Starting in 2017, the exemption will be granted to the state’s amateur champion in the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms championship. The winner of the Mississippi Golf Association’s championship will be granted an exemption to the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship. It is scheduled for June 1-4 at Canebrake Country Club, Hattiesburg. Joe Frank Sanderson, Laurel’s amateur golfer, said that “we are very pleased to support Mississippi amateur golf.” The exemption for the state’s amateur champion will undoubtedly improve the quality of the State Am field. Wilson Furr (18 years old), a Jackson golfing whiz, said that the exemption will ensure the State Am has the best field every year. Furr won the 2015 State Am at CCJ but was unable to attend the 2016 State Am due to playing in a junior event. Furr won the State Am in 2015 by eight shots, with a total of 14-under par 274 for 72 holes. A few months later, the same score would have earned Furr third place in the Sanderson Farms tournament. Furr will play college golf at Alabama. This exemption will help to attract college players like Braden Thornberry (Olive Branch, Ole Miss) and Davis Riley (Hattiesburg, Alabama). Margo Coleman, executive director of MGA, said that she doesn’t know of any other PGA Tournament which grants such an allowance for a state association. Coleman stated, “This is an exciting time for Mississippi golf.” “We’ve got some very talented amateur golfers in this state, and this is going to really boost the status of our state amateur championship.”