The PGA Tour picks back up this week as it visits the Country Club of Jackson for the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship. The Country Club of Jackson has hosted the PGA Tour since 2014, and most recently underwent a redesign by former PGA Tour winner John Fought in 2008. This week, the course will play as a Par 72, 7,461 yard layout.
The Country Club of Jackson is an interesting host course on tour. Featuring tight fairways and clean, Bermudagrass greens, the classic phrase Drive for Show and Putt for Dough really rings true at the end of the day. Despite the tight fairways, the long ball will rein supreme, given the bombers a distinct edge this week. The course features tree-lined fairways and plays relatively flat, much in the same vain of many of the other parkland-style golf courses like Colonial and Hilton Head, just to name a few. Strong iron play doesn’t hurt, but with receptive greens, some leeway can be given in this area for the week. Putting is important every week, but this event truly hinges on having a hot hand on the greens, as five of the last nine winners of this event have ranked inside the top five for the week in Strokes Gained: Putting. With four very gettable Par 5’s on the course, the scoring is always low, with each winner finishing at -16 or better since the Country Club of Jackson took over in 2014, and with two of the last four winners finishing at -22 or better for the week. With most of the studs taking a breather this week after that thrilling Ryder Cup finish, you can still expect lots of great storylines, with plenty of young studs looking to pick up their first victory, as well as those journeyman players looking to reignite their career in the Magnolia State. A potential life-changing week is always just 72 holes away.
The Sanderson Farms Championship has undergone many name changes through the years, but has been a fixture on tour for nearly 60 years, with the first edition taking place in 1968. Among the favorites this week are Akshay Bhatia, Jacob Bridgeman, Cameron Champ, Emiliano Grillo, Davis Thompson and Michael Thorbjornsen, while cagey veterans like Adam Hadwin, Max Homa, Mark Hubbard, Mackenzie Hughes, Matt Kuchar and Keith Mitchell, just to name a few, will also look to make their presence known.
Fred Funk, Brian Henninger and Dwight Nevil all share the record for most victories in this event, with each of them finding victory here twice in their career.
Last year’s edition was won by Kevin Yu, who birdied the final hole and the first playoff hole to beat Beau Hossler. Lucas Glover and Keith Mitchell both finished T-3, one stroke out of the playoffs, while Bud Cauley and Alex Smalley finished T-5, two strokes behind.
Min Woo Lee has a lot of people’s attention, but I don’t believe this event will be the one. He has never played this course, and I feel like that is a huge disadvantage at this event. He has struggled up and down and played in Europe to try and find his game again. Just don’t see much this week from him.
Patrick Fishburn has my attention as well. His game is disciplined enough to go low here. The greens are small and hold little room for error. If he can reign in his approach shots, he should be able to do quite well here. He is often overlooked in picks because he hasn’t stood out against some of the top, but he has been consistently making cuts and this might be a time for him to jump up in the ranks.
Mackenzie Hughes won this event in 2022 and is a solid pick for this event. He has had multiple top-tens in 2025, and his game seems more polished than last year. This event requires you to go low and make putts. Hughes’ game has all the potential in the world to be in the top ten if he can set aside his reservations. Hughes plays the best when he gets a little risky and goes for it. Hoping to see that version this week.
Akshay Bhatia is my pick this week to take the field. He is feeling confident with his game and found a groove that should continue here at the Sanderson Farms. His approach shots will help him tremendously here if he continues playing how he has been. Not only do I think he is capable, I would like to see him grab a victory this week!
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