The world’s top golfers will head this week to the famed TPC Southwind course in Memphis, Tennessee for the 2015 staging of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. A cool $6 million is at stake for the world-class field with the champion grabbing not only 500 FedEx Cup points but also the $1.08 million top prize.
Read on below for our in-depth breakdown of this prestigious PGA Tour event and while you’re at it, you can check out our sleeper picks for this tournament.
Dustin Johnson’s season looks to be right back on track after another solid showing at the Memorial Tournament last week. He fired a nine-under-par total of 279 to finish in a tie for 13th at Jack Nicklaus’ event. That’s now back-to-back top-15 finishes for Johnson after his calamitous 69th-place showing in the Players Championship last month.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Johnson is having a phenomenal season this year, finishing in the top-10 in six of his 12 starts including a victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Key to Johnson’s rise this season has been his excellent driving. He leads the PGA Tour in driving distance, averaging 317.6 yards per drive. That will come in handy when tackling the 7,239-yard, par-70 TPC Southwind course.
Johnson has had some success in this tournament in the past, grabbing the victory here back in 2012. Expect Johnson (+500) to be in the hunt once again come Sunday afternoon.
Another golfer who loves playing here in TPC Southwind is Phil Mickelson (+1,000). He was a runner-up in this event two years ago and a Sunday contender last year. He will look to bounce back from his atrocious showing at the Memorial last week where he finished in a tie for 65th. Lefty will take comfort in the fact, however, that he was playing some excellent golf prior to that showing. He finished in the top-5 in two of his three starts prior to the Memorial.
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High-Value Sleepers – Ben Crane and Webb Simpson
Ben Crane (+8,000) captured the imagination of golf fans everywhere with a fantastic victory at the FedEx St. Jude Classic last year. He opened with a superb 63 and survived a 30-hole Sunday marathon to grab a memorable wire-to-wire triumph. It was Crane’s fifth PGA Tour victory as he finally ended his 2 ½ year winless drought. Crane’s victory made him just the second 54-hole leader in the past nine St. Jude editions to close the deal on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately for Crane, he has failed to build on that solid win this season. He has yet to record a top-25 finish this year with the American already missing eight cuts this campaign. That being said, you can never count out the defending champion from making a charge this weekend. He’s worth taking a punt on this week.
One guy who’s primed for a breakthrough win here in Memphis is Webb Simpson (+1,600). He came close to a victory here last year, shooting a final-round 66 to finish two strokes shy of eventual champion Ben Crane. Simpson has been playing some excellent golf of late, finishing in a tie for second in his last start at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Simpson’s main edge against the competition this week is his play with the par-5s. He is fourth in the PGA Tour in par-5 scoring, averaging 4.45 strokes per hole this season. That will come in handy when dealing with TPC Southwind’s monster par-5s. If he can take advantage of the par-5s this week, he stands a great chance of grabbing that win.
Long Shot – David Toms
Another golfer who has fond memories of this event is David Toms. He has already won this event two times, grabbing back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. The American, who recorded a 13th-place finish at the Players Championship last month, tops the all-time earnings list here in Memphis. He will be making his 24th appearance at the St. Jude Classic this week.
That experience will definitely prove crucial this week. He might be a long shot but don’t be surprised to see Toms in contention once again for another St. Jude crown.
Writer’s Prediction
Dustin Johnson (+500) grabs his second St. Jude title this week.
