Pro Golf Now
Fansided

2021 Sanderson Farms Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Country Club of Jackson

By Mike Randleman

The Sanderson Farms Championship trophy, Reveille, watches over the 1st tee on Wednesday, September 18, 2019, at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss.09 18 Sfc Pro Am Wed 0008
The Sanderson Farms Championship trophy, Reveille, watches over the 1st tee on Wednesday, September 18, 2019, at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss.09 18 Sfc Pro Am Wed 0008 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 11
Next
Will Zalatoris inspects the green before his putt during the second round of the World Golf Championships FedEx-St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. on Friday, August 6, 2021.Jrca6475
Will Zalatoris inspects the green before his putt during the second round of the World Golf Championships FedEx-St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. on Friday, August 6, 2021.Jrca6475 /

Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship. I’m going to blame burnout for his poor performance and am more than willing to give him a shot at redemption at Country Club of Jackson.

Zalatoris came to Mississippi on a streak of three top-10s and 13 straight top-20s, most of which came on the Korn Ferry Tour. He was a big fish in a small pond on the KFT, as evidenced by jumping up a level to claim T-6th at the U.S. Open and T-8th at the PGA Tour event in Puntacana.

Prior, he finished T-2nd at the KFT’s Evans Scholar Invitational.

The Sanderson was his fourth straight week in a row playing high stakes golf at a level that was new for the 20-something new on the scene. He still managed a respectable 73-71 to miss by two shots.

Despite never gaining full member status, he rode Monday qualifiers, sponsors exemptions and eventually special temporary member status to stick around on the PGA Tour until becoming an official member for 2021-22.

The Big Z has missed just two cuts since the Sanderson as well as withdrawing due to a back injury at The Open.

Zalatoris posted three straight top-30s after that scare, including T-8th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

After playing as much golf as he could the past few years, Zaltatoris was forced to rest for nearly a month since he was ineligible for the FedEx Cup Playoffs despite having enough points to rank him inside the top 30.

He looked spry when the new PGA Tour season kicked off with a T-11th finish at the Fortinet Championship.

There were no events concurrent with the Ryder Cup last week, so that gave Zalatoris another week off.

While he can’t feel snubbed to be left off the U.S. team, Zalatoris was among the names in consideration for a captain’s pick. In a year where the American side wasn’t so stacked, maybe he would’ve.

It’s too soon to earn points to qualify for Rome in 2023, but Zalatoris would love to start racking up wins now to make himself a lock when the time comes.

Home/Golf Power Rankings