With one round in the books at the Sanderson Farms Championship, four players — Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell, Jimmy Walker and defending champion Sebastian Munoz — sit atop the leaderboard after matching rounds of 8-under 64.
With a total of 83 players in red figures, the Country Club of Jackson played to a palatable 70.95 scoring average Thursday, but there’s already some talk that conditions could toughen up a bit entering the weekend.
Let’s get right to some potential live plays, with three outrights and three second-round matchups.
Round 2 Outright Bets
Talor Gooch (+2200)
If you’re looking for a guy within a few strokes of the lead who still owns a decent price tag, Gooch could be a smart play after firing an opening 66. I usually like going after players who are ball-striking it well and just need their putting to turn around. Gooch, though, is a very good iron player who relied on his putter in the first round, gaining 3.52 strokes with the flatstick. There’s obviously a chance his putting could regress without the swing improving, but I don’t mind a play on the swing catching up and the putter staying hot.
[Bet Gooch now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
Scott Stallings (+5000)
Granted, this tournament was contested at a different course and didn’t even have the same name back in 2012, but Stallings is indeed a past champion here and has played solid — if not spectacular — ever since. He gained strokes in every major category during an opening 67, and if you’re into biorhythms or numerology or just patterns, he’s posted a top-six finish every four starts since the PGA TOUR’s return. And you guessed it — this would be his fourth start in that pattern.
[Bet Stallings now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
Camilo Villegas (+25000)
The fall part of the PGA TOUR schedule is dependent on great stories. When Stewart Cink won the Safeway Open three weeks ago, it resonated outside of the golf stratosphere, as it was his first victory since the 2009 Open and came after cancer scares to both him and his wife. There would be no better possible story for the entire year — and not a dry eye from anyone watching — if Villegas could win a tournament just two months after his two-year-old daughter, Mia, passed away. He isn’t just the sentimental favorite, though. In the opening round, he led the field in strokes gained tee-to-green and shot 69 despite losing 3.52 strokes on the greens. If the putter heats up, this would be a story of unbelievable proportions. At 250/1, it’s worth a few bucks to root for it even more.
[Bet Villegas now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
Round 2 Matchups
Corey Conners (+104) over Sebastian Munoz
It’s no secret Munoz loves this place, as he followed last year’s win with a four-way share of FRL honors Thursday. At some point, though, he’s got to regress a little bit. This is a similarly great course for Conners, who proved with an opening 67 that coming off two missed cuts wasn’t such a big deal. At plus-money, I love this play.
[Bet Conners over Munoz now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
Scottie Scheffler (-117) over Sungjae Im
Before the opening round, you would’ve had a hard time finding double-digit outright odds for Scheffler. After a 1-over 73, he’s barely a favorite over Im, who was only two strokes better. I like this number while playing a hunch that Scheffler just needed a competitive round under his belt after a positive COVID-19 test forced him to remain home for the past few weeks. He’s already a few shots off the cut line, but don’t be surprised if he makes it to the weekend.
[Bet Scheffler over Im now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
Hudson Swafford (+145) over Zach Johnson
Fresh off his victory at last week’s Corales Puntacana event, Swafford opened with a 3-over 75 that featured a brutal putting performance. We do know, though, that his game isn’t far off considering that recent success. I don’t often like to fade Johnson, who’s incredibly steady, especially on a course like this one, but the number on Swafford is too big to ignore here.
[Bet Swafford over Johnson now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]
