The PGA TOUR returns to action this week for the second leg of its Fall swing as we head to Jackson, Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship. The tournament will be played at the Country Club of Jackson, which sets up as a 7,461-yard par 72. The greens will be champion Bermudagrass.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st]
STRATEGY
The Country Club of Jackson sets up as a standard par 72 with four par 5s, three of which measure between 550-600 yards. These holes are crucial for success this week and play as some of the easiest holes on the venue. The Country Club is set up for scoring with the winner at this event reaching somewhere between 18 to 22 under par over the last five seasons. The parkland venue doesn’t offer a ton of natural defenses and this time of year we also don’t have sweltering heat or huge thunderstorms that can often bring in heavier winds.
As a flatter course, the greens at the Country Club also tend to run extremely pure, and the stats bear that out with the Country Club yielding fewer three-putts and seeing more putts made from 5 feet or more than the seasonal PGA TOUR averages in those categories. The Country Club does have narrow fairways and being too inaccurate off the tee here can mean your sight lines are cut off on certain holes due to the tree-lined fairways. However, recently this venue has also become a solid one for big hitters with the last four winners all gaining over +2.5 strokes Off the Tee for the week of their win.
Sam Burns gained 6.8 strokes off the tee alone at the Country Club last year and was even better with his irons, gaining 8.1 strokes on approach. That’s an outlier performance but also shows how modern players can dominate around the Country Club when the weather cooperates. Past winners like Burns, Sebastian Munoz and Cameron Champ are all strong off the tee and that’s a metric to focus on this week as you’re making lineups.
One final note, this venue has also produced its fair share of first-time winners over the last decade or so, with Munoz and Champ being the most recent winners at the Country Club to fit that trend. Don’t be shocked if a rookie or Korn Ferry Tour grad steps up and does something similar this season.
Emiliano Grillo ($9,200)
Say what you want about Grillo, but he suddenly comes into this week looking like the beacon of consistency, having now made all five of his last five cuts on the PGA TOUR. He’s also seemingly remembered how to putt, and has gained 1.8 strokes or more against the field with the flatstick in each of his last four starts. Grillo can be streaky, but his price this week is anything but unattractive, especially given how well he’s performed of late across a variety of different venues.
The Argentine has finished inside the top 40 in each of his three starts at the Sanderson Farms, gaining well over 6.0 strokes ball-striking combined at this venue last season (on his way to a T39 placing). If his recent uptick on the greens carries over to Jackson, there’s no reason why he can’t compete with the bigger hitters this week. Grillo certainly deserves a shoutout as a player to build with Sam Burns ($10,700) as his salary will help make fitting Burns in that much more plausible.
Trey Mullinax ($8,300)
Mullinax has the perfect style of game for the Country Club, with plenty of power off the tee. The Alabama product ranks seventh in strokes gained off-the-tee stats over the last 50 rounds and also ranks out 14th in ball-striking over that same span. For fantasy purposes, his missed cut at the Fortinet represented his first missed cut on the PGA TOUR in five starts. However, given how he finished last season, a quick bounce-back should almost be expected this week. Mullinax grabbed a win at another easier par 72 venue in Kentucky at the Barbasol in July and then parlayed that finish into a strong playoff run which saw him finish T5 at the FedEx Cup and T12 at the BMW Championship.
As for this week, Mullinax should also have some good vibes going on while out on the course. He finished T4 at this venue last season, gaining over 5.0 strokes off the tee and putting for the week. Mullinax sets up well for a par 72 as he’s top 25 in most efficiency stats for par 5s and ranks 22nd in efficiency from 550-600 yards. Given how well he’s played of late, and the style of game he possesses, there’s every reason to think Mullinax is quite a bit undervalued for daily fantasy at this price.
Will Gordon ($7,300)
For value purposes, looking down into the $7K range we can find a player in Will Gordon whose off-the-tee game matches the more elite players (who are priced well above him) in this field. Gordon ranks ninth in SG: Off-the-Tee over the last 50 rounds and is coming off a T36 finish at the Fortinet, which saw him gain 6.0 strokes ball-striking alone.
Gordon has also shown great recent form, landing a win two months ago at the Boise Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, and will be playing the Country Club of Jackson for the third time in his career this week. Given his off-the-tee prowess, his experience — and just the overall consistency he’s shown of late — Gordon looks like a great cheaper name to include in your daily fantasy golf player pools at the Sanderson.
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