Power Rankings: See who leads the way at the Sanderson Farms Championship

After five weeks with just one official competition since the conclusion of the FedExCup Playoffs, the PGA TOUR resumes in earnest this week at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. Country Club of Jackson hosts for the 10th consecutive year.

Below the projected contenders is detail on what the field of 144 can expect on the stock par 72, an early peek at the weather and more.

Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner and defending champion Mackenzie Hughes will be among the notables reviewed in Golfbet Insider.

All right now, here we go.

After a long year of chasing and the unexpected bonus of the FedExCup Fall, the future has become the present. The six tournaments over the next seven weeks will be the last chances for membership to climb inside the top 125 in points to secure cards for 2024. Of course, other targets also are up for grabs.

Save the new stage of the World Wide Technology Championship in a month, the slate of host courses will be familiar. First up, and even better, the Country Club of Jackson is the same. It’s 7,461 yards with a testy set of four par 5s that almost always ranks inside the hardest quartile of all courses. Scoring across all 18 holes has varied in the recent past, but last year’s clip of 71.153 is a terrific representation when conditions cooperate.

The air will be ideal for scoring on Thursday and Sunday, but the wind all but promises to kick up at some point on Friday with an encore likley on Saturday. It should be dry throughout as daytime highs tumble from maybe 90 degrees into the mid-70s.

CC of Jackson is stingy in surrendering tight lies off the tee with historical averages right around 7.5 (of 14) fairways split per round, but it might not be as penal this year due to a hot summer and very little precipitation. The Bermuda rough remains just 2.5 inches tall but lush swaths might not be as common as previous editions. The Bermuda greens shouldn’t have any trouble touching 13 feet on the Stimpmeter, also the norm for this track in this tournament.

While the series of champions spreads across all skill sets, the pocket is to hit greens and pour in putts. The analytical addendum favors the aggressive approach because CC of Jackson is more than accommodating when salvaging par from lies off greens. Mackenzie Hughes proved this last year when he averaged only 12 greens in regulation per round (to rank T37) but first in scrambling. His winning formula was so lopsided that he actually lost a fraction of a stroke to the field off the tee and still paced it in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Power Rankings

TUESDAY*: Sleepers

WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider

FRIDAY: Medical Extensions

SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Qualifiers, Reshuffle

* Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.