Sanderson Farms Championship: Pro Golf Now Staff Picks

The 2020 PGA season is underway, and it started with a bang. The Sanderson Farms Championship looks to keep it going this week.

As we will be doing throughout the season, the staff here at Pro Golf Now makes their picks on who they think will win the event, with this week’s being the Sanderson Farms Championship.

We had a great start to the season… Check that, the PGA Tour had a great start to its season. Low scores all over the place, a 59, and what turned out to be a dominating win by Joaquin Niemann.

As for our crew, we managed to just sneak into the top ten. John “Davey” McWaters and I both picked Viktor Hovland last week, and thanks to a strong finish of 64, he ended up T-10th.

As the PGA heads out to the Sanderson Farms event, let’s see if we can pick a winner this time around. Here we go, with all the odds coming from oddsshark.

Joaquin Niemann – 14/1

Bill Felber – I will take Joaquin Niemann. He was  3.32 standard deviations better than the field average at Greenbrier. That’s a lot. Winning back-to-back is coin-flip level unlikely, but I cannot think of an argument for anybody else that’s better than the argument for Niemann.

Brandt Snedeker – 18/1

Brandon Raper – As much as I love the fully-exempt Scottie Scheffler’s game – he’s running as hot as anybody right now – I’m going with veteran Brandt Snedeker to get back in the winner’s circle after a dry year in 2018-19.

He’s got the short game to get the job done, ranking third in strokes gained around the green on the PGA TOUR last season, as well as 12th in strokes gained putting. It doesn’t hurt, either, that he scored a pair of top-ten finishes in the FedEx Cup Playoffs to close out last season. Look for him to make a big move to start the new year off right.

Scottie Scheffler – 20/1

Chris O’Day – I like Scheffler to take advantage of the big guns all being on vacation or playing over at the BMW PGA Championship.

Byeong Hun An – 22/1

West Valentine – Sanderson Farms is one of those events where you go, “Huh? Who? What? Are they the ones that make those delightful jams and jellies?” It’s one the easiest ways to get a Tour win as most of the big guns are yachting with Instagram models this week.

Honestly, to me, the field looks like a gallery of high-risk melanoma patients. It’s just a bunch of sun-burned guys with nightmares of returning to the Korn Ferry Tour. There are a few legitimate Pros in the field and I’m picking one of them – Byeong Hun An. He’s a great player, he’s been close a couple of times, and this is a field he can outlast.

Brian Harman – 28/1

Eric Sedransk – I’m taking Brian Harman, continuing his fine form from this past week.

Corey Conners – 28/1

Richie Randolph – I am taking Corey Conners this week. Conners finished 2nd last year at the Sanderson Farms, behind only Cameron Champ (who lit the course on fire with his prodigious driving). Conners had a fantastic 2018-19 PGA Tour season, winning the Valero Texas Open and making it to the Tour Championship.

As Champ showed, a great driver can succeed at CC of Jackson and Conners ranked 8th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee last season. Conners has the pedigree and game to take home the title this week.

Cameron Champ – 50/1

Kasey Kuhrts – I’ve got a back to back feeling. I’m going with Cameron Champ this weekend at Sanderson Farms!

Roberto Castro – 80/1

Hans Geevers – He has two previous top-five finishes at this event. I think Castro has the game to get a win this week.

Charley Hoffman – 100/1

Matt Coles – I will go for Charley Hoffman this week!

Best of luck to all the staff that took part this week!