With the Ryder Cup in the rearview mirror, the PGA Tour returns to action at the Sanderson Farms Championship, beginning Thursday in Jackson, Miss.

The favorite to win the event is the only Ryder Cup participant on the property this week at the Country Club of Jackson. He’s also a rookie who has yet to win on tour.

“I’m going to be nervous on Thursday morning no matter what,” said Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who won two points for the victorious Team Europe last week in Rome. “I’m going to view it as the most important thing in the world as I’m standing on the tee box, obviously.”

After starring at Texas Tech, Aberg earned his PGA Tour card earlier this year through the PGA Tour University pathway. Aberg, who turns 24 on Oct. 31, has made six of seven cuts and tied for fourth at the John Deere Classic.

Aberg’s big breakthrough, however, came overseas when he won the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters, which convinced Europe he was ready for the Ryder Cup stage.

Aberg flew back to the U.S. on Monday without getting much sleep after the Europeans sprayed their champagne.

“Last week was an incredible experience for me, but it’s also in the past, and I can’t really do anything about it,” Aberg said. “All I’m trying to do is play as good as I can, trying to prepare for this week as good as I can, and at the same time kind of conserve my energy a little bit, even though — or because of last week was quite exhausting. But I’m here this week, and that’s where my focus is.”

The competition will not be as stiff in Mississippi as it was in Rome.

Only two of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking — Emiliano Grillo of Argentina (No. 35) and Tom Hoge (No. 50) — will play this week. Grillo won the Charles Schwab Challenge earlier this year for his first victory since 2015, and he tied for fifth at this tournament last year.

Grillo said he has “no idea” where his game will be after five weeks off.

“Obviously it’s not ideal, but you need the time off. You need time away,” Grillo said. “I have a little kid, and I want to spend as much time as I can with them.”

Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes beat Austrian Sepp Straka in a playoff to win last year’s event, Hughes’ second tour victory. Both his wins have come in the fall season, and both have come via playoffs.

“There’s no doubt that’s a confidence booster,” Hughes said. “I’ve hit some important shots under a lot of pressure and pulled them off. You have those forever to draw back on. If I’m in a similar spot this week, like I said, coming back to last year or drawing back on my first victory, I know in those moments, those scenarios, that I can do what’s needed to be done.”

The Sanderson Farms is the continuation of the new FedEx Cup Fall series. After the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings were locked in after this summer’s playoffs, the top 125 at the end of the fall series will be exempt into full-field events next year, while Nos. 126-150 will earn Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Players like Hughes — No. 51 in the FedEx Cup standings — have additional motivation to finish the FedEx Cup Fall Nos. 51-60. Those players will qualify for two signature events next winter, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

–Field Level Media

The Sanderson Farms Championship is the second of seven events in the FedEx Cup Fall, the new slate of tournaments that will determine final status for the 2024 PGA Tour season.

The event begins Thursday at The Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi, and our golf experts preview the tournament along with their favorite props and best bets to win this week.

SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Jackson, Miss., Oct. 5-8
Course: The Country Club of Jackson (Par 72, 7,461 yards)
Purse: $8.2M (Winner: $1.476M)
Defending Champion: Mackenzie Hughes
FedEx Cup Champion: Viktor Hovland

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
X: @Sanderson_Champ

PROP PICKS
–Adam Svensson to Finish Top 20 (+160 at BetMGM): We’re tempted to take a Top 10 finish at +333, but Svensson is streaky enough to leave hesitation. Ranked 63rd in the world, he should fare well against a modest field, to put it lightly. Svensson is teeing it up for the first time since a T15 at the BMW Championship in the second leg of the playoffs. He also posted a T7 at the Wyndham and a T21 at the John Deere among his past five events.

–Eric Cole to Beat Stephan Jaeger (+100 at DraftKings): Both are seeking their maiden PGA Tour victories and have posted a bushel of quality results this season. Jaeger has six top-20s among his 14 consecutive cuts made, while Cole has made the weekend in 11 consecutive starts. That includes a solo fourth in his most recent start at the Fortinet Championship after reaching the second leg of the playoffs.

–Ludvig Aberg & Emiliano Grillo Both Top 20 (+240 at BetMGM): Grillo is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 35 as he makes his first start since finishing 29th at the Tour Championship. He has a pair of top-10s among five consecutive cuts made and tied for fifth here last year. Aberg is making the trek from last week’s Ryder Cup in Rome, but the rookie should have plenty of momentum. While he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour, he did win the Omega European Masters just two starts ago as part of three consecutive top-10s on the DP World Tour.

