The International team made Sunday at the Presidents Cup a fun watch even as the overall result never truly felt in doubt. We saw some big performances from players like Si Woo Kim and Sebastian Munoz over Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler, respectively. Still, it was the American's week as they retained the cup and won 17.5 to 12.5.
Now, the TOUR gets back to stroke play golf and, as expected, it will be a fairly weak field teeing it up in Jackson, MS. We were always going to be missing the majority of the players who played this week and only defending champion Sam Burns will show up from the American side. From the International team, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Sebastian Munoz are traveling south for the Sanderson Farms Championship.
The field this week will be full of players with a great opportunity to take the next step forward as the recent Korn Ferry Tour grads get another week to showcase their talents. There will also be a number of players looking for a breakthrough win or a bounce back after last season, making this another intriguing fall event. I'll be looking to grab value early when odds open on Monday morning.
Early Best Bets
Davis Riley
I usually write this article with a target on players coming in with good form, but I'll toss that out the window at the start as I am unfazed by the missed cut from Davis Riley at the Fortinet Championship. Riley is starting to make his mark as a rising star in this game and the Sanderson Farms could be a perfect place to see him breakthrough for that first win.
Riley is a Hattiesburg, MS native and will undoubtedly look forward to playing in his home state. He went to neighboring Alabama for college and will be really comfortable on this Bermudagrass track. He's going to be a popular narrative pick, so we want to find the best number and get in early when odds open on Monday.
Sebastian Munoz
There couldn't be a much more uplifting week to carry Sebastian Munoz into his first tournament play of the new season. As I mentioned at the onset of this article, he had a really nice week at the President's Cup going 2-0-1, with the cherry on top being his singles win over World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Munoz now gets to travel to Mississippi, the site of his only TOUR win in 2019. I'm sure many will have opinions and theories about him after what is a long week at the Presidents Cup, but I'll just look to ride the hot form and let others speculate about the intangibles.
Harris English
I'm hoping to be early on the return of Harris English as he looks to bounce back from hip surgery last season. Hopefully the T6 finish at the Fortinet didn't raise too many eyebrows among bookmakers and we get another triple digit offering on the former Georgia Bulldog.
English is another guy who will be comfortable around the Bermudagrass at The Country Club of Jackson, where he posted a T6 finish in 2020. I love the combination of course fit and budding form from the four-time TOUR winner, especially if we can get some nice, juicy odds.
