Steve Palmer's Sanderson Farms Championship predictions, best bets

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf red button from 6pm on Thursday

Best bets

Sungjae Im
4pts each-way 14-1 general
Davis Riley
1pt each-way 150-1 BoyleSports, Hills
Robby Shelton
1pt each-way 175-1 Betfred
Cameron Davis
1pt each-way 60-1 Sky Bet

Analysis

It speaks volumes about how Covid-19 can affect people to a different extent that Scottie Scheffler is single-figure price favourite for the Sanderson Farms Championship just 16 days after withdrawing from the US Open due to a positive test.

Scheffler was asymptomatic but had his US Open dream ended and punters are in the dark as to how life unfolded for the 24-year-old in the fortnight which followed.

Of course, he may have overcome the issue quickly and be ready to perform at his best in Mississippi, but it does not seem worth the risk at such short odds. Even if there was no significant physical impact, Scheffler has had plenty to deal with mentally, and may struggle to reproduce the stellar form he was showing up to that point.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Sungjae Im 14-1

The safest investment for Sanderson Farms glory is arguably the man who was so cruelly denied victory last year - 2019 playoff loser Sungjae Im can lay that ghost to rest by claiming a second PGA Tour title on Sunday.

The early 16-1 has disappeared, largely because of the withdrawal of Louis Oosthuizen, but the general 14-1 is more than fair when you consider that Im has shown signs of returning to his best in recent weeks and is arguably the most talented player in the line-up.

The 2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, co-top scorer in the Presidents Cup in December before winning the Honda Classic in March, was riding the crest of a wave until golf was suspended. It was a hammer blow for the Korean youngster - because it meant the postponement of an Olympics which is so important to him.

The only way Im can avoid his mandatory two years of military service for his country - the process which derailed the promising career of Sang-Moon Bae - is by winning an Olympic medal. He would have been among the favourites for gold had Tokyo 2020 gone ahead, so it is little wonder that the cancellation apparently knocked Im out of kilter. His hopes of earning an exemption from the army must wait.

Im returned from lockdown in lacklustre fashion and it was not until the Wyndham Championship last month that he showed something close to his old form. Ninth place there was followed by a bold effort in the Tour Championship, where he gave Dustin Johnson most to worry about over the first two rounds before fading over the weekend as Johnson took control of the $15m shootout.

A solid US Open spin - co-leading for greens in regulation on his way to 22nd place - has been Im's only subsequent outing, and this notorious workhorse is fresher than normal as he heads to Jackson Country Club. He thought he had done enough to win last year, before last-gasp heroics from Sebastian Munoz denied Im a maiden PGA success, but the breakthrough has come since and the gifted 22-year-old can approach Mississippi this time in positive mood.

Next best bet

Davis Riley 150-1

Jackson Country Club is a home game for Mississippi native Davis Riley and the hugely promising 23-year-old can take advantage. Riley, a good friend of Justin Thomas and a housemate of Korn Ferry Tour standings leader Will Zalatoris, won his maiden KFT title just before lockdown, then his second one in July.

Riley, who finished 39th in the Sanderson Farms last year on a sponsors invitation, is clearly destined to become a PGA Tour star. He missed the cut in the US Open and probably had a mental hangover from Winged Foot when flopping again last week in the Wichita Open, but those failures have just helped punters get a fantastic price for a much more suitable assignment this week.

Other selections

Robby Shelton 175-1

Cameron Davis 60-1

Robby Shelton is another rising star with local connections. He was born, educated and is based in neighbouring Alabama, feels comfortable in this part of the world and both his 2019 Korn Ferry wins came in Tennessee, another state bordering Mississippi.

Shelton, third in the 3M Open at the end of July and 13th in the Northern Trust after a closing 63 at the end of last month, recently turned 25 and is bristling with potential.

Complete a team of youngsters with Cameron Davis, a 25-year-old Aussie who has settled nicely on the PGA Tour and looks ready to become a champion. Davis won the 2017 Australian Open, then the 2018 Nashville Open on the KFT.

This year, a series of solid efforts - principally ninth place in the Sony Open, eighth in the Honda, 12th in the 3M and 15th in the Wyndham - hint that Davis can make a serious impact in a low-grade PGA Tour gathering such as this.

Players to note

Will Zalatoris
The Korn Ferry Tour star needs to finish in a two-way tie for fifth place or better to gain Special Temporary Membership of the PGA Tour. A closing 65 for eighth spot in the Corales Championship on Sunday sent him into his Sanderson Farms debut in high spirits.

Sam Burns
The birdie machine, third in the 2018 Sanderson Farms, has been bright in recent weeks, but unconvincing in contention, fading from first place over the weekend of the Safeway Open before a shocking Saturday 78 ended his Corales campaign.

Country Club of Jackson course guide

Course Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi
Prize money $6.6m ($1.188m to the winner)
Length 7,461 yards
Par 72
Field 144
Course records- 72 holes 267 Cameron Champ (2018) 18 holes 62 Roberto Castro (2015)

Course winners taking part Nick Taylor, Peter Malnati, Ryan Armour, Sebastian Munoz

When to bet By 1.05pm on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf red button from 6pm on Thursday

Time difference Mississippi is six hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - Corales Puntacana Championship 1 H Swafford (200-1), 2 T McCumber (300-1), 3 M Hughes (16-1), 4 N Lashley (125-1), 5 A Long (25-1), T6 J Hahn (90-1), A Lahiri (150-1), T8 W Zalatoris (12-1), C Percy (100-1), L List (45-1)

Course type Parkland

Course overview Dick Wilson designed this course in 1962 and it was revamped by John Fought in 2008. It made its US Tour debut in 2014. The most prestigious events it had previously held were the Mississippi State Amateur and the Southern Junior Amateur. Country Club of Jackson, tree-lined and traditional, has one par-five hole which is comfortably reachable in two shots (the third), but the other three (the fifth, 11th and 14th) are long and relatively difficult. The 181-yard par-three fourth, the 482-yard par-four sixth, the 214-yard par-three seventh, the 479-yard par-four 16th and the 505-yard par-four 18th are the toughest assignments. Slick greens are a strength of Jackson, with the latest Champions UltraDwarf Bermuda grass making for immaculate putting surfaces, with tight lies around them. Scoring has been low, though, with the winning score between 16 and 21 under par every year

The story of last year Sungjae Im had one hand on the trophy, but Sebastian Munoz birdied the difficult 18th hole to force a playoff, then defeated the Korean at the first extra hole for his maiden PGA Tour title

Weather forecast Sunny throughout, with light to moderate breezes

Type of player suited to the challenge Plodders who putt well seemed to be the favoured type of player in Jackson until Cameron Champ powered his way to victory in 2018. Scoring is always low and great weather is forecast, so a hot putter seems essential this week

Key attribute Touch/putting

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