PGA power rankings: Sanderson Farms Championship
PGA power rankings: Sanderson Farms Championship
***The following golfers are my top 15 overall. Following each golfer will be a number in parenthesis, which represents their current ranking in the OWGR .***
15. Nick Taylor – (261)
It was a cluster in the middle last week, and we see more of the same this week. I am speaking in terms of odds and betting and of course, and to put it in perspective, here is what I am seeing from the first set of odds released. It is kind of a large sample, but there are 24 golfers this week with odds ranging from 40/1 to 80/1.
Yes, you can argue that there is a big difference between a 40/1 and an 80/1, but in terms of recent form and course history, there may be some differences in favor of a golfer with lesser odds. I say this because when you look at Nick Taylor’s OWGR and his odds anywhere from 50/1 to 60/1, you wouldn’t expect to see him in the PGA power rankings this week. However, with a weaker field and Taylor’s history here at the Country Club of Jackson, he makes a rare appearance this week.
I mentioned Taylor won here the very first year of the C.C. of Jackson hosting the Sanderson Farms Championship, and he has done well in three trips since then. He has not missed a cut and has finished in the 20’s in all three trips, with his worst being a T-26 last year. Taylor missed back-to-back cuts to end the season but started the new campaign with a T-24 last week at the Greenbrier.
14. Aaron Wise – (81)
In the exact opposite justification that I made to put Taylor in the rankings, the oddsmakers and OWGR have put Wise inside the top-15 this week even though this one feels forced on my end. Wise was rounding into form a little bit as the season ended, but he still was not quite there which is what is confusing to me.
His season ended with a T-43 at the Northern Trust, and although he had made four straight cuts coming in, his best finish in that span was back-to-back T-35’s at the U.S. Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Wise also T-41 at the Open Championship, so at the very least, the 23-year-old had an overall solid year considering his performances at major championships.
Wise is 40/1 to win this week and there are only 11 golfers in the field who have better odds to win. He shares those odds with four other golfers, but in my opinion, this is all relative to the golfers’ rankings. There are not many in this field inside the top 100 in the world, and those that are will get bumped this week. Wise has played this event twice after skipping it last year, and he missed the cut in his first go and T-25 two years ago.
13. Sebastian Munoz – (179)
His real name is Juan Sebastian Munoz, and I think I like that better, but whatever you call him this kid playing outstanding golf right now. I highlighted him as a value play in my PGA FanDuel article last week as I am really impressed with his streak of playing well enough to make the weekend, and he ran that streak to seven straight with his T-7 finish at the Greenbrier last week.
In fact, the more we get these weaker fields, the better Munoz will likely be as these situations are obviously where he thrives. He T-9 at the Barbasol and followed that with a solo 11th at the Barracuda, both alternate events. The 26-year-old has made two previous appearances here at the Sanderson Farms Championships, and while he made the cut both times, his best finish was a T-35 in 2016.
12. Russell Henley – (151)
Another one here that I cannot say that I am fully behind as we go back we forth with my rankings and what the oddsmakers tell me. Granted, Henley has been playing pretty solid golf since the awful stretch he had in the summer. At one point, Henley missed four straight cuts, then to break the funk he must have figured something out after his early exit at the 3M Open because he was able to follow it with a solo second place at the John Deere Classic.
Henley proceeded to follow his runner-up finish by making the cut in his next couple of events, but his season ended with his T-59 at the Northern Trust. His lone appearance here at the Sanderson Farms Championship in the last five years was in 2017, and his final score of 11-under par was good for a T-14 finish. The 30-year-old T-57 to start the season at the Greenbrier last week.
11. Corey Conners – (73)
Much like Henley, Conners too had a rough stretch this summer that included missed cuts at the Open Championship and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. However, he was also able to bounce back in time for the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he got it all going with a T-27 at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational where he T-27. Conners then carried that momentum into top-25 finishes at the Wyndham Championship and the Northern Trust, and a T-7 at the BMW Championship was good enough to move him inside the top-30 and earn himself a spot in the TOUR Championship, where he T-23.
With the trip to the TOUR Championship and finishing inside the top-30 in FedEx Cup points to end the season, Conners joins Sungjae Im as the only two golfers in this field to have accomplished that feat. Conners won the Valero Texas Open last year which got him in the mix, and if it was not for Cameron Champs incredible finish here last year he may have won here as well. The 27-year-old from Canada finished alone in second place at 17-under par.