This is also an event he’s been successful at in the past, with a 3rd place and T16th finish under his belt here. Higgo is just 26 and is still figuring out his game week to week, but he’s the type of masher who can get hot enough with the flatstick to win this thing. 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Erik Van Rooyen ($7,200 DraftKings/$8,700 FanDuel)

Speaking of a masher who can get hot and win here, why not take a shot on Van Rooyen? Still one of the longest players on tour, Van Rooyen is at his best when he can be a free swinger and just let it fly, which is exactly what this course allows. Sure, he’s been horrid around and on the greens, but this is a discounted player down here for a reason. Why not take a swing and just hope we can watch some magic happen?

Joel Dahmen ($7,000 DraftKings/$8,500 FanDuel)

In much of the same vein as Van Rooyen, I’m rooting for Dahmen this week simply because I love the guy. He’s not a long hitter, can struggle with just about any part of his game, but truthfully, when he’s on he’s capable of going very low. Dahmen has multiple top 15 finishes at this venue, and his putter can be downright elite. While he certainly isn’t winning a distance contest anytime soon, it would still be fun to watch someone like him wipe the floor.

Henrik Norlander ($6,900 DraftKings/$8,400 FanDuel)

I’ll flat out say it. I have no clue why Norlander is this cheap. Sure, he struggled for most of 2025, but the course history here cannot be ignored. He’s missed the cut just once at this venue, and rattled off finishes of 4th, 4th, 24th, and 2nd from 2021 to 2023. I’m not going to bore you with stats here (they don’t do him many favors), and simply going to hedge my bet on this course playing like it always has, and that bodes well for Norlander. 

 

PGA DFS Picks This Week (Cheat Sheet)

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