Little Known Rule Keeps William McGirt out of Sanderson Farms Championship
William McGirt is turning down a guaranteed payday for a tournament in Mississippi he’s not allowed to compete in
Turning down a guaranteed check of over $30,000 doesn’t seem like the savviest of career moves on the surface.
William McGirt is doing just that and is giving a lesson on humility and appreciation in the process.
Thanks to a climb into the world top 50 and a win in May at the Memorial Tournament, McGirt is exempt into this week’s WGC HSBC Championship in Shanghai. A pair of golfers who tied for 76th out of 77 finishers made nearly $40,000 just for showing up to shoot 15-over.
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For a 37-year-old journeyman with just a lone win and four career starts in majors, it seems like a no-brainer to jump at the lucrative opportunity.
Instead, the South Carolina resident had designs of competing in the Sanderson Farms Championship, an alternate field event in Jackson, Mississippi.
For a field sapped of star power that’s instead assembled a world away, the prospect of adding a friendly fan favorite like McGirt would be a boost to the event. From a career standpoint, McGirt could earn FedEx Cup points against a weaker field and play on a course that saw him finish one away from a playoff in 2015. There’s plenty of valid reasons leading to his decision to stay down South.
Too bad he won’t be playing in Mississippi, either.
A PGA Tour rule disallows a player exempt into a WGC event from competing in an alternate field event on the same week (the HSBC Champions is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour). So, did McGirt reverse course to head to China after all? Will he just stay home and forget it?
He did neither. The tournament meant too much for him to stay away.
“It’s about two things,” McGirt told Mississippi Today. “One, I have no interest in flying halfway around the world to China to play in a golf tournament. Two, I want to support a tournament I love and a cause I believe in. So that’s what I am going to do.”
McGirt has played in the SFC five straight times, most recently twice at the Country Club of Jackson, a course he enjoys. He’s a fan of the area and support he’s received, as well as the impact the title sponsor has made close to home for McGirt.
“Joe Sanderson is bringing one of his poultry places to the area I grew up in in North Carolina,” McGirt said. “That’s going to be a lot of jobs for a lot of folks that need jobs where I come from.”
McGirt plans to fly in on Tuesday to be present for the pro-am pairings party, and then to take part in Wednesday’s pro-am before heading back to South Carolina.
“I was blown away when I heard about what Will wanted to do,” said SFC executive director, Steve Jent. “To have that kind of support from a player is just phenomenal. It means a lot to us. Will is such a solid, solid individual. He’s gonna do what he believes in.”
McGirt’s win in Ohio and an appearance in the 2016 Tour Championship will do plenty to exempt him into more big time events and guaranteed paydays down the road. For now, he’s supporting the folks who helped him get to where he is.
Good on you, William.
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Did McGirt make the right decision? Should more players support tournaments in the same manner? Let us know what you think and stay with PGN for more coverage of the Sanderson Farms Championship.