The world’s top golfers will head this week to the famed TPC Southwind course in Memphis, Tennessee for the 2016 staging of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. A cool $6.2 million is at stake for the world-class field with the champion grabbing not only 500 FedEx Cup points but also the $1.116 million top prize.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this prestigious golf tournament and while you’re at it, you can check out our sleeper picks for the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
It isn’t a complete surprise to see Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka installed as favorites to win this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic. Johnson and Koepka are the two highest-ranked players in the field and they love playing here at TPC Southwind.
Johnson (+600) captured the imagination of golf fans everywhere with his dramatic win here back in 2012. The world no. 8 shot a four-under 66 in the final round to beat John Merrick by a single stroke. He will fancy his chances of duplicating that feat this week as he has been playing some excellent golf of late. Johnson has racked up seven top-15 finishes in his last eight starts, including a third-place showing at the recently-concluded Memorial Tournament.
Koepka, on the other hand, came so close to grabbing the St. Jude Classic win last year, finishing tied for third behind eventual champion Fabian Gomez and Greg Owen. He’s found the top 20 in each of his two starts here in Memphis, carrying a 68.5 scoring average in those eight rounds. Koepka (+1,200) is coming off a gut-wrenching playoff loss to Sergio Garcia at the AT&T Byron Nelson tournament. With the form that he is in right now and his experience with this Southwind course, expect Koepka to contend once again this week.
High-Value Sleepers – Phil Mickelson and Fabian Gomez
One golfer who loves playing here at TPC Southwind is Phil Mickelson (+1,000). Lefty has notched three top-15s in each of his last three starts here, including a tie for second in 2013 and a tie for third last year. Mickelson is starting to hit peak form ahead of the US Open next week, finishing in the top-20 in two of his last three outings. He finished tied for fourth at the Wells Fargo Championship last month before nabbing a 20th-place finish at the Memorial Tournament last week.
Key to Mickelson’s resurgence has been his excellent play on the putting greens. He is third in the PGA Tour in strokes gained via putting with a solid .869 average. That will come in handy for Lefty when tackling the delicate greens of the TPC Southwind course.
Another golfer who’s primed for a huge performance this week is Fabian Gomez (+7,000). He loves playing in this Southwind course as evidenced by his tournament win here last year. He shot a 4-under 66 in the final round to beat Greg Owen by four shots. With the victory, Gomez joined Angel Cabrera, Jose Coceres, Andres Romero and Roberto de Vicenzo as the only Argentine golfers to win on the PGA Tour. Look for Gomez to be in the hunt once again this week.
Long Shot – David Toms
Looking for a sentimental pick? How about Tour veteran David Toms (+8,000)? The 2001 PGA champion will be making his 25th appearance in this event this week. Toms has had some success in this tournament before, grabbing back-to-back victories here in 2003 and 2004. Such is Toms’ dominance in this event that he holds the record for earnings made in the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
What makes Toms such a viable threat in every golf tournament that he competes on is his incredible hitting off the tee. He is 21st in the PGA Tour in driving accuracy percentage, with a 67.54 percent clip. That will be a major weapon for Toms when navigating the narrow fairways of this tough TPC Southwind course.
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