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Boxing Sanderson Farms Championship Best Bet: 111.00 Pick For This Weekend’s Action
Sanderson Farms Championship Best Bet: Thursday, October 5th
The Country Club of Jackson is the host course for the Sanderson Farms Championship. We have analysed the betting markets to bring you our Sanderson Farms Championship best bet.
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Sanderson Farms Championship Preview
Thursday, 5th October, 12:00 (UK)
The Sanderson Farms Championship returns to The Country Club of Jackson for the tenth consecutive year. Playing as a par 72 once again, the course will play to a maximum length of 7,461 yards.
The original layout at The Country Club of Jackson dates back to 1914 but John Fought was brought in by the club in 2008 to redesign a number of holes. As a result, the course has small and tricky greens as its main source of defence. Strong approach play is generally favoured but several winners have been powerful off the tee so there are many ways to win at this test in Mississippi.
In the nine previous editions of the Sanderson Farms Championship the winning score has been between 16 under par and 22 under par. Light rain showers may soften the greens on Thursday and Friday leading to the winning score being nearer to 20 under par.
This is the second tournament of the FedExCup Fall, following on from the Fortinet Championship three weeks ago. Be aware that almost all players won’t have played any competitive golf the past few weeks.
Most players will have opted to use these past few weeks constructively though. Players who finished outside the top 70 in the FedExCup rankings need to ensure they finish inside the top 125 in the rankings at the end of November to retain their playing privileges for next year.
Sanderson Farms Championship Best Bet
Ludvig Aberg heads up the betting this week after an impressive Ryder Cup debut last week. However, it will be a difficult task to put the excitement of last week behind him, notwithstanding the fact he has had to make the journey from Rome to Mississippi. Aberg is a fine talent who will likely go on to win multiple events on the PGA Tour but this may be a week to oppose the young Swede.
The way to take Aberg on may be in the Top Swede market offered by bet365. Aberg is the odds on favourite in this four runner market, the big outsider being Jonas Blixt. Preference would be to split stakes on Alex Noren and Henrik Norlander at odds of 3.8 and 6.5 respectively.
It is noteworthy that Noren plays this event rather than the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an event he has a strong record in and was runner up last year. He’ll have a point to prove after missing out on the Ryder Cup team too. Norlander has an impressive record in this event with several top five finishes to his name and was unlucky to miss the cut last time out at the Fortinet Championship.
If the Ryder Cup is still fresh in your memory, you could do worse than remember the name of Sam Ryder this week in the outright market. Ryder has come close to his breakthrough PGA Tour win several times this season and this is an event where players often get off the mark. Six of the past nine winners of this event have been first time winners on the PGA Tour and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Ryder name continue to dominate the headlines.
Priced up at 46.0, Ryder comes into this week fresh off a 14th place finish last time out at the Fortinet Championship. He ranked third for SG: Tee to Green that week, a very encouraging sign given recent form has been a key factor in determining who wins this event in recent years. The negative which can be attributed to Ryder comes by way of course form. He has failed to crack the top 40 in five attempts at the Country Club of Jackson. That stat is tempered by the fact he has recorded prominent finishes at several other courses which correlate.
Ultimately, Ryder’s course form was enough of a distraction and my best bet this week comes in the shape of Troy Merritt. Unlike Ryder, Merritt boasts a 7th place finish at the Country Club of Jackson, along with four top 20 finishes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which I like as a correlating event. Both courses were designed or influenced by Donald Ross.
Merritt warmed up for his event with a seventh place finish in his last start at the Fortinet Championship, a result that was even more impressive given he opened with a two over par round of 74. The other factor which caught my eye was that he gained strokes on the greens that week. Merritt acknowledged earlier this year that he has had trouble with the flat stick in 2023, even describing his problem as the putting yips. That performance with the putter at the Fortinet could well have been a flash in the pan but I like the chances of him continuing to gain strokes based on the fact he’s putting on bermuda greens this week. His two best putting performances this season have come on bermuda greens, a factor that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Unfortunately Merritt didn’t give any post round interview at the Fortinet to confirm his current confidence levels with the putter. However, with three figure odds available with bet365, I’m prepared to take the chance that his upturn with the putter continues this week. Take Merritt at 111.0 with bet365 for eight each way places.
- Selection: Troy Merritt EW (1/5 1-8)
- Best Odds: 111.00 bet365
- Stakes: 1/10
Odds via bet365 as at 13.45 October 3rd 2023. Odds may now differ.
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