This Thursday, a new edition of the Sanderson Farms Championship kicked off at the famous The Country Club of Jackson in the city of Jackson, in the state of Mississippi. It is the first PGA Tour tournament after the Ryder Cup and the second event of the autumn series where many players are fighting to keep their card for 2026. An important date on the calendar where good weather conditions, the absence of wind throughout the day, and the ease of the course have resulted in a true birdie festival.
Nearly 90 of the 132 participants have submitted under-par cards. Even two of them, Danish Niklas Norgaard (PAR) and American Matt Kuchar (-4), had the pleasure of achieving a hole-in-one each at the same spot on the course, the par-three 4th hole, 183 yards. But the battle for the tournament lead was among three other Americans, Eric Cole (-7), Sam Ryder (-7), and Danny Walker (-7), and South African Garrick Higgo (-7), completing the quartet of co-leaders after the first 18 holes.
🚨 HOLE-IN-ONE! 🚨
Niklas Norgaard drains it on No. 4 @Sanderson_Champ. pic.twitter.com/0E9X0caADM
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 2, 2025
Cole, who starts the week in 78th place in the FedEx, should have no problem being among the top 100 when this autumn series concludes, thus maintaining his card. However, a victory would put him right in the fight for positions 51st to 60th, which grant access to the first designated events of next year. Today he made no less than 10 birdies, compensating for a double bogey and a bogey to be at the top.
Ryder is in a more delicate situation, in 110th place, but today he was very sharp, with seven birdies without errors, and will try to take advantage of this good start to secure the result that allows him to live peacefully for the rest of the year. A situation similar to Walker, who starts from 104th position and cannot afford to be careless if he does not want to lose his card at the first opportunity after his rookie season on the circuit. For Higgo, however, things are different…
ANOTHER ACE‼️
Matt Kuchar hits the 2nd hole-in-one of the day @Sanderson_Champ 🤯 pic.twitter.com/GyVacCOGT9
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 2, 2025
Although he occupies 88th place overall, he has secured playing rights for 2026 and 2027 thanks to the victory he achieved last April at the Corales Puntacana. The South African has become a true ‘specialist’ in making the most of these types of events where the big figures of the PGA Tour do not participate, as he did in the tournament that shared dates on the calendar with the RBC Heritage in the 2020-21 season, conquering the Palmetto Championship at Congaree and as he intends to repeat at the Sanderson.
But beyond Cole, Ryder, and Walker, the competition for Garrick promises to be fierce. It is worth keeping an eye on the 21-year-old amateur Michael La Sasso (-6), who is playing his fifth tournament on the PGA Tour and until the last moment had the chance to finish the day alongside the leaders; Chinese Kevin Yu (-5), who defends the title he won last year at this event; or Michael Thorbjornsen (-5), number one of the PGA Tour University Class of 2024, who was close to winning his first tournament at the Corales Puntacana where Higgo precisely triumphed and who aspires to be in the fight for a title again.
Among the players who earned their card through the DP World Tour, Thorbjorn Olesen (-4) and Thriston Lawrence (-4), who need to push to retain their playing rights, along with Rasmus Hojgaard (-3), who arrives with the momentum of winning the Ryder at Bethpage Black with Europe last Sunday, have taken positions on the first day of competition in Jackson where the provisional cut has been set at two under par, the best confirmation of how cheap birdies have been throughout the day in the tournament.