2023 Prop Picks Record: 41-44-2

BEST BETS
–Aberg (+1200) is the heavy pre-tournament favorite. The cross-Atlantic travel following the dramatic Ryder Cup week is the primary concern, but the Swede is the book’s biggest liability this week as he leads the field with 31.5 percent of the money backing him to win — more than four times as much as any other player has attracted.
–Cole (+2000) was the only rookie to advance to the BWM Championship and he also finished second at the Honda, although he is still seeking his first PGA Tour win. He has been backed by the most total bets with 7.8 percent since opening at +2200, and is BetMGM’s second biggest liability.
–Grillo (+2200) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 35 and the only player who qualified for the Tour Championship. He tied for fifth here last year.
–S.H. Kim (+3300) is coming off a runner-up finish at the Fortinet, where he finished two shots behind Sahith Theegala. He has been backed by the third most total bets at the book at 5.1 percent.
–Garrick Higgo (+4000) is extremely inconsistent, following three consecutive finishes of T21 or better with a pair of missed cuts. That includes at the Fortinet Championship in his most recent start. The young South African is the book’s third biggest liability this week as he has drawn the fifth most total bets at 4.9 percent since opening at +5000.
–Mackenzie Hughes (+6600) hasn’t finished higher than T30 in his past 10 starts, but the defending champ is one of the most accomplished players in the field and did qualify for the playoffs.
–Peter Kuest (+6600) was ranked 1,257th in the world just five months ago. He enters this week at No. 282 after taking advantage of several sponsors invites following a T4 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic as a Monday Qualifier. A Special Temporary Member of the tour for the rest of the season, Kuest hasn’t done better than T45 in his past five starts, but is second at the book with 7.2 percent of the money backing him to win.

NOTES
–Nos. 1-50 in the FedEx Cup standings after the Tour Championship are locked into their positions through the end of the year. Nos. 51-60 after the Fall series will qualify for two signature events next year: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. The top 125 will be exempt into full-field events and The Players Championship, while Nos. 126-150 will earn Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on the PGA Tour next year.
–Aberg, who went 2-2-0 in his debut for the winning European team, is the only player from last week’s Ryder Cup in the field.
–Hughes defeated Sepp Straka in a playoff last year for his second career win on Tour. He’s trying to join Dwight Nevil (1973-74) as the only players to successfully defend at this event.

–Field Level Media

LPGA star Lexi Thompson will make her PGA Tour debut next week at the Shriners Children’s Open.

A sponsor invitation that was announced Wednesday will make Thompson just the seventh woman to tee it up with the men.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lexi to the 2023 tournament,” said Patrick Lindsey, executive director of the Shriners Children’s Open. “We are eager to have Lexi on the course and continue to break through barriers.”

Thompson, 28, is an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour and is currently No. 25 in the Rolex Rankings.

The Shriners Children’s Open begins on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas at the TPC at Summerlin.

Brittany Lincicome was the last woman to play in a PGA Tour event at the 2018 Barbasol Championship.

“I’m hopeful that my ability to play with the men next week at the Shriners Children’s Open sends a great message to the young women that you can chase your dream regardless of how hard it is,” Thompson said in a statement. “I’m grateful to Shriners Children’s for this opportunity to spend the week alongside these inspirational kids.”

Thompson went 3-1 for Team USA at the Solheim Cup last month and is coming off a T8 finish last week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The other women who have played on the PGA Tour are Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Michelle Wie West, Suzy Whaley, Annika Sorenstam and Shirley Spork.

–Field Level Media

Mackenzie Hughes will be defending more than his second career PGA Tour victory at this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship.

The Canadian qualified for the first leg of this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs, but did not advance further and finds himself at No. 51 in the standings. As part of the PGA Tour’s revamped system, only the top 50 after the Tour Championship in August are fully exempt for next year.

The Sanderson Farms is the second of seven events that are part of the new FedEx Cup Fall schedule. Nos. 51-60 at the end of the series will earn spots in two signature events next year: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

Meanwhile, Nos. 126-150 will earn Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on the PGA Tour next year.

It’s a massive difference in status, but Hughes said he’s not focused solely on maintaining his current place.

“It will be on my mind, and I’ve thought about it. But I think for the most part, I’m just trying to play some good golf this fall and get some momentum heading into next year,” Hughes said on Tuesday. “Whether I get those two events or not is not going to make or break my year, but certainly it would be nice to be in those events.”

Hughes is one of the more accomplished players in this week’s field. Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 35 in the world.

That doesn’t mean Hughes has clear sailing in his effort to stay in that coveted 51-60 range.

In his past 10 starts dating back to the PGA Championship, Hughes has missed five cuts, withdrew from another event and failed to finished higher than T30 in the other four.

He did take advantage of last fall’s weaker fields, posting three other top-25 finishes in addition to the victory in Jackson. Hughes is coming off a T52 at the Fortinet Championship last month, after which he returned home to spend time with his family and rest up for the grind ahead.

“I just want to play some good golf and get myself in position to feel those things again because that’s what we all love to do the most is to compete for trophies and try and win tournaments,” he said.

“Definitely motivated to try and recapture those feelings from last year.”

–Field Level Media