After an exciting Ryder Cup, the PGA Tour returns to center stage this week with the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship. Slated as the second event of the FedEx Cup Fall, the Sanderson Farms Championship will hope to bring the electricity the Fortinet Championship did.
Five of the top 50 players from the 2023 FedEx Cup are expected to play with Eric Cole, Tom Hoge, Emiliano Grillo and Adam Svensson leading the way.
Defending champion Mackenzie Hughes is in the field, as well, and tops the FedEx Cup Fall standings where the top 10 will gain entry into the first two signatures events in 2024.
All of this takes a backseat to Ludvig Aberg who is the betting favorite this week at +1200. The young Swede is fresh off a European heater that included winning the European Masters, holding the 54-hole lead at the BMW PGA Championship and playing a key role in Europe’s victory at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Aberg is followed on the odds board by Stephan Jaeger at +2000 and Eric Cole at +2200. Grillo and Keith Mitchell make up the rest of the players that find themselves below +3000 in the betting markets.
Sanderson Farms Championship Betting Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Ludvig Aberg | +1200 |
| Stephan Jaeger | +2000 |
| Eric Cole | +2200 |
| Emiliano Grillo | +2500 |
| Keith Mitchell | +2800 |
| Beau Hossler | +3000 |
| Alex Smalley | +3300 |
| Lucas Herbert | +3500 |
| S.H. Kim | +3500 |
Odds as of October 4
2023 Sanderson Farms Championship Betting Picks
Plenty of value on the board this week, let's get into the bets.
Stephan Jaeger To Win +2000
The German is a prime candidate to breakout this fall as his statistical profile is glowing.
Over the last three months, Jaeger ranks third in total strokes gained, first in strokes gained tee-to-green, 13th in strokes gained off the tee, 13th in strokes gained approach and 19th in strokes gained around the green.
His lone shortcoming has been the putter, but Jaeger is making stark improvement on the greens. He arrives riding a 14-made cut tournament streak with quality outings at tournaments such as the Rocket Mortgage Classic, John Deere Classic and the Wyndham Championship.
The Sanderson Farms boasts a similar field strength and should be ideal for Jaeger to thrive in. This will be his seventh appearance at Country Club of Jackson where he has gained strokes putting in four of his last five trips.
Beau Hossler To Win +3000
The 28-year-old appears to be on the cusp of something special after a stellar 2023 regular season. Hossler arrives in Mississippi off a solid finish to his year with a T-6 finish at the Barracuda Championship, T-13 finish at the 3M Open and T-20 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
He followed this trio of outings with a T-30 at the Fortinet Championship where he gained strokes in all aspects of game except off the tee.
This is typically the strength of his bag so expect a massive bounce back for Hossler as his iron play is red hot and his usual reliable putting is evident. In two prior appearances at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Hossler has made both cuts including a T-10 back in 2018.
Ben Griffin To Win +5000:
The 27-year-old was the last man in the FedEx Cup Playoffs with his play at the Wyndham Championship and is set to make his FedEx Cup Fall debut.
It was a great first PGA Tour season for Griffin as he ranks 11th in this field in total strokes gained, 19th in strokes gained tee-to-green, 15th in strokes gained approach, 25th in strokes gained around the green in 29th in strokes gained putting.
Griffin is about as well-rounded as you can find in this field, and he comes in having finished inside the top 25 in three of his last five tournaments. He will be making his second start at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he finished T-24 a season ago thanks to a strong iron performance that saw him gain nearly six strokes on approach for the week.
Davis Thompson To Win +5000:
The Georgia Bulldog’s rookie campaign got off to a nice start with his runner-up result to Jon Rahm at The American Express. The rest of the calendar year got away from Thompson, but he is making strides towards returning to that player.
He ranks eighth in strokes gained off the tee, 18th in strokes gained tee-to-green and 13th in strokes gained total over the last three months.
During this time, he has rattled off four top-35 finishes in five tournaments and found his groove in the ball-striking department. Making the cut in both of his starts at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Thompson has proven to like this golf course and should factor as long as the iron play continues to cooperate.
Garrick Higgo To Win +5000:
The young South African may be the most underrated player on this week’s betting board. While Higgo has missed two straight cuts, before this dry spell he rattled off four straight top-35 results highlighted by top-20 finishes at the 3M Open and the Scottish Open.
Higgo possesses the statistical profile perfect for the Country Club of Jackson. He is very long off the tee, can get hot with his iron play and has proficient on the greens.
Over the last three months, Higgo ranks seventh in driving distance, seventh in total strokes gained, ninth in strokes gained off the tee and ninth in strokes gained putting. He proved his game is fit for this par 72 just last season in his tournament debut where he finished just outside the playoff between Hughes and Sepp Straka in solo third-place.
