Inside the Field: The Honda Classic

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Most of the PGA TOUR’s 21-member rookie class will be in action at the Sanderson Farms Championship at 7,421-yard, par-72 Country Club of Jackson (Mississippi). The second domestic tournament of the season has had four first-time winners in the last four years, tying the Sanderson with The RSM Classic for the longest active streak of first-time winners. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER The Sanderson field averaged +0.348 strokes over par at the 479-yard, par-4 (signature) 16th hole last year, making it the 7th hardest hole (non-majors) on TOUR. Players combined for 25 total birdies there, compared to 28 double-bogeys or worse. A swamp protects the entire left side of the hole and crosses the fairway approximately 80 yards in front of the largest green on the course. Here’s how Cody Gribble played the hole when he won in 2016. LANDING ZONE At 505 yards, the par-4 18th hole requires a long tee shot up the left side of the fairway, and the approach shot, uphill, plays nearly a club longer than you might think. Here’s a look at the 18th from the tee. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “A strengthening low pressure system will move along the MS/LA coast on Thursday providing rain across the area for most of the day before tapering off during the evening. Rainfall will likely average around 1inch by the end of the day. Mostly cloudy skies and cooler conditions can be expected on Friday with a gradual clearing. Partly cloudy skies will return on the weekend with milder temperatures. The next cold front will move across the state Sunday evening that may produce an isolated shower late in the day as it passes.â€� For the latest weather news from Jackson, Mississippi, check out PGATOUR.com’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK She’s been to almost 40 states. She’s well-traveled. BY THE NUMBERS 264 – Average yards off the tee by winner Ryan Armour last year, making him second from last in driving distance as he picked up his first TOUR win in his 105th career start. 4 – Winners of the eight fall events last season who reached the TOUR Championship, including FedExCup champion Justin Rose (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions). 20.47 – Percentage of TOUR starts (70/342) in which Retief Goosen has finished in the top-10. SCATTERSHOTS Hunter Mahan isn’t the only player looking to reignite his career at the Sanderson after reclaiming his TOUR card through the Web.com Tour Finals. The same could be said for Lucas Glover, who did the same thing. And speaking of former U.S. Open winners, Retief Goosen, 49, will be making his first start of the new season at Country Club of Jackson. Newly elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, Goosen finished 153rd in the FedExCup last season. The sponsor exemptions at Sanderson are a who’s who of college golf, with Stanford product Maverick McNealy, the former No. 1 ranked amateur; Doug Ghim, who played for Texas and won the 2018 Ben Hogan Award; and Norman Xiong, who honed his game at the First Tee of San Diego and won the Haskins and Nicklaus Awards while at the University of Oregon. Three players are making the 15-plus-hour trek from Jeju Island, South Korea (and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES) to Jackson, Mississippi: J.J. Spaun, Sungjae Im, and defending Sanderson champion Ryan Armour, whose 49th-place finish in the FedExCup last season was the best by a winner since 2011 champion Chris Kirk went on to finish 42nd.

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