Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship

2023 Sanderson Farms Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

How do you follow the excitement, the drama and the controversy of the Ryder Cup?

Let’s face it: you probably didn’t immediately think of the Sanderson Farms Championship as your answer. But the jeopardy of the PGA TOUR’s Fall Series is such that there’s players in this field that are literally playing for their golfing futures. 

What could be more dramatic than that!?

For those at the head of the betting market, playing privileges are of no major concern. Ludvig Aberg will look to parlay the high of Ryder Cup victory with individual success of his own, while the likes of Stephan Jaeger, Eric Cole and Emiliano Grillo are so imbibed with FedEx Cup points that they can play in complete relaxation.

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They’ll enjoy the Country Club of Jackson, the host venue for the Sanderson Farms Championship, you fancy. There’s very little to worry about from tee-to-green, with wide open fairways and large-enough green complexes, and the only real drama is faced on the dancefloors – Bermuda surfaces that run at a decent clip.

The historical stats in this event are all over the place, but one thing that ties together recent winners – from defending champion Mackenzie Hughes to Sam Burns, Sergio Garcia and Cameron Champ – is a sure-hand with the putter. That’s presumably because there’s so little separating the field from tee-to-green; the English phrase ‘ball striking for show, putting for dough (money)’ is apt for CC of Jackson.

Players with a Southern connection, be it born and raised or through study, have tended to fare well in this event – that could be something of interest when you’re drawing up your betting card, with Burns (Louisiana), Straka (Alabama), Malnati (Missouri, Tennessee), Munoz (Texas) and Champ (Texas) finishing first or second in this Mississippi-hosted event.

Aberg, whose sportsbook odds to win are in the Rory/Rahm/Scottie realm, will be hoping to go one better than his Ryder Cup teammate Straka, who lost out in a playoff to Hughes in fading light here 12 months ago.

But can the Swede do it? Low odds favorites haven’t had the best of it in this event, with Sebastian Munoz (55/1), Sergio Garcia (66/1) and Ryan Armour (100/1) obliging here since 2017.

Can we add another long-odds winner of the Sanderson Farms Championship to the list in 2023?

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Kyoung-hoon Lee – 50/1 – There’s been a curious lineage between the Sanderson Farms Championship and the now defunct United Leasing Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Greg Owen won the United and finished second at the Country Club of Jackson, Ryan Armour and Cody Gribble both won the Sanderson and finished second in the United, and Jonathan Randolph landed in the top-three of both events. Mark Hubbard was runner-up at Victoria National and arguably should have contended for this event 12 months ago when leading after 54 holes. 

Coincidence? Perhaps, but Kyoung-hoon Lee – T3 at the 2018 United Leasing Championship – will certainly be hoping there’s something to the link. The Korean is a strong pick anyway this week after a T14 at the Fortinet last week, where he gained +1.58 strokes on the field with his ball-striking.

Davis Thompson – 50/1 – Favored by many to get well at the Fortinet Championship, Davis Thompson showed glimpses of his prodigious talent in a T30 finish.

That was actually his fourth finish of T31 or better in his prior five PGA TOUR starts, which shows if nothing else he is consistent and knocking on the door of much better things.

Mammoth off the tee, Thompson is only a good week with wedge and flat stick in hand from replicating – or bettering – his solo second effort at last year’s American Express.

Davis Riley – 55/1 – If you can’t remember the PGA TOUR career of Jonathan Randolph, don’t feel bad. He reached 222nd in the world, and his only real performance of note came with a solo third at the Sanderson Farms.

The connection? Randolph was a Mississippi man playing on home soil, and there’s definitely a Southern storyline of success in this event.

So step forward Davis Riley, the Mississippi man who was T19 here a year ago. It wasn’t that long ago that he was taking former Sanderson Farms champion Sam Burns to a playoff at the Valspar, or posting a top-10 finish at the class-filled Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Things haven’t gone so well of late, but with time off since August he’s had plenty of opportunities to get his game back in shape. 

Hayden Buckley – 55/1 – When a player is out of form, it’s only natural that their sportsbook odds suffer.

That explains why Hayden Buckley, who has posted two top-fives this season and a top-30 in the PGA Championship, is out to 55/1 despite being the better of many in the field.

His end to the regular season was wretched, but this is a guy who is outstanding off the tee and reliable on the greens – he’s another who should benefit from hitting the reset button. 

Chad Ramey – 80/1 – We know that the Sanderson Farms Championship is something of a putting contest in Mississippi, so perhaps there’s logic to getting a classy putter from MS onboard. 

Fitting the bill is Chad Ramey, who has also delivered a handy angle in of three top-20 finishes on the PGA TOUR since July alone.

Given that he isn’t the best ball-striker in the world, Ramey’s form tends to be inconsistent but his recent form suggests that he’s getting his ball to the green in efficient fashion at the moment – allowing his excellent putting stroke to yield maximum return.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Sanderson Farms Championship here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2024)

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