The Sanderson Farms Championship may not attract many star names, but there are plenty of interesting storylines going on as players look to ensure that they keep their PGA Tour cards for another year.
Beau Hossler leads at the halfway stage as the 29-year-old looks to win his first PGA Tour title, while David Skinns came within one shot of posting a historic 59 on Thursday in Mississippi.
Major champions Gary Woodland and Lucas Glover find themselves tied for sixth, while some will have their eye on what someone like Nick Dunlap can do over the weekend. Dunlap has already won twice on the PGA Tour this year – and was in the conversation for a potential captain’s pick from Jim Furyk for the Presidents Cup – and finds himself six shots off the lead.
But the man who will join Hossler in the final group on Saturday is Daniel Berger, with the 31-year-old one shot back after two rounds of 65 around the Country Club of Jackson.
Daniel Berger lauded as he returns to contention on the PGA Tour
Berger has had a tough time over the last couple of years. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2021 and would go on to make his Ryder Cup debut later that year. Unfortunately, injuries – particularly with his back – have hampered Berger since. He has played just one of the last nine major championships, and missed 11 cuts on the PGA Tour this season.
And speaking on Golf Central, Mark Rolfing shared just how damaging these injuries have been for Berger, who seemed to have so much potential.
“He has not been in this position for a long time, he has not been in the top 10 after 36 holes of a PGA Tour event since 2022, and that was at the Honda Classic. And if you remember there, he had a five-shot lead and kind of coughed it up, so a bad memory there,” he said.
“But he’s had all kinds of injury problems, besides his back which has been very painful for him, hasn’t been able to do much at all in normal life, but he also tore a labrum in his shoulder riding a bike, he’s had knee issues, he’s had wrist issues, his body has left been ravaged literally with injuries.
“But he could have been a superstar, there’s no doubt about it. It was interesting, he made the comment that he has missed the last two years of golf and missed a lot, including all those rich LIV contracts I’m sure he’s thinking, but it’s great to have him back and I’d love to see him hold up, maybe not win this weekend, but at least have a good finish.”
What could have been
Berger is perhaps the forgotten man of that 2021 Ryder Cup from an American perspective. He actually won two points from three matches at Whistling Straits as Steve Stricker’s men won by a record margin.
It was Scottie Scheffler who would kick on after that event. Scheffler was, on paper, the most contentious pick from Stricker, with the 28-year-old 14th in the qualification standings. However, those on the team insisted that he had to be included.
Berger was actually two places higher than Scheffler going into that week. And he would end the week with a similar record – though Scheffler would come up against Jon Rahm on two occasions.
That is not to say that Berger necessarily missed out on being a rival for Scheffler, but he must look at the 2024 Presidents Cup side and wonder whether he would have been a part of that had injuries not hit him so hard.
His performance this week certainly hints that he is ready to gradually start making his way back.
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