Sleeper Picks: Sanderson Farms Championship

Rory Sabbatini (+350 for a Top 20) … The 45-year-old opted to burn a career earnings exemption this season instead of trying his best on conditional status after finishing 133rd in the FedExCup. He arrived at the checkpoint to qualify for the perk (i.e., the conclusion of the 2021 Wyndham Championship) at 29th all-time. While some might wonder why he didn’t wait until he absolutely needed to use it, using it now grants him full control over his schedule and before he’s at least another year older before he would. As for this week, since winning silver at the Olympics, he’s gone 4-for-4 worldwide with a T10 at the Wyndham. It’s the first time he’s connected at least four paydays since ripping off seven straight across the holiday break in late 2019. He’s also perfect in three trips to County Club of Jackson with a T20 in 2018 and a T12 last year.

Adam Schenk (+333 for a Top 20) … He pulled through to save his job and qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs with a pair of late T4s, so there’s an argument that he has as much momentum as the Korn Ferry Tour graduates. Opened 2021-22 with a T51 at the Fortinet Championship, so the seal already has been broken to reach the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Figures to tack on at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he’s 4-for-4 with a T7 in 2018. All 16 of his scores here have been par or better.

Luke List (+650 for a Top 10) … He runs red-hot and ice-cold on his putter, this we know. And even when it’s the latter, he still can rise into contention, as he did finishing 65th in Strokes Gained: Putting en route to a T5 at the Barbasol Championship two months ago. It’s also happened at the Country Club of Jackson where he was a co-runner-up in 2016 and has miss two cuts in four trips. So, the angle at buying in isn’t about hoping to avoid the pitfalls, it’s that he’s put four rounds together at all recently and on this track, so there’s enough evidence not to dismiss outright. Finished last season at 36th in greens hit, 23rd in SG: Tee-to-Green and T21 in par-scoring.

Matthias Schwab (+400 for a Top 20) … After popping for a pair of top fives on the PGA TOUR in 2019-20, he qualified for the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals via the non-member conduit. It was a good thing because he went just 1-for-4 during the 2020-21 season and directed the majority of his focus on the European Tour. Good form on the Austrian’s home circuit translated into a T4-64th-T8 blitz in the KFT Finals and his first PGA TOUR card. He was the only rookie not to open at the Fortinet Championship. so as to rest following a T12 at the BMW PGA Championship immediately following the KFT Finals. Now he resets and shifts his attention forward. Former Vanderbilt teammate John Augenstein also is in the field via his top 10 at Silverado two weeks ago.

David Lipsky (+450 for a Top 20) … He’s another rookie with worldly experience that includes a pair of wins on the European Tour, so this stage won’t feel as big to the 33-year-old as it will to most others in his class. Mito Pereira paced it at the Fortinet with a solo third, but Lipsky was the rookie runner-up with a T22. For the week, he ranked T7 in fairways hit, seventh in total driving, T10 in greens hit, T4 in proximity and ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting. A steady diet of leaderboard performances on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour yielded a win and three seconds among seven top 10s. He also finished T9 in par-5 scoring on the circuit, a relevant stat given the challenging par 5s at CC of Jackson.

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 8 a.m. ET . For live odds, visit betmgm.