Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship, which gets underway Thursday at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi. Along with Kannon’s recommended plays, you’ll also see data from Chirp Golf, a mobile app that features both free-to-play and daily fantasy golf contests where you can win cash and prizes with each round and tournament.
The PGA Tour returns to its normally scheduled programming this week in Jackson, Miss., for the Sanderson Farms Championship, the second of seven FedEx Cup Fall events in 2025.
The Country Club of Jackson has been the host course of this championship for the past 11 seasons. It is a par 72 golf course that stretches to nearly 7,500 yards. Much of what we have seen lead to success at this course in recent years has been work off the tee and in hitting greens in regulation. Shorter, accurate drivers of the golf ball who find fairways and greens have won here in the past, as have the longer hitters, employing a bomb-and-gouge approach without the threat of any really penal rough off the fairways.
The greens are average in size. They are a Bermudagrass surface and many are perched up above the level of the fairways — which are of average width and bordered by a sprinkling of trees. The fast greens and long par 5 holes present most of the challenge here in Jackson. The weather looks to be very favorable with high temperatures in the upper 80s and very little wind in the forecast. The winning score proposition bet at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas is Under/Over 266.5 or 21.5 under par. The average winning score at the Sanderson Farms Championship over the last 10 years has been 19.5 under par.
I looked at Strokes Gained: Off the Tee this week as well as Strokes Gained: Approach. I looked at such on the par 5s as well as the par 4s measuring 400-450 yards. I looked at Birdies or Better Gained, Hole Proximity from 100-150 yards and Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass).
As far as the correlated courses, it seems that there are some strong connections relating to success at this tournament. I looked at Torrey Pines (Farmers Insurance Open), Vidanta Vallarta (Mexico Open), and Corales Golf Club, where they play the Puntacana Championship.
Rico Hoey (35-1)
Hoey is No. 1 on the PGA Tour in both Total Driving and Ball Striking. That is excellent leg to stand on at just about any golf tournament but I feel it especially makes sense here this week. Over the last 36 rounds, he ranks second in this field for SG: Off the Tee and 13th on Approach. He is 23rd on the 400-450 yard par 4s. He has also finished as high as 12th at Corales Puntacana. I feel it’s a nice price for a player that has such a fitting skill set.
Nicolai Hojgaard (35-1)
Hojgaard was the twin brother that was not a part of the victorious European Ryder Cup team last week in New York but maybe those waves from his brother and his fellow countrymen have him feeling a bit inspired this week in Mississippi. He’s been runner-up before at both Corales and Torrey Pines and finished eighth last year in Mexico. Over the last 36 rounds, Hojgaard ranks third in this field for Birdies or Better Gained and in SG: Par 5s.
Alex Smalley (55-1)
The summer has not been great for Smalley, who has missed five cuts in his last eight starts, but in this watered-down field, he could shine as he is fourth on Tour in Total Driving and 13th in Ball Striking. He has been fifth and 16th here in the past, has finished 10th and sixth in Mexico, and sixth and runner-up at Corales. He also ranks 27th in this field for Birdies or Better Gained and 34th for SG: Putting (Bermudagrass) over the last 36 rounds.
Vince Whaley (60-1)
Over the spring, Whaley missed four straight cuts on Tour. He then finished top 10 at the Corales Puntacana Championship in April and hasn’t missed a cut since. He bombs it off the tee and ranks 25th in this field over the last 36 rounds on the par 5s. Combining touch with power, he also ranks seventh in this field for SG: Putting (Bermudagrass). He’s never missed a cut here in Jackson and has been getting progressively better with every trip to town, finishing 61st back in 2022 and then 28th and 16th last year.
Stephan Jaeger (70-1)
The same year that Hojgaard finished runner-up at Torrey Pines, Jaeger finished third. He’s also been extremely successful at Vidanta Vallarta in Mexico with finishes of 6-3-18-15. He’s a bomber, he makes birdies in bunches, and he ranks ninth in this field over the last 36-rounds for Hole Proximity from 125-150 yards. He also has a deft touch on the greens, ranking ninth in SG: Putting (Bermudagrass).
Hayden Springer (110-1)
This is a number that I have seen all over the place, so if you are getting on board, shop around like we always say. Springer is another big hitter that makes our card. He was eighth here last year and finished sixth at Torrey Pines back in January. He’s also another big hitter that can really putt. He ranks 28th on Tour for SG: Putting and 37th in this field on Bermudagrass over the last 36-rounds. He is also fourth in Birdies or Better Gained and 10th on the par 5s.
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