The PGA Tour’s fall swing is in its second stop of the season in Jackson, Mississippi. The 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship is part of the seven-stop schedule on the FedEx Cup Fall Season, and plays a critical role in the race to secure PGA Tour status for 2026. Under the new rules, only the top 100 players in the FedEx Cup standings after the fall series will earn full tour cards for the next season. This creates a more challenging situation compared to the previous system, which provided a safety net for players ranked between the 125th and 100th positions.

So, it’s not just another stop or a place for golfers to tweak their swings. It is survival of the fittest this week, and with so much on the line, every shot and every hole is the difference between keeping your PGA Tour dreams alive or spending next season grinding it out with limited starts and uncertain status. And the pressure is already showing.

After 36 holes, the cutline landed at 4-under, and several big names have already been sent home from the 132 players in the field. While players like Keith Mitchell and Brandt Snedeker missed the cut narrowly by just one shot, despite some solid play, others like Akshay Bhatia came severely short, missing it by five shots. It was a painful end, especially when there was more than just pride on the line.

But for those still in contention over the weekend, there’s a lot more to play for than just bragging rights and Tour status. The 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship purse boasts a purse of $6 million, with the winner taking home $1,080,000, a standard 18% cut according to the PGA Tour’s payout rules. The purse will be divided among the top 65 players and ties who have made the cut and are headed into the weekend.

Let’s take a look at the complete prize money breakdown:

But the spoils go far beyond the check. A win on Sunday also comes with 500 FedEx Cup Fall points, 28 Official World Golf Ranking points, and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. Not to mention automatic invites to both The PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship in the next season.

And who exactly is the closest to earning the spoils after two days of competition are already complete? Garrick Higgo.

Garrick Higgo leads the way at the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship

As we head into the weekend, the leaderboard is still wide open, the pressure is building, and one player who could barely walk a few months ago is leading the charge. That’s right, a few months ago, Garrick Higgo was staring down the barrel of what felt like an inevitable surgery for a nagging hip injury. Fast forward to this week, and the 26-year-old South African is leading like nothing ever happened.

He sits alone atop the leaderboard at 13-under after 36 holes, carding a smooth 6-under 66 on Friday thanks to a lights-out back nine that included a near hole-out from the bunker on the short par-4 15th. With a win already under his belt this season at the Corales Puntacana Championship, his card for 2026 is already secured. So, while others grind for FedEx Cup points, Higgo’s playing without that pressure, and it’s showing.

But behind him is a crowded leaderboard packed from Day 1. When the tournament kicked off on Thursday, 34 players were within three shots of the lead, and a staggering 87 golfers finished under par. The competition was so tight from the start that there was a massive 21-way tie at 4-under par. Even after day 2, the logjam hasn’t cleared. Players like Max Homa are lurking just a couple shots back, and it’s clear the weekend won’t be a cruise for anyone — not even Higgo. With 65 players and ties advancing, and plenty of low scores out there, anything can happen.