Cody Gribble of the USA produced a superb final round of 65 to win the Sanderson Farms Championship by four shots from Chris Kirk, Luke List and Greg Owen. It was Gribble’s first PGA Tour victory.
Cody Gribble began the final round at the Country Club of Jackson one shot off the pace set by Chris Kirk and Luke List. Over the front nine, the tournament was wide open with all three players, plus others, in contention to take the title.
But Gribble put his foot to the floor on the back nine. He made birdies at the 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes to streak away from the pack and claim a maiden Tour win. Playing just his eighth event on the circuit, the left-hander looked like a cool and composed veteran as he closed the tournament out.
"I knew I was in a good spot and I knew I was playing well," Gribble said. "It's hard not to sit there and look at the scoreboard, look where you're at and how you're doing."
In the end, Gribble didn’t need to worry about the scoreboard. As he made his charge, the chasing pack were playing for second place. In the end Kirk and List finished tied as runners-up, together with England’s Greg Owen, who closed with 68.
3 Talking points from the Sanderson Farms Championship
1 – Cody Gribble looked an unlikely winner in Jackson after a first round of 73. In fact, he looked in danger of missing the cut. But he bounced back with an excellent second round of 63 and followed that with a 67 and a 65 to post a four-round total of 20-under-par. Gribble played his college golf at Texas, the same school that Jordan Spieth attended. The 26-year-old rookie now has a PGA Tour exemption to the end of 2019. It's worth noting that GM tipped Gribble as an outside chance for this event in the preview piece on this site earlier in the week.
2 – Graham DeLaet of Canada had a chance to win, taking the lead during the front nine on Sunday. But he was, once again, affected by chipping yips that have plagued him in 2016. He shanked a chip on the 11th after taking a drop from a water hazard. He made a double-bogey and never recovered. DeLaet withdrew from the Memorial in May because of the terrible anxiety he was facing over short shots and pitches.
Chipping technique video:
3 – It was a great week for England’s Greg Owen. He’s never won on the PGA Tour but this was his third runner’s up finish in 250 starts on the circuit. Since he first played a PGA Tour event way back in 1999, the 44-year-old has picked up almost $8 million in prize money.
Sanderson Farms Championship CC of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi Oct 27-30 Purse $4,200,000, par 72
1 Cody Gribble (USA) 73 63 67 65 268 $756,000 T2 Chris Kirk (USA) 67 70 65 70 272 $313,600 T2 Luke List (USA) 71 66 65 70 272 $313,600 T2 Greg Owen (Eng) 67 67 70 68 272 $313,600 T5 Lucas Glover (USA) 66 69 68 70 273 $153,300 T5 Hiroshi Iwata (Jap) 66 70 69 68 273 $153,300 T5 Xander Schauffele (USA) 67 70 70 66 273 $153,300 T8 Graham DeLaet (Can) 66 69 68 72 275 $121,800 T8 Grayson Murray (USA) 67 65 72 71 275 $121,800 T8 Seung-Yul Noh (Kor) 67 70 70 68 275 $121,800
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
