Sanderson Farms: Underdogs get their shot in alternate field event

While the best field of the fall is ready to go in China, the lesser known PGA Tour pros get a shot in Jackson, Miss.

The Sanderson Farms Championship is set for its fourth run at the Club of Jackson. The course is on the longer end, coming in at just over 7,400 yards for a par 72. It has some tough driving holes, but the rough isn't too penalizing. It has some of the easier greens to hit, which is why we've seen some guys who ride their putter take down the last couple of tournaments.

This is likely to be the weakest field of the PGA Tour season. Chesson Hadley comes in as the favorite at 18-1. Hadley is just a couple weeks removed from cashing a top five for us at the Safeway Open, but the fact that a recent Web.com Tour grad is now favored in a PGA Tour event says pretty much everything you need to know about this field.

I love a lot of these guys at the top of the board. Hadley, Bronson Burgoon and Austin Cook are all in the top five of my Web.com graduate power rankings in the preseason, but I'm not going near any of them at under 50-1 in a PGA event. Couple that with the fact that the three previous winners were all 80-1 or higher, and it makes it really tough to back anyone considered a favorite.

If forced to play from this range, I'd look to Kevin Streelman or William McGirt. Both are proven winners, and I doubt they would feel the nerves on Sunday afternoon should they get into contention.

Again, I'm not touching anyone up there, though. My card is peppered with longshots with one exception.

I'll lead with Brice Garnett at 50-1. Garnett might be golf's version of a quadruple A player, bouncing back and forth between the PGA and Web Tours. He's coming off a career year on the lower tour, winning twice, but he hasn't shown any consistency on the main tour. I think this is his best chance to break through given that this tournament isn't a whole lot stronger than a standard Web field. At 50-1, you're getting almost double the odds over some guys he outplayed during the previous season.

This is a longshot tournament, though, and I have a list of guys I think have a chance to get a win and the two-year tour exemption that goes with it.

I'll be back to break those long shots down later in the day.

Joshua has spent the last five years writing about sports and the last 10 years betting them, mostly on golf. He's one of approximately five people who will watch the PGA over the NFL in November. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaPerry22

Photo: © Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

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