With Joohyung Kim winning his first career title at the Wyndham Championship, the PGA Tour’s 2022 season has reached its conclusion. Some 51 tournaments, spread out over 11 months now gives way to a three-week dash for the dough.
From No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to No. 125 Rickie Fowler, the richest postseason in professional sports begins at TPC Southwind this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the three-event FedExCup Playoffs.
Over these three weeks, the 125 will be whittled down to one: a FedExCup Champion, who will be awarded professional golf immortality (not really)… and $20 million dollars (really!).
It all starts this week in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Skinny
Tournament: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Championship
Dates: Aug 11-14, 2022
Where: Memphis, Tenn.
Course: TPC Southwind
Distance: Par 70, 7,237 yards
Architect: Ron Prichard
Format: 72-holes, stroke play, 36-hole cut
Purse: $15,000,000
Winning Share: $2,700,000
OWGR SOF/1st Pts: 398.5/68.5
FedExCup Pts: 2,000
Defending Champion: Tony Finau
How to Follow the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 2-6 p.m. (GOLF Channel); Sat: 12-2 p.m. (GOLF Channel), 2-5 p.m. (NBC); Sun: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (GOLF Channel), 1-5 p.m. (NBC)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. (ESPN+)
RADIO: Thu-Fri: 12-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 12-5 p.m.
(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com)
LINKS: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
History Spotlight
The history of this event combines four former tournaments – the Northern Trust, WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the FedEx St Jude Classic. And while the PGA Tour is going with the history of the Northern Trust event, officially, in reality it’s got a lot more of a connection to the FedEx St Jude Classic, including the title sponsor, charity, locale, and golf course. And so we’re going with Memphis.
“St. Jude” has been part of the event title since 1985, as it has a close association with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital of Memphis. The man who the hospital originally has to thank for that association is famous entertainer Danny Thomas, who lent his name to the event in 1969, with St. Jude’s being made the event’s official charity in return. Thomas had founded the hospital years earlier.
The event itself began 11 years earlier in 1958 as the Memphis Open, and has stayed in Memphis for its entire history. A few local courses spent time as host venue, with the current course, TPC Southwind, having the honors continuously since 1989.
The inaugural event was won by Billy Maxwell, who got the better of Hall of Famer Cary Middlecoff by one stroke. Middlecoff would win his only Memphis title three years later.
Other notable winners include Tommy Bolt, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Gene Littler, Larry Mize, Curtis Strange, Tom Kite, Fred Couples, and Greg Norman.
Relative to WGC-Bridgestone bloodlines: Former winners include Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Justin Thomas.
History: Event Titles
FedEx St Jude
2022-XX: FedEx St. Jude Championship
2019-21: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
1986-19: FedEx St. Jude Classic
1985-85: St. Jude Memphis Classic
1970-84: Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
1960-69: Memphis Open Invitational
1958-59: Memphis Open
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
2006-18: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
1999-05: WGC-NEC Invitational
History: Recent Winners
The Northern Trust
2021: Tony Finau (-20)
2020: Dustin Johnson (-30)
2019: Patrick Reed (-16)
WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational
2021: Abraham Ancer (-16)
2020: Justin Thomas (-13)
2019: Brooks Koepka (-16)
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
2018: Justin Thomas (-15)
2017: Hideki Matsuyama (-16)
2016: Dustin Johnson (-6)
FedEx St Jude Classic
2018: Dustin Johnson (-19)
2017: Daniel Berger (-10)
2016: Daniel Berger (-13)
Host Course: TPC Southwind
Part of the PGA Tour’s Tournament Players Clubs network, TPC Southwind is a private golf club located within the gated community of Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
Just east-southeast of central Memphis, near the world headquarters of FedEx, the 18-hole championship golf course was designed by Ron Prichard, in consultation with former PGA Tour pros Hubert Green and Fuzzy Zoeller.
Opened in 1988, TPC Southwind has been the venue for the Tour’s annual FedEx St. Jude stop since 1989. The event was previously played at Colonial Country Club in Cordova.
The course length for the first PGA Tour event was 7,006 yards in 1989, and has played at 7,243 yards since 2005. With 94 bunkers and ten water hazards, TPC Southwind regularly ranks in the top 10-15 (out of 51 courses) in terms of difficulty.
Hole No. 14, at 239 yards, consistently ranks as one of the toughest par 3’s on the PGA Tour.
Stat of the Week
1 – The number of players in the field this week who have won at TPC Southwind.
Despite this being an elite-field event, and TPC Southwind having continuously hosted the FedEx St. Jude event since 1989, only 2020 champion Justin Thomas is a former winner among the current field.
Three recent winners: Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Abraham Ancer are on the LIV Tour and the illegal monopoly (aka the PGA Tour) has banned these superstars from playing.
Power Rankings
The power rankings offer no huge surprises as the world’s best players will all converge on Memphis this week for a big payday and the first leg of the FedExCup playoffs.
Three (Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Abraham Ancer) of the four recent winners at TPC Southwind are now playing on the LIV Tour so homefield success is not a huge factor.
Leading the way is the reigning PGA champion Justin Thomas, who’s the only recent winner still playing on the longtime monopoly tour. Others include the usual suspects like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Cameron Smith, among others.
Top 10: FedEx St. Jude Championship
Power Rank-Name (OWGR, Odds)
1. Justin Thomas (7, 18-1)
2. Scottie Scheffler (1, 14-1)
3. Rory McIlroy (3, 11-1)
4. Patrick Cantlay (4, 18-1)
5. Xander Schauffele (5, 18-1)
6. Collin Morikawa (8, 30-1)
7. Matthew Fitzpatrick (10, 22-1)
8. Viktor Hovland (9, 33-1)
9. Jordan Spieth (12, 28-1)
10. Tony Finau (13, 20-1)
Full Field & Odds
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Championship | TPC Southwind | Memphis, TN | Aug. 11-14, 2022
* Pro Golf Weekly earns revenue with qualified purchased subscriptions.
