WGC-FedEx St. Jude Classic | Course Preview, Field, & What to Watch For

The PGA TOUR is in Memphis this week for the WGC-FedEX St. Jude Classic. One of the strongest fields of the year will battle for the win, as many players use this tournament as a final tune-up for the year’s first major next week in San Fransisco. Amid all the big names that scatter the tee sheet, there is one obvious absentee. Tiger Woods will not be joining the boys in Tennessee, hoping to get his body and mind in a better place for the PGA. 

Course Preview

One of the most underrated courses on the schedule, TPC Southwind plays well for any kind of golfer. Long hitters can have fun around here, shown obviously by the last two winners of the event in Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson. But accuracy also remains important, as players like Matthew Fitzpatrick can also find themselves in the hunt come Sunday afternoon (he finished T4 here last year).

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Southwind will play just over 7,200 yards, housed within a Par 70 layout. Although some water does lurk, the main focus for the players will be to find fairways. The course’s finishing hole is one of the best on TOUR. The 461-yard, Par 4 is completely protected by water down the left side, forcing the players to hit a perfect tee shot. 

Field 

Newly crowned World No. 1 Jon Rahm is back after taking a week off to, I’m sure, celebrate his triumphant win at the Memorial. Through tough conditions at Jack’s place, Rahm looked unfazed. He finished solo 7th at this event last year, and hopes to stay in peak form not only this week, but for the PGA next week. 

Rory McIlroy lost the top spot in the world a few weeks ago, which no doubt has motivated him coming into this week. Before the break, Rors was playing historically good golf. Never finished outside of the Top 5, and looked like it was going to stay that way. He hasn’t shown the same form since the return, but his finishes might not tell the right story. He’s played well 3 out of the 4 days of tournaments, but has failed to put 4 rounds together. I get the feeling we may be in for another WGC-Major run from Rory, similar to the one he had in 2014. 

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Brooks Koepka hasn’t looked great since the return to golf. He had one good showing in South Carolina, but has missed two cuts and recorded a T62 finish. He returns to Memphis as the reigning champion, but it’s hard to tell what kind of week he will have. With a major on the horizon, it wouldn’t surprise me if Brooks kicked it into gear over the next few days. 

Daniel Berger has quite the history at this golf course. He won events here in 2016 and 2017, and has been in fantastic form since the re-start. Aside from a MC at the Memorial, Berger has a win and a T3. We will see if Berger can put it together again at TPC Southwind.

Players to Watch 

Max Homa is a player I’d look for. His game is trending in the right direction, and this is the type of golf course that fits his game. 

I’m interested to see how Tony Finau comes out of the gates this week. After two solid performances in back to back weeks, it’s unknown how he’ll play. 

Featured Groups (FedEx Cup Rank)

Bryson DeChambeau (4), Jon Rahm (8), Rickie Fowler (89)

Thursday: 12:40 p.m. ET (No. 10 tee); Friday: 1:40 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee)

Webb Simpson (2), Rory McIlroy (5), Jordan Spieth (91)

Thursday: 12:50 p.m. ET (No. 10 tee); Friday: 1:50 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee)

Patrick Reed (6), Viktor Hovland (23), Brooks Koepka (155)

Thursday: 1:50 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee ); Friday: 12:40 p.m. ET (No. 10)

Justin Thomas (1), Collin Morikawa (7), Hideki Matsuyama (18)

Thursday: 1:40 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee); Friday: 12:30 p.m. ET (No. 10 tee)

Weather 

MEMPHIS WEATHER

My Pick to Win 

JT. That’s it. I’ll take Justin.

Cover Image Via Instagram