Sanderson Farms Championship Key Fantasy Stats

Sanderson Farms Championship

September 29th – October 2nd, 2022

C.C. of Jackson

Jackson, MS

Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,461

Purse: $7.9 million

with $1,422,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Sam Burns

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This is based on the most vital stats from Country Club of Jackson, data from last year’s Sanderson Farms, and data from all the players in the field with stats from 2022.
Last year was the eight-year that C.C. of Jackson has been the home of the Sanderson Farms. In looking at the stats from the winners of those events going back to 2013, the only thing that is striking is how every champion does well in Greens hit. Eight of the nine champions were in the top ten in that stat, and the last two winners, Sergio Garcia and Sam Burns, led the field in Greens Hit. Another stat that jumps at you is the number of birdies made; of course, you need to make many to win.

The par 72 track is not very demanding on the PGA Tour. Last year under perfect conditions, the course played to a 69.87 average, more than two shots under par per round. It ranked 45th out of 50 courses, and only two full-field events played over four days played easier, so going low on the course is very important. The other big question is, does the course favor long hitters, is it a bombers’ paradise? It’s not a haven for long hitters, but in the last four years, the champions have been long off the tee, so this is something to watch and consider. Finesse around the greens aren’t hard, the course ranks 41st out of 50 courses in scrambling so that stat is not vital in the scheme of things. So what is the prototype for winning the Sanderson Farms?

In our four categories, we have picked four needed to win. First, we will use Strokes Gained Tee-the-Green, which looks at the combination of length of drive off the tee, accuracy, and ability to hit greens. Last year the average drive was 304.4 yards for measured drives and ranked 35th, meaning that only 15 other courses on the Tour saw longer driving averages. As for accuracy off the tee, the course was 12th with 54.89% of the drives in the fairway, meaning that you can’t be wild and win at C.C. of Jackson. Looking at last year’s winner Sam Burns, he ranked 17th in driving distance and T-8th in accuracy, so he ranked 1st in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green. In 2021, winner Sergio Garcia ranked 9th in driving distance and T-14th in accuracy, so he ranked 1st in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green. As for 2020 winner Sebastian Munoz, he ranked 3rd in Driving Distance and T-36th in Accuracy, so he ranked 13th in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green. So we can see a trend for the last three champions in which driving is important at Sanderson Farms.
Our 2nd category is Greens in Regulation. This is a type of course where greens are pretty easy to hit in regulation, so C.C. of Jackson was ranked 37th on Tour with 70.36% of the greens hit. So this shows that a lot of players hit the greens last year. The winner, Burns, hit 63 of 72 greens last year for 87.50%, ranking 1st. In 2021 Garcia hit 60 of 72 for 83.33%, ranking T-1st. In 2020, winner Munoz hit 57 of 72 for 79.17%, which ranked T-9th.
Our 3rd category is Strokes Gained Putting which is an integral part of the game. Last year the putting average at C.C. of Jackson was 1.712 as the course ranked 44th, meaning that the course overall is easy to make putts on. It averaged 28.42 putts per round, ranking it 37th, and in the important inside ten feet, it ranked T-21st. As for last year’s winner Burns, he took 115 putts which ranked T-52nd, and in Strokes Gained Putting, was ranked 57th, showing that ball striking was more important than putting. In 2021 Garcia took 115 putts, ranking T-42nd, and Strokes Gained Putting was 28th. In putts inside ten feet, he ranked T-36th, making 65 of 74 putts. In 2020 Munoz took 112 putts which ranked T-14th, and in Strokes Gained Putting, he was 5th. In the critical putts made inside 10 feet, Munoz made 63 of 70 and ranked T-16th.
The last category is Par Breakers. 1,846 birdies were made on the course, with only three other courses making more birdies. It had a total of 47 eagles, which ranked 40th. Last year’s winner, Sam Burns, made 26 birdies, ranked 2nd, and didn’t make an eagle. So Burns was 2nd in Par Breaker. In 2021 Sergio Garcia made 22 birdies, ranked T-2nd, and made one eagle. So Garcia was T-2nd in Par Breaker. In 2020 Munoz made 21 birdies and no eagles as he was T-6th in Par Breakers.
So we can see this week’s trend: hit fairways, greens, and make a lot of birdies.

*Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green: Combination of distance off the tee, accuracy off the tee, and hitting greens

*Greens in Regulation: Number of greens hit in regulation.

*Strokes Gained Putting: Gives the equivalent to putting based on strokes gained or lost

*Par Breakers: Who makes the most birdies and eagles per round.

Of the 144 players in the field, 81 have stats on the PGA Tour for 2022.

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

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