Wayne Sanderson Farms’ career as a full partner of Jackson and his PGA tournament was historic.
However, the 2024 Sanderson Farm Championship will be the company’s twelfth and final as title sponsor of the Jackson PGA Tour stop.
Although the contract runs through 2026, the company has decided to step down as title sponsor but will remain the main sponsor of the tournament, which takes place at the Country Club of Jackson. Financial details were not disclosed as part of the announcement.
“Wayne-Sanderson Farms will continue to partner with us in the near future to support our charitable efforts for Mississippi charities,” said Steve Jent, executive director of the Sanderson Farms Championship. “There is a natural evolution in title sponsors on the PGA Tour. It’s been a great 12 years.”
PGA Tour official Mark Stevens told the Clarion Ledger that the average time a PGA tournament sponsor stays is 13 years. Stevens said the PGA is currently leaving all public comment to Wayne-Sanderson Farms and local officials.
Since becoming title sponsor in 2013, the Sanderson Farms Championship has raised more than $17 million for charities, including the Children’s of Mississippi and other Mississippi-based causes.
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“Wayne-Sanderson Farms is proud to be the title sponsor of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson,” said Clint Rivers, president and CEO of Wayne-Sanderson Farms, in a statement to the Clarion Ledger. “Although this year’s event is our final year as title sponsor, Wayne-Sanderson Farms remains committed to supporting Children’s of Mississippi and other local charities through the continued partnership with Century Club Charities and the PGA TOUR. “We are honored to support the championship and its impact on Mississippi families, and we are excited to continue our involvement with this great event.”
Mississippi has been a PGA stop since 1968, when the tournament was known as the Magnolia Classic and played in Hattiesburg. The tournament has had several names and sponsors over the years, including the Deposit Guaranty Classic from 1986–1998, the Farm Bureau Classic from 1999–2006 and the Viking Classic from 2007–2011. In 2012, it was called the True South Classic because it did not have a title sponsor. Sanderson Farms has sponsored the tournament since 2013.
Sanderson Farms also spearheaded the move from Annandale Golf Course in Madison to the Country Club of Jackson, which continues to be considered one of the finest golf courses in the country.
The business side
In June, news broke that Wayne-Sanderson Farms had laid off 40 employees at its Laurel campus, leaving many wondering what this might mean for the future of Mississippi’s only PGA event.
Since Cargill and privately held Continental Grain formed a joint venture to acquire Sanderson Farms for $4.53 billion in 2021, there have been questions about whether the chicken giant would continue to sponsor the Sanderson Farms Championships at the Country Club of Jackson.
Before the merger, Sanderson Farms was a Mississippi-based company based in Laurel and led by longtime CEO and Chairman Joe Sanderson, who championed bringing the PGA to the Magnolia State.
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What happens next?
Jent, the PGA Tour and Century Club Charities have yet to host a tournament at CCJ this year, as construction began this week on the grandstands for the event, which will run from September 30 to October 6. However, all eyes are definitely on the future.
“In order for a potential new title sponsor and partner to come on board for 2025 and beyond, it was critical for us to get this out in the news so that if anyone is interested, we can use the tournament as an opportunity to host companies during tournament week,” Jent said. “We want them to see the excitement, that they can participate and be a part of it. So the timing for us is such that we wanted to make everyone aware that we are looking for a new partner for the title.”
Jent said he and others have already had some discussions with potentially interested companies.
“We will work to apprehend someone as quickly as possible,” Jent said.
Last year’s news of the partnership between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf has also raised questions that could call the outcome of the Sanderson Farms Championship into question.
However, Jent believes the future of the tournament is secure.
“I think there have been some great announcements recently from the PGA Tour with companies stepping in to make the full 40-stop tour safe,” Jent said, referring to new sponsors for tournaments in Lexington, Kentucky, Napa, California and Charlotte, North Carolina. “I think there’s a lot of positive momentum around PGA Tour events, their sponsors as well as events like ours in the fall. I think we’re on a good path.”
The tournament has a prize purse of $7.6 million, with the winner’s share of $1.368 million. Luke List is the defending champion and the Sanderson Farms Championship field consists of 132 players, with the number of participants reduced to 70 players.
Century Club Charities
Century Club Charities is a nonprofit organization founded in 1994 to promote the sport of golf for charitable purposes in Mississippi.
Since then, it has served as the host organization for the PGA TOUR event in Mississippi and helped raise more than $24.5 million for Children’s of Mississippi and other charities in the region. The total contribution of the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship was $1.5 million.
This year’s president, JR Woodall, believes the future is bright even without Wayne-Sanderson Farms
“Sanderson Farms was the best title sponsor on the tour,” Woodall said. “With their commitment to the Sanderson Tower (at Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson), they changed children’s health care in Mississippi forever. That was incredible. And even though they’re stepping down as title sponsor, they’re still committed to the hospital going forward. That means that to them.”
Ross Reilly can be reached via email at [email protected] or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter at @GreenOkra1.
