Amid the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship still plans to go on as scheduled in late September.
Steve Jent, the Sanderson Farms Championship’s executive director told the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger that the Country Club of Jackson, where the tournament, which begins Sept. 29, will be held, has not been impacted by the crisis. The club uses its own self-sufficient water system from a nearby aquifer.
Central Mississippi also experienced overflow from multiple creeks after heavy rain hit the area in late August. However, despite that, Jent said the course is in “great shape.”
Though the course has avoided trouble from the city’s water catastrophe, trouble could rise as roughly 30,000 people are expected to flock to the area during tournament week.
Many visitors will stay just outside of Jackson in Madison and Ridgeland County, where tap water is safe to drink, according to Yolanda Clay-Moore, the communications director for Visit Jackson. However, many restaurants and hotels in Jackson are “experiencing a challenge,” Clay-Moore said.
Hotels on the city’s water supply are following Mississippi Department of Health guidelines, which says guests can shower with tap water — with their mouths closed — but should drink and brush their teeth with bottled water.
As the Sanderson Farms Championship is Mississippi’s lone professional sporting event, it’s always a big week for the city’s economy. But the water crisis could pose a big blow to local businesses.
Currently, there is no timetable for when the crisis will be resolved. Efforts to restore the supply endured a setback on Friday when a chemical imbalance and reduced water pressure were discovered.
With nearly a month until the tournament begins, however, Jent is optimistic the issue could be straightened out by then.
“We’re four weeks out,” Jent said. “That’s our advantage, right? So we still have a month before the tournament, so the city can get some things fixed.”
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