Sanderson Farms Championship First-Round Leader Tips: An the man

Weather forecast for Thursday: It can get hot and sticky in this part of the USA but there's a fairly mild forecast for day one. Temperatures peak in the mid-70s after taking a while to warm up while winds are fairly constant at around 8-10mph. There's no obvious tee-time bias and history backs that up too.

Back Bennie

South Koreans were the stars of the show for the International Team at last week's Presidents Cup and that could just help Byeong Hun An puff his chest out further here.

To be honest, that's the bonus angle. An is more than a worthwhile bet on his own.

After winning his PGA Tour card back, the 31-year-old from Seoul immediately hit the ground running with a fourth place in the Fortinet Championship two weeks ago.

An opened with a 66 there to sit third after 18 holes while he'd set out with 67s in two of his previous three Korn Ferry Tour events.

More good news comes via his course form. An was third here on debut in 2019, taking the halfway lead with a pair of 66s (he was eighth after day one).

He's got a strong record on Bermuda grass - his 2022 KFT win at the LECOM Suncoast Classic came in Florida - and can make his mark early once more.

"Bennie" An, who tees off at 12.17pm, is a 50/1 shot.

Count on Kim

Sticking with the Korean angle, I'm also going to put up Seonghyeon Kim at 80/1.

You'll see him as S.H. Kim on leaderboards and hopefully he'll be front and centre there on day one.

Kim ranked 7th on the 'Korn Ferry Tour: The 25' list who graduated last season.

He placed even higher (4th) on the KFT's Early R1 Scoring Average table and that has relevance this week given that he's been given an 08.50 tee-time.

Kim showed that ability to start fast at a higher level when opening with a 66 to lie third after day one of the Fortinet Championship where he finished tied 36th.

A Dallas resident, he's done well on Bermuda and is a strong putter. The pieces look in place for a low one on Thursday.

Yuan love

I'm going to add in another KFT grad and chance Carl Yuan, also at 80s

The Chinese golfer with the quirky swing finished 2nd on the Korn Ferry Tour Money List last season.

He was also a regular on day one leaderboards at the close of that campaign and started out with a 66 in the KFT Tour Championship to sit second.

He's got a 13.23 tee-time here so it bodes well that Yuan ranked 2nd in the KFT's Late R1 Scoring Average table last season.

The Country Club of Jackson doesn't take much learning and Yuan has the game to make his mark immediately.