Sanderson Farms Championship Round 2: Healthy Again, Garrick Higgo Takes Control

Three weeks ago Garrick Higgo spent a Sunday walking next to Scottie Scheffler at the Procore Championship and taking notes. On Friday in Mississippi, Higgo looked like a man who had been paying attention.

Higgo shot a 6-under 66 at The Country Club of Jackson to reach 13-under 131 and take a one-shot lead at the halfway point of the Sanderson Farms Championship. Taylor Montgomery, who fired the low round of the week, and Eric Cole are tied for second at 12 under. Danny Walker is alone in fourth at 11 under, and Vince Whaley, Tom Kim and Frankie Capan III share fifth at 10 under.

Fairways First

Higgo's formula on Friday was not complicated. Keep the ball out of the thick Bermuda rough, hit greens, let the putter do the rest. He birdied four of his final seven holes to pull ahead, including the short par-4 15th, where his bunker shot nearly dropped.

Higgo told Field Level Media that the tee shots were similar to Thursday and that more fairways and more greens let him lean on the putter, give himself plenty of looks and make his fair share.

The bigger story is the body. Higgo won the Corales Puntacana Championship in April, then a hip labrum injury wrecked the summer. He considered surgery and chose instead to rebuild how he trains. "It wasn't hurting me in my swing, but walking made it really bad, and then it would pinch the next day," Higgo said. These days the South African puts the pain at about a 1 out of 10, though he still tires faster than he would like.

That April win means Higgo's card is safe, so his FedExCup number is not the point. Winning again is. And the Scheffler pairing at Silverado stuck with him. "He's set the bar so high. It's just phenomenal how high his skill level is," Higgo said.

Seven in a Row

Montgomery's 63 is the round people will be talking about. Starting on the back nine, Montgomery parred the first five holes and then caught fire, rattling off seven straight birdies. The finish was just as sharp, a 25-foot birdie on the last hole to close out a 9-under day and move from 3 under to 12 under.

It has been an uneven year. Montgomery got off to a slow start, though there were signs of life with two top-12 finishes in the previous four starts. Montgomery told Field Level Media the season had involved a lot of tinkering and that the goal now is to bring the way the game looks at home out onto the course in competition. Friday looked a lot like that. The 63 also gives Montgomery a real boost in the chase for a 2026 card.

There is a fun bit of Las Vegas history near the top of the leaderboard, too. Montgomery played at UNLV, leaving the program the year before Higgo arrived there.

Cole Steady, Walker Hangs On

Cole followed Thursday's chaotic 65 with a cleaner 67 and will play with Higgo on Saturday. After 10 birdies in the opening round, Cole has 36 holes of evidence that the form is real.

Walker, who walked into the week on a run of eight straight missed cuts, did not flinch either. A 68 keeps Walker two back. At No. 104 in the FedExCup, every shot on the weekend now carries weight, and Walker has already secured something that had gone missing for months: weekend tee times.

Whaley, No. 102 in the standings, shot 67. Whaley was candid afterward, saying the game has been solid for months but the big finishes have not come. "It's getting harder and harder out here, and you need those big finishes, and I don't feel like I've had that," Whaley said.

Kim shot 66 with a par save from a bunker at the 18th, and sits at No. 99 in the FedExCup, right on the line. Capan shot 64.

Cut Day Casualties

The cut fell at 4 under, and it took some notable names with it. Akshay Bhatia finished 1 over and went home early. Min Woo Lee missed at 1 under, as did Nicolai Højgaard. Davis Riley came up one shot short at 3 under.

Michael La Sasso's week also ended Friday. The Ole Miss star and NCAA champion, who took a two-shot penalty in the opening round, shot 76 and finished at even par.

Plenty of Thursday's contenders survived but lost ground. Sam Ryder, part of the four-way tie for the lead after the first round, shot 73 and slid to 6 under. Defending champion Kevin Yu (71) and Ryder Cup winner Rasmus Højgaard (69) are also at 6 under. Max Homa shot 72 and made it with a shot to spare.

Moving Day in Jackson

The weekend sets up as a crowded race. Higgo has the lead, the health and the confidence of a recent winner. Montgomery has the low round of the week. Cole and Walker have the scars and the motivation of players fighting for their status. Behind them, a pack at 9 under includes Steven Fisk, Brice Garnett and David Ford, close enough to make Saturday interesting.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, Sportskeeda. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.