Cameron Champ produced a sparkling finish at the Country Club of Jackson to win the Sanderson Farms Championship by four shots from Canada’s Corey Conners.
Cameron Champ wins Sanderson Farms Championship
23-year-old Cameron Champ birdied five of his last six holes to win the Sanderson Farms Championshp and claim his first PGA Tour title in his just his second start as a full PGA Tour member.
Champ was still an amateur at this time last year and he almost didn’t turn professional when he looked like missing the cut in the Web.com Q school – but he narrowly made it through that, finished sixth on the 2018 web.com money list and has now secured playing rights on the PGA Tour to the end of the 2020-21 season.
“It’s pretty surreal,” he said. "The front side, there were some nerves, but on the back side I brought it all together and finished strong. It was awesome."
Champ began the final day four shots ahead but he struggled on the front nine Sunday and, out in one-over, found himself in a tie at the top of the board with Corey Conners of Canada.
But Champ rallied on the back nine and reeled off four straight birdies from the 13th to pull clear once more. He finished in style with a final birdie on the home hole.
A feature of Champ’s victory was his power-hitting. He averaged over 338 yards from the tee on the measured holes through the week, and over 308 yards on all holes.
Conners had to settle for second place, closing with a 68 to finish where he started – four shots back of Champ.
Sam Burns and Carlos Ortiz finished in a tie for third. Mexico’s Ortiz fired an excellent final round of 64 to climb the board.
It was a decent week for Scotland’s Martin Laird who finished in a tie for seventh.
Sanderson Farms Championship CC of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi 25-28 October Purse: $4,400,000 Par: 72
1 Cameron Champ (USA) 65 70 64 68 267 $792,000 2 Corey Conners (Can) 71 68 64 68 271 $475,200 T3 Sam Burns (USA) 69 70 66 68 273 $255,200 T3 Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 69 69 71 64 273 $255,200 T5 Anders Albertson (USA) 71 70 67 66 274 $167,200 T5 Roberto Castro (USA) 71 71 67 65 274 $167,200 T7 Denny McCarthy (USA) 71 68 69 67 275 $119,114 T7 Dylan Meyer (USA) 71 67 68 69 275 $119,114 T7 Seth Reeves (USA) 67 70 70 68 275 $119,114 T7 Adam Schenk (USA) 70 68 70 67 275 $119,114 T7 Martin Laird (Sco) 72 67 66 70 275 $119,114 T7 Shawn Stefani (USA) 68 68 68 71 275 $119,114 T7 D.J. Trahan (USA) 67 70 67 71 275 $119,114
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
