Sanderson Farms Championship 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

Nicolai Hojgaard would rather not be playing at this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship. 

We are now into the FedEx Fall Season, a series of tournaments that will determine who keeps their PGA Tour cards for 2026, and a number of high profile players find themselves fighting for their futures.

These include Max Homa in 107th place, Victor Perez (111), Matt Kuchar (115), Thorbjorn Olesen (124). The top 100 at the end of it all keep their full playing privileges, while those in positions 101-125 have conditional status. But fall outside the top 125 and you have a problem and among those affected by that are Zach Johnson (127), Seamus Power (130), Cameron Champ (134), Charley Hoffman (143), Thriston Lawrence (152) and Matteo Manassero (154).

Hojgaard has no such concerns, sitting at 74th place, but trust me when I tell you that he would rather be at home recovering after the Ryder Cup. Instead, his twin brother Rasmus made the European team while Nicolai failed to keep his place from 2023 and must now focus on aiming for a big finish to his 2025 PGA Tour season.

He has shown flashes of form but will be disappointed with his overall form.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

As an amateur he won the 2018 European Amateur and was part of the Danish team that won the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy. In 2021, he and his twin brother Rasmus became the first brothers to win in back-to-back weeks on the European Tour.

Hojgaard had a successful 2018. In April he won a professional tournament, the Bravo Tours Open on the Nordic Golf League. In June he was second in the individual competition for the boys Toyota Junior World Cup, four strokes behind his brother Rasmus. Denmark also won the team competition. Two weeks later he won the European Amateur, which got him a place in The Open. He played for Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup and represented Denmark in the Youth Olympic Games.

Hojgaard turned professional at the start of 2019. He played a mixture of Nordic Golf League and Challenge Tour events. In September he was runner-up in the KLM Open, one stroke behind Sergio Garcia. In September 2021, Hojgaard won his first DP World Tour event at the Italian Open. His twin brother Rasmus had won the week before at the European Masters. He picked up his second victory in February 2022 at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, shooting 24 under par for four rounds.

In September 2023, Hojgaard played for Europe in the Ryder Cup and later in the year he claimed the biggest title of his career when he won the DP World Tour championship, securing his PGA Tour card for 2024.

He headed to America filled with optimism. It turned out to be well placed. In his first start he finished runner-up to Matthieu Pavon at the Farmers Insurance Open. He made the cut at all four majors and finished seventh at the Olympic Games. All that was missing was a victory on the PGA Tour and most pundits expected him to put that right this year - myself included. But it did not happen. He will be joined this week by his twin brother Rasmus, who is in 87th place and comes straight from the Ryder Cup.

Twelve months ago, Kevin Yu of Taiwan defeated American Beau Hossler in a play-off to win his first PGA Tour title in the Sanderson Farms Championship. Yu birdied the first extra hole at The Country Club of Jackson after the pair had finished tied on 23 under par.

"It's literally a dream come true. I've been dreaming of this since I was five years old," said Yu. "I set a goal today, I thought if I could shoot five or six under I'd have a good chance. I was just focused on that and do the best I could on every shot and I did a pretty good job today."

Luke Clanton is widely regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the game and he could do with a couple of big finishes. He is currently standing in 199th place in the standings and although he is certain to get some sponsors’ invitations in 2026 he could do with locking in his full status as soon as possible, starting with a good finish this week.

After showing some flashes of form on the DP World Tour, where he nearly won the European Masters, England’s Matt Wallace will be looking to put his Ryder Cup frustrations behind him. He is a hugely gifted and passionate golfer but would be the first to admit that his temperament gets in his way sometimes. He has a best PGA Tour finish in 2025 of tied third at the 3M Open and has missed seven cuts in 20 starts and that simply isn’t good enough for a player of his quality.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2015 by Peter Malnati, in 2016 by Cody Gribble, in 2017 by Ryan Armour, in 2018 by Cameron Champ, in 2019 by Sebastian Munoz, in 2020 by Sergio Garcia, in 2021 by Sam Burns, in 2022 by Mackenzie Hughes, in 2023 by Luke List and last year by Kevin Yu.

The Course:

The Country Club of Jackson opened in 1914 and was redesigned by John Fought in 2008. It is a parkland course that measures 7,400 yards and features small, tricky greens.

Form Guide:

Min Woo Lee is a hugely talented golfer who has shown some excellent recent form and is ready to win on the PGA Tour once again.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is around $7.6m, with $1.4m going to the winner, along with 500 FeedEx Cup points.

How to Watch:

Thursday, October 2, Sky Sports Golf, 5pm; Friday, October 3, Sky Sports Golf, 5pm; Saturday, October 4, Sky Sports Golf, midnight; Sunday, October 5, Sky Sports Golf, 8.30pm.

To Win:

Min Woo Lee. Outstanding talent

Each Way:

Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Brilliant ball striker

Each Way:

Max Homa. Finally showing signs of form

Five to Follow:

Min Woo Lee. Fearless

Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Can putt the lights out

Max Homa. On the comeback trail

Thriston Lawrence. Needs to make his mark in America

Luke Clanton. Huge prospect

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Cameron Champ. Big hitter

Matteo Manassero. Playing for his PGA Tour card

Thorbjorn Olesen. Terrific iron player

Sami Valimaki. Can make birdies for fun

Victor Perez. Glorious swing