The Country Club of Jackson will host this year's Sanderson Farm's Championship.

At a time when the PGA Tour is more inclined to reduce the number of tournaments, it was announced on Monday that Asheville, North Carolina, will have an event for the first time in more than 80 years.

The Tour, Biltmore Estate and Explore Asheville are bringing a new FedEx Cup Fall tournament to the Jack Nicklaus-designed The Cliffs at Walnut Cove for the Biltmore Championship.

This comes at a time that organizers in Jackson are evaluating the future of the PGA Tour stop at the Country Club of Jackson.

Just last month was the 13th and final year of sponsorship for Wayne Sanderson Farms at Mississippi's only PGA Tour event, and if the tournament cannot find a new sponsor in the next couple of months, Mississippi's run of having a PGA tournament since 1968 could come to an end.

However, Jackson's tournament director Steve Jent told the Clarion Ledger that he had seen the announcement, and that the North Carolina tournament would occupy a time slot about two weeks before the "traditional" time for the Mississippi tournament.

"We are still working on what next year looks like for Century Club and our tournament," Jent said.

The worry would be that while the Asheville tournament might not specifically impact the same date as the Jackson tournament, there might be a trickle-down effect that could affect a decision about how many tournaments will be played in the fall.

The Wayne Sanderson history

Wayne Sanderson Farms' run as a full partner with Jackson and its PGA Tour tournament has been a historic one. It has been the title sponsor since 2013.

The tournament went into last year's event with the same issue, but Wayne Sanderson Farms had a last-minute change of heart and agreed to be sponsor in 2025.

"We are still on the search for a new partner to take over that title sponsor relationship; we just don't have anything to announce yet," Jent previously said. "We are still in a wait-and-see mode. We have had some good conversations, but nothing to announce. We are still working with local companies and the PGA Tour to see what 2026 looks like."

What's next for the PGA Tour in Mississippi?

Starting this year, fall events are being asked to pay an additional $125,000 to the PGA Tour, and in the following year, $250,000.

According to the PGA Tour, the purse for the Jackson event was reduced for 2024, and the 2025 event purse was down $1.6 million from 2024. The winner's check was $288,000 lighter than in 2024.

The PGA Tour has a business development group that is partnering with Jent and his group to try and identify and find a new sponsor for the tournament and for Mississippi.

"The preference is to stay in Mississippi. The players love the course, and it's a great stop on the tour," Jent previously said. However, if there is no movement on the sponsor front soon, the tournament could be in jeopardy.

The PGA Tour is expected to announce its complete 2026 fall schedule soon, and there is a chance that if the Mississippi tournament doesn't yet have a sponsor, it will not be on the schedule. That is the reason for concern as the North Carolina tournament was announced.

That might not necessarily be the final deadline, but if Jent can't find a sponsor by the spring of 2026, things could begin to get dicey. At that point, Jent might have to start looking at other tours, like the PGA Tour Champions or the Korn Ferry Tour as a possible landing spot for a Jackson tournament.

The history of Mississippi's PGA Tour event

Mississippi has been a Tour stop since 1968 when the tournament was known as the Magnolia Classic was played in Hattiesburg. The tournament has had several names and sponsors over the years, including the Deposit Guaranty Classic from 1986–98, the Farm Bureau Classic from 1999–2006 and the Viking Classic from 2007–11. In 2012, it was called the True South Classic because it didn't have a title sponsor. Sanderson Farms has sponsored the tournament from 2013 to 2025.

Wayne Sanderson Farms also spearheaded to the move from Annandale Golf Course in Madison to the Country Club of Jackson, which continues to be recognized as one of the top courses in the nation.

Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Does addition of a PGA Tour event in North Carolina mean the end of the one in Mississippi?

Reporting by Ross Reily, Mississippi Clarion Ledger / Mississippi Clarion Ledger

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