Connect with us

Mississippi News

If you like long shots, boy oh boy, there’s one named Furr at CCJ

Published

on

If you like long shots, boy oh boy, there’s one named Furr at CCJ

Wilson Furr, swings off on the practice tee at the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.

No doubt, sweet-swinging Sam Burns is the clear-cut favorite in this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship at Country Club of Jackson. Burns is by far the best player in the field, No. 12 in the world rankings. He won more than $7 million last season and won three tournaments. What’s more, Burns won here a year ago.

The 26-year-old Shreveport native goes off at 11-to-1 odds to win Mississippi’s only PGA Tour tournament. Sepp Straka at No. 36 is the next highest ranked player at CCJ. J.T. Poston, at 16-to-1, is the No. 2 betting favorite.

Rick Cleveland

But if you’re feeling frisky and want risk a little to hit a huge jackpot, boy, have I got a deal for you.

Jackson’s own Wilson Furr goes off Thursday morning at 500-to-1 odds. In other words, you can bet $10 to win $5,000. You can bet a Benjamin ($100) and win 50 grand.

I mentioned that to Furr Wednesday afternoon as he took a break from practicing on the CCJ putting green. He smiled. “I’ll tell you what, that’s the best 500-to-1 odds you’re ever gonna get,” Furr said.

You could tell he really meant it.

The Vegas odds are 100-to-1 against Furr finishing in the top 5. The odds are 25-to-1 against him finishing in the top 10.

Sucker bets, you say?

Hear me out. The first time I ever followed Furr around the pristine fairways of CCJ was in July of 2015. He was 16 and competing in the 100th Mississippi State Amateur Championship. He shot 14-under par for 72 holes and won by eight. He was like golf’s version of Secretariat at the Belmont Stakes, all alone at the end. If Furr didn’t break a leg, he was going to win. He was driving the ball 50 yards past his competitors. His wedges were dialed in, and he rarely needed more than wedge to reach a par-4 green. He won going away.

My guess back then was that Furr would be playing – and winning – on the PGA Tour in 2022, if not before. He had won the Future Masters at 14. Every college golf team around was recruiting him. He was a prodigy.

Belden’s Hayden Buckley, who tied for second in that 2015 State Am, won $1.3 million on the Tour last season. Furr’s Alabama teammate, Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, has already won $3 million on tour. Furr hasn’t earned his PGA Tour privileges yet.

“Golf can humble you,” Furr said, and he knows that all too well. Over the last few years, he has been humbled more than once. His golf career has taken some detours.

Wilson Furr, lines up a putt on the practice green at the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson.

After finishing his college career, Furr failed in the second round of PGA Tour qualifying last year. He earned a spot on the Canadian (MacKenzie) Tour this summer but started slowly there. He did play well and had top 25 finishes in the last two events of the summer, shooting a combined 30-under par for those two 72-hole events.

Then Furr went to Mobile last weekend for the first round of Tour qualifying. He advanced with ease, shooting 19-under par for 72 holes at Magnolia Groves Crossing, a tough Robert Trent Jones course. That’s 49-under par for his last three 72-hole events, if we are keeping score. And, in golf, we always are.

Furr left Mobile Friday afternoon headed for a friend’s wedding in Tampa, Fla., when his cell phone rang and Sanderson Farms Championship director Steve Jent was on the other end of the line. Jent told Furr he was being awarded a sponsor’s exemption into the Sanderson Farms Championship field.

“Man, I couldn’t have been happier,” Furr said. “First I played really well and qualified for the next phase and then I get that call. I was pumped.”

He drove on to Tampa for the wedding, then flew back to Jackson on Sunday for three days of preparation for the tournament.

“I am just sp happy to be here, to get this chance,” Furr said.

Does he believe he can win?

“Yeah, I really do,” he said. “I am comfortable here. I am really playing well. I really believe I belong out here.”

He plays off the first tee Thursday morning at 10:01 a.m. with a chance to prove to everyone what he says he knows about himself.

If Furr were to finish in the top 10, he would earn a berth in next week’s Shriner’s Children’s Open at Las Vegas. He is two weeks away from the second round of Tour qualifying at Valdosta, Ga.

Of course, if Furr were to win here, he wouldn’t even have to go to Valdosta. The odds are 500-to-1 against it. Crazy as it sounds, Furr likes his chances.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi News

Attorneys file motion to delay Jackson bribery trial

Published

on

www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-21 16:41:00

SUMMARY: In connection with the Jackson bribery scandal, attorneys for federal officials and local leaders filed a motion to postpone the trial to allow time for extensive evidence review, including hours of recordings and thousands of pages of documents. Key figures charged include Hinds County DA Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, and Councilman Aaron Banks, each facing multiple counts of conspiracy related to bribery and fraud. The scandal involves alleged bribes amounting to over $80,000 related to a downtown development project, facilitated by individuals posing as real estate developers working with the FBI.

Read the full article

The post Attorneys file motion to delay Jackson bribery trial appeared first on www.wjtv.com

Continue Reading

Mississippi News

Family of Dexter Wade rallies outside JPD nearly two years after his death

Published

on

www.wjtv.com – Tia McKenzie – 2024-11-20 14:20:00

SUMMARY: Nearly two years after Dexter Wade’s death, his family continues seeking justice. On November 20, Dexter Wade Day was observed in Jackson, declared by Councilman Kenneth Stokes. Wade, hit by a Jackson police cruiser in March 2023, was later found in a pauper’s grave in Hinds County, and his mother, Bettersten Wade, was unaware of his death until August 2023. She believes his death was covered up. No arrests have been made, and authorities consider it an accident. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade expressed condolences and shared updates on new policies to prevent similar tragedies.

Read the full article

The post Family of Dexter Wade rallies outside JPD nearly two years after his death appeared first on www.wjtv.com

Continue Reading

Mississippi News

Man shot while helping with stalled vehicle in Jackson

Published

on

www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-20 19:08:00

SUMMARY: A man was shot in Jackson, Mississippi, while attempting to assist a person with a stalled vehicle on State Street at Beasley Road around 4:00 p.m. on November 20. Detective Tommie Brown reported that the victim was working on the vehicle when the suspect approached, questioned him, and then opened fire. The assailant fled the scene in a vehicle. Fortunately, the victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital. The Jackson Police Department is seeking information about the incident and encourages anyone with details to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

Read the full article

The post Man shot while helping with stalled vehicle in Jackson appeared first on www.wjtv.com

Continue Reading

Trending