Sanderson Farms Championship Power Rankings: Top 10 Players To Watch (2025)

TourPicks ranks his top-10 Players to watch for at the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship at the CC of Jackson. His insights on the top-10 golfers for the week and reasons why they are primed to win.

After a brief pause for a certain high-profile event in New York, the PGA TOUR FedEx Fall Series resumes this week in Jackson, Mississippi, for the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship. Several players eager to capitalize on the less-than-stellar Fall field strength are poised to tee it up in hopes of nabbing an early-season victory and lifting the trophy amidst the late summer Mississippi musk.

In this article, I’ll break down my Top 10 Power Rankings, using recent form and data-backed player profiles to identify those best suited for the Country Club of Jackson. By analyzing recent lead-in form and the golf course specs, we’ll zero in on the player skill sets that I believe can thrive here, spotlighting the players most likely to contend for the win.

Let’s get right into my Top 10 Power Rankings for the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship:

No. 10 - Nicolai Hojgaard

• The lone member of the 2023 Europe Ryder Cup Team who was left off the roster in 2025 in favor of his twin brother. Nicolai has plenty of game and is well-suited for the CC of Jackson.

• 3rd best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Total per round over the last four months. His form began to show life over the late summer, providing confidence for the Fall.
• Excellent Ball-striker and plenty long to take advantage of the Par 5's on this course. He's also an underrated putter who I think contends on this setup.

No. 9 - Kevin Yu

• Yu won this tournament at 80-1 odds in 2024 with a winner score of -23 under par, including a clutch Sunday performance.

• He consistently does his damage OTT, which is highly rewarded at this event. Yu ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: OTT with data over his last 26 measured rounds.
• Yu dominated on the greens last year at this event, but it's not normally his strong suit. If he can replicate some of the confidence this week, he's got a good chance.

No. 8 - Rico Hoey

• Hoey continues to be potentially the best Ball-striker on the PGA TOUR that is not named Scottie Scheffler. The numbers, both short and long term, are staggering.

• T9 result in his most recent start at the Procore Championship, where he gained strokes in every major category once again, except putting.
• A hot putter goes an extremely long way at the CC of Jackson, but it's not impossible to bludgeon this course from tee to green. Hoey switched to the long broomstick putter in Napa and had his best putting performance since early June. I'm optimistic.

No. 7 - Rasmus Hojgaard

• Our second Hojgaard on the list is the only Ryder-cupper in the field this week. Unless the party carries on too long, he's still scheduled to play as I write this article.

• One of the elite Drivers of the golf ball in the field. He's got an abundance of talent and the full ability to go very low over four days.
• Hojgaard was dominant on the DP World Tour this summer, which earned him a captain's pick. He recorded a pair of 2nd-place results in August alone on the Euro-Tour.

No. 6 - Davis Thompson

• Thompson continues to linger on leaderboards, utilizing a full spectrum of tee-to-green abilities to find contention regularly.

• He's finished inside the Top-20 in both PGA TOUR starts since August and gained over 4+ strokes OTT in each event.
• Thompson has played this event three times in his young career, making this one of the few stops where he has a handful of starts. He's finished T16, T67, and T35 here since 2021.

No. 5 - Garrick Higgo

• High upside play for big rewards, but comes with inherent risk as Higgo is a highly volatile player in terms of performance.

• Undoubtedly one of the best putters in the field. CC of Jackson ranks 2nd among all PGA TOUR courses in correlation between success and putting stats inside of 15 ft.
• T7 at the Procore Championship in his last start, where Higgo gained +11 strokes total on the field in Napa. He'll be a trendy option around the middle of the odds board.

No. 4 - Emiliano Grillo

• Grillo is one of the more consistent and reliable options in the field. He's finished 50th or better in six of his last seven starts, and has two Top 5's in that span.
• He nearly made a run on Sunday at the Procore Championship. He won't have to go toe-to-toe with Scheffler this week luckily, and this feels like it could be a great Grillo-week.
• It's a given that he's going to roll the ball well on the greens, but Grillo has been surprisingly very solid with his ballstriking of late. I'm confident he can contend for the win in Jackson.

No. 3 - Michael Thorbjornsen

• Everything points to Thorbjornsen being on the precipice of a breakout season on the PGA TOUR through 2026. He checks almost all the boxes.

• His stat profile makes him an elite fit for this golf course, and now that he has legitimate Sunday pressure reps under his belt, he feels ready to take the next step.
• Thorbjornsen somehow finished T8 at this event last season despite losing over two strokes on Approach. If he can clean up his iron play, he should be right there on Sunday afternoon with a chance to win his first PGA TOUR event.

No. 2 - Akshay Bhatia

• The favorite to win at most sportsbooks, Bhatia makes his third appearance at the CC of Jackson (T43, MC).

• Highly aggressive player who loves these tournaments when he can hunt down pins and seek out birdies. 2nd best in the field in Birdie-or-better percentage on Par 4',s which is a key stat in this tournament for finding success.
• Streaky putter, but sometimes that can work in his favor. I fully expect him to hit his wedges within 15-20 feet as often as anyone in the field. If the putts drop for him, he'll end up winning.

No. 1 - Min Woo Lee

• Another ultra-aggressive player, but a distinct advantage in distance for Min Woo Lee makes him No. 1 in my rankings this week.
• He played twice on the DP World Tour in September, with two amazing results. He finished T11 at the BMW Championship and went off in the final pairing at the French Open (T5).
• Excellent scrambler if he gets out of position, and with almost zero penalty for missing fairways at CC of Jackson, this is the ideal course for Chef Min Woo Lee to send it and win!

Enjoy the Sanderson Farms Championship, and thanks for reading! See you next season! Good luck, RotoBaller family!

If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU

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