Sanderson Farms Championship Round 1: Four Share the Lead as the Bubble Fight Begins

The Ryder Cup circus left Bethpage last Sunday. By Thursday the PGA TOUR was back in Mississippi, where nobody was chanting and plenty of people were playing for their jobs.

Four players share the lead after the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson. Sam Ryder, Danny Walker, Eric Cole and Garrick Higgo each shot 7-under 65. A big group sits two back at 5 under, including Max Homa, defending champion Kevin Yu, Mac Meissner, Vince Whaley, Michael Thorbjornsen and Trey Mullinax.

The Card Watchers

The FedExCup Fall is a different animal. Only the top 100 in the standings when the Fall ends keep full PGA TOUR status for next season, and two of the four co-leaders walked in on the wrong side of that line.

Ryder came in at No. 110 and posted the cleanest card of the four leaders, a bogey-free 65 built late. Ryder birdied three of the four closing par 4s, including an 8-footer at the 15th and a putt from 29 and a half feet at the 17th. There is no hiding from the math, either. "You get a text every single week that tells you exactly where you are on FedEx," Ryder said. Ryder added that the status chase matters, but it does not set the schedule and it is not the only goal.

Walker's 65 might be the most surprising number on the board. Walker arrived at No. 104 having missed eight straight cuts. A bogey at the 15th could have started the familiar slide. Instead Walker birdied the last two holes, the final one from 14 feet, to tie for the lead. Walker admitted the slump had turned into a mental battle and said the key this week was finally reaching a place where the worry went away.

Cole's Roller Coaster

Nobody had a busier scorecard than Cole. The round opened with a bogey at the first and carried a double bogey at the 16th after a trip into the trees. Between those, Cole made 10 birdies. Ten birdies, one bogey, one double, 65. If you like your golf with a little chaos, this was your group.

Cole told Field Level Media there were signs the season was heading in the right direction. A share of the lead is a pretty loud sign.

Higgo Is Back

Higgo's 65 is a story about health. Higgo won the Corales Puntacana Championship in April, then a torn hip labrum derailed the summer. That April win carries a two-year exemption, so Higgo is not sweating the top 100 the way Ryder and Walker are, but a healthy Higgo is a very different player.

Starting on the back nine, Higgo birdied five of his first seven holes and never let the round get away. Higgo described the approach as confident but patient, playing the long game rather than chasing every pin.

Ryder Cup Hangover

Last weekend Rasmus Højgaard was a Ryder Cup rookie helping Europe win at Bethpage Black. On Thursday a tired Højgaard teed it up in Mississippi, and a 3-under 69 under those circumstances is a solid day's work. Højgaard sits at No. 87 in the FedExCup, so the stop in Jackson is not a victory lap.

"Still a bit low on energy, so I'm going to manage myself the next couple days and hopefully restore some of it," Højgaard said.

Aces, Penalties and Homa

The par-3 fourth gave up two holes-in-one on the same day. Niklas Norgaard and Matt Kuchar both aced the 183-yard hole, and the PGA TOUR made them a joint Shot of the Day. Kuchar shot 68. Norgaard shot even-par 72, ace and all.

Not every story was fun. Michael La Sasso, the NCAA individual champion from Ole Miss playing on a sponsor exemption, was in the mix early. After a par at the sixth, La Sasso was assessed a two-stroke penalty under Rule 8.1a for improving the conditions affecting a stroke, turning a 66 into a 68. A tour official said La Sasso declined to speak to the media.

Homa, meanwhile, is living the bubble life too. Homa came in at No. 107 and shot 67. Homa's status is secure through 2028 thanks to past wins, but Homa told Golf Channel mid-round that cracking the top 100 would guarantee a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship. That is real motivation.

Yu, the defending champion, opened with 67. One wrinkle for everybody: FedExCup Fall winners no longer get an invitation to the Masters, so the prize here is points, status and a trophy.

What Friday Brings

Thirty-six holes is where the cut sorts the field, and on a course where 65 only gets you a share of the lead, standing still is the same as going backward. Ryder and Walker have the most to gain. Higgo looks healthy again. Cole has 10 birdies of proof. Friday will tell us who holds on.

Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.