Sanderson Farms Championship: Eric Cole joins four-way lead despite late double bogey in Mississippi
Matt Wallace is the top Brit on one-under after the opening day of the Sanderson Farms Championship, where defending champion Kevin Yu sits five under and two strokes off the four-way lead; watch coverage all the way to Sunday's final round live on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 3 October 2025 14:25, UK
Eric Cole bounced back from a late double bogey to join a four-way lead after the opening round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
The American looked destined for the outright lead headed into the final three holes after splitting eight birdies with a lone dropped shot on the opening hole.
However, a wayward drive led to a double bogey on the par-four 16th and threatened to derail the 37-year-old's momentum.
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Cole held firm though, rounding out his day with a pair of birdies to head to the clubhouse on seven under par.
He holds a two-stroke lead alongside compatriots Sam Ryder and Danny Walker, as well as South Africa's Garrick Higgo.
Ryder currently sits at No 110 in the FedEx Cup standings behind Walker at No 104 as both look to finish in the top 100 to keep their full cards on the PGA Tour.
"I'm very aware where I'm at. You know it all year," said Ryder. "You get a text every single week that tells you exactly where you are on FedEx. You can't hide from it. But it doesn't dictate my schedule. If I was in a better position, I would still like to think that I would be working hard on my game and trying to win and check other boxes.
"Right now, I'm trying to play for my status but still trying to play for bigger goals, too."
Defending champion Kevin Yu is five-under after the opening day, while England's Matt Wallace struggled to one under to lead the British contingent.
Rasmus Hojgaard meanwhile sits at three-under after making his Ryder Cup debut for Team Europe.
"Still a bit low on energy, so I'm going to manage myself the next couple days and hopefully restore some of it," Hojgaard said.
Two aces on opening day
Meanwhile, two players enjoyed holes in one at the fourth hole on the opening day.
Niklas Norgaard's tee shot on the 183-yard par-three landed on the green and trickled in from around 12 yards.
Matt Kuchar followed with a similar moment when his ball landed in a near-identical spot to Norgaard and rolled in.
Norgaard is tied for 88th on level par, while Kuchar is tied for 13th at four under.
Coverage of the Sanderson Farms Championship continues on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Friday. Not got Sky? Stream the PGA Tour and more with no contract
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