Sanderson Farms Championship Key Fantasy Stats

Sanderson Farms Championship

October 6th – 8th, 2023

C.C. of Jackson

Jackson, MS

Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,461

Purse: $8.2 million

with $1,476,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Mackenzie Hughes

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 2023.

"It was bar none the best part of the day was them running on the green."

The moment @MacHughesGolf had been waiting for ❤️ pic.twitter.com/a9f8IrVvBp

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 3, 2022

Mackenzie Hughes was the winner.
Last year was the ninth 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 striking thing is how every champion does well in Greens hit. Of the ten champions, eight were in the top ten in that stat, and the 2021 & ’22 winners, Sergio Garcia and Sam Burns, led the field in Greens Hit. Another stat that jumps at you is the number of birdies made, which of course, you need to make many to win.

The par 72 track is not very demanding on the PGA Tour. Sure, it played tough at 71.15 last year, making it the 30th hardest course on Tour. But in 2022, the course played to a 69.87 average under perfect conditions, 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 especially important if there is perfect weather, like there will be this week.
The other big question is, does the course favor long hitters, is it a bombers’ paradise? It’s not a haven for long-hitters. Yes, long hitters won in 2019, ’20 & ’21. The champions have been long off the tee, but long hitters don’t have that big of an advantage. Finesse around the greens isn’t hard, the course ranked 40th last year and, in 2022, 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 length of drive off the tee, accuracy, and ability to hit greens. Last year, the average drive was 293.5 yards for all drives and ranked 22nd, meaning that 16 other courses on the Tour saw longer driving averages. As for accuracy off the tee, the course was 8th with 51.06% of the drives in the fairway, meaning that you can’t be wild and win at C.C. of Jackson. In the previous year, 2022, the average drive was 294.4 yards for measured drives and ranked 22nd, meaning only 14 other courses on the Tour saw longer driving averages. Looking at last year’s winner, Mackenzie Hughes, he ranked T-26th in driving distance and T-50th in accuracy, so he ranked 1st in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green. In 2022, Sam Burns 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 four champions in which driving is vital 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 21st on Tour with 64.54% of the greens hit. The previous year 2022 the course was 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 last year, Hughes hit 48 of 72 greens for a 66.67% ranking T-37th, which is poor. The previous year saw Sam Burns hit 63 of 72 greens 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 1.738 as the course ranked T-37th, meaning that the overall course is easy to putts on. It averaged 28.44 putts per round, ranking it 39th, and in the important inside ten feet, it ranked T-36th. As for last year’s winner Hughes, he took 107 putts, ranked 1st, and in Strokes Gained Putting, was ranked 14th, showing that putting was more critical than ball striking. In 2022, the putting average at C.C. of Jackson was 1.712 as the course ranked 44th. It averaged 28.42 putts per round, ranking it 37th, and in the important inside ten feet, it ranked T-21st. As for 2022 winner Burns, he took 115 putts, which ranked T-52nd, and in Strokes Gained Putting, he 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, 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. Last year, 1,678 birdies were made, with only 12 other courses making more birdies. It had a total of 32 eagles, which ranked T-33rd. Last year’s winner, Mackenzie Hughes, made 21 birdies, ranked T-5th, and didn’t make an eagle. So Hughes was T-5th in Par Breaker. In 2022, 1,846 birdies were made at the Country Club of Jackson, with 12 other courses making more birdies. It had a total of 47 eagles, which ranked 40th. 2022 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 and 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 of 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, 113 have stats on the PGA Tour for 2023.

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