After watching Team USA dominate Team Europe at the Ryder Cup this past weekend, the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season continues this week with the Sanderson Farms Championship. Since 2014, this fall event has been hosted at the Country Club of Jackson (par 72, 7,461 yards, Bermuda greens) in Jackson, Missouri. Sergio Garcia’s last win on the PGA TOUR came at this venue a year ago, and the legendary ball striker put on a show that week, leading his field in both SGT2G and SG OTT, and ranking third in SG APP. While iron play as usual will be critical this week, your work OTT is more important at the CC of Jackson. Garcia was the fourth Sanderson Farms champ since this event moved to Jackson seven years ago to finish in the top-three in SG OTT. Additionally, the Spaniard was the third consecutive winner at the CC of Jackson to rank inside the top-10 in driving distance during their victories.
Having the extra distance makes hole 15, which is a 330-yard par four, extremely scoreable, and creates an obvious advantage on the four-par fives, which are without question the most crucial holes for success in Jackson. Of the seven golfers to claim a win at this par 72, six finished the tournament inside the top-10 in strokes gained on the par fives. Also, six of the 10 par fours are 400-450 yards in length. Considering four of the last five players to hoist the novelty check in Jackson have ranked in the top-seven on strokes gained on these six par fours, this is certainly a range we need to focus on this week. Lastly, the CC of Jackson has yielded an average winning score of 18.7 strokes under par and a hot putter will be needed to contend at this birdie fest. Six of the seven victors at the CC of Jackson have ended the tournament inside in the top-seven in SGP, with four of these players leading their fields or finishing runner-up in the metric.g
As expected with most of the world’s best players competing at the Ryder Cup last weekend, the Sanderson Farms Championship presents one of the weakest fields we will see all season. Sam Burns, who is the No. 25 ranked player in the world, is the highest-ranked talent in this field and the betting favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook at +1400. Still, DraftKings is offering up a plethora of huge tournaments for DFS players, and below are four of my favorite value plays priced under $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st]
Ryan Armour, $7,300
Armour is the previous winner at the CC of Jackson, taking home the top prize at the 2017 Sanderson Farms. The 45-year-old has been competing on the weekend at three of the last four editions of this PGA TOUR stop, and now returns in compelling form. Over his last 24 rounds, Armour’s ball striking has been top-notch, ranking fourth in greens found and 10th in SG OTT.
The veteran has made six of his last 10 cuts, and has flashed excellent upside during this stretch, finishing in the top-10 on three occasions. Armour has a great ceiling relative to his cheap salary, and can’t be ignored this week.
Henrik Norlander, $7,200
Forget that Norlander ended his 2021 campaign with a missed cut and confidently deploy him at this soft salary. Prior to that speed bump at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Norlander had proceeded to the weekend at five tournaments in a row, including three top-30 finishes.
Ranking 11th in SGT2G, 13th in SG APP and 20th in SG OTT over his last 24 rounds, Norlander’s ball striking has been outstanding, and to put the icing on the cake, the Swede carded a T4 finish at the CC of Jackson last year, including a closing round seven-under 65.
Adam Schenk, $6,700
Schenk is a Bermuda specialist that owns a compelling resume in Jackson. Advancing to the weekend the last four seasons, the 29-year-old has never missed a cut at the Sanderson Farms, most notably with a T7 in 2018. Plus, Schenk has been very consistent over the past few months, making 15 of his past 20 cuts, with six of these finishes being inside the top-30. His putter has been red hot, ranking sixth in this field in SGP across his last 24 rounds, and Schenk also ranks seventh in SG on par fives over this span.
Sitting at +8000 on DraftKings Sportsbook, Schenk carries the same odds to win this event as Doug Ghim, but costs a whopping $1,300 less for DFS purposes.
Anirban Lahiri, $6,200
Lahiri is an elite value play that needs to be taken advantage of at this near-minimum salary. The pro out of India has made five of his last seven cuts, with the highlights of this run being a T25 at the Palmetto Championship and a T3 at the Barbasol Championship. Over this timeframe, Lahiri’s driver has been his most reliable club, gaining strokes OTT in seven consecutive starts. He has also gained strokes with his irons at two of his last three events, and Lahiri’s flat stick is far and away at its best on Bermuda.
The 34-year-old has advanced through the cut at the last two Sanderson Farms Championships, and should extend that streak this weekend.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st]
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