McGirt set for Sanderson Farms Championship, possible final Tour start
Sep. 28—JACKSON, Miss. — Fairmont native William McGirt will make his 259th career PGA Tour start this week at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
And, quite possibly, his last.
McGirt previously stated plans to potentially make the event the final start of his professional golf career. The Robesonian was unable to reach McGirt this week to confirm that his plans remain to end his career after the event.
"It's a tournament I've always loved; I love that golf course, I've played well down there in the past. I may just make that one my last and walk away," McGirt said on Aug. 5 after missing the cut at the Wyndham Championship. "I know Sarah and the kids, they want to be there for my last tournament, and obviously they weren't here today, so I'll have to find one more to play so they can be there."
McGirt, who is playing on a sponsors exemption, will begin his tournament at the 10th hole at 1:50 p.m. ET Thursday, paired with Rory Sabbatini and Mark Hubbard. The trio will start their second round at 8:55 a.m. ET on Friday on hole No. 1.
McGirt has two career top-10 finishes and four top-25s in Jackson, including a second-place finish in 2015 and a seventh in the first tournament held at the Country Club of Jackson in 2014. He finished 17th in the Sanderson Farms Championship last year, shooting four rounds in the 60s, and has made the cut in seven of his eight career starts, including four out of five at the Country Club of Jackson. He has a 69.22 career scoring average at the course, a par-72 John Fought layout.
The 43-year-old lost his full status on the PGA Tour after failing to meet the requirements of a 29-start major medical extension, which he played out from 2020 through this August, and also failing to place in the top 125 in FedExCup points for the 2021-22 season; his season was completed when he missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro on Aug. 5.
He also was not one of the top 25 points earners in the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals in late August and early September, despite a 14th-place finish at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, which would have regained his Tour playing status.
"I've got a 6- and 9-year-old at home that I want to spend time with, and I'm looking forward to being a full-time dad and doing dad stuff," McGirt previously told The Robesonian. "To me, that's way more important than doing this mess."
McGirt has made the cut in three of his five most recent PGA Tour starts, including a tie for eighth at the Travelers Championship in June.
McGirt has played the PGA Tour for the last 12 seasons, winning the Memorial Tournament in 2016 and finishing a career-best 24th in the FedExCup that season. He has been unable to return to the same level of success since hip injuries kept him sidelined from Aug. 2018 to July 2020, with just two top-40 finishes in 29 starts since.
Defending champion Sam Burns, who was part of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team last week in Charlotte, is the tournament favorite.
