By Chris Havlicek
Updated 8/15/24 3:01pm ET
The PGA Tour’s postseason kicks off in Memphis, Tennessee at TPC Southwind for the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, is the +330 favorite as the FedEx Cup Standings leader. He will be joined by Xander Schauffele (+800), Rory McIlroy (+1000), Collin Morikawa (+1200), Ludvig Aberg (+2200) and Patrick Cantlay (+2500), among other contenders.
The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup Standings come Sunday night will earn a spot in next week’s BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Denver. Defending champion Lucas Glover missed the cut at last week’s Wyndham Championship and will now miss the postseason after failing to rise into the top 70 to qualify for the FedEx Cup.
Dates/Location:
What: TPC Southwind
Where: Memphis, Tennessee
When: Thursday-Sunday, August 15 – August 19th
Defending Champion: Lucas Glover
The Course:
TPC Southwind has been a regular stop on Tour for over 30 years. This will mark the third straight year that it has been the host course for Round 1 of the FedEx Cup playoffs. It is a good-sized par 70, just shy of 7,250 yards. It has always been a fair test, with many players voicing their strong support of TPC Southwind in the past. The average winning score over the last nine years here has been just slightly better than 14 under par.
The Ron Prichard/Fuxxy Zoeller design was completed in 1988 and boasts numerous lakes, streams, and ponds throughout the course of play. Signature features include two grain silos and a windmill – remnants of a dairy farm formerly on the grounds. Last spring, the course fully converted to zoysia grass, and most fairways have been recently redesigned to add elevation change.
The Field:
All of the top players will tee it up on Thursday with the chance to advance to the second round of the FedEx Cup playoff race next week at the BMW Championship. But this tournament, like March Madness, is all about surviving and advancing to the next round, and some big-name players have a genuine chance of their season finishing a few weeks early.
Those in jeopardy of not qualifying for those tournaments include former FedEx Cup champion Jordan Spieth, young superstar Min Woo Lee, former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, and a couple of winners from this season, Nick Dunlap and Nick Taylor. Reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland will be a fixture at those tournaments, due to his spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, but the Norwegian finds himself in a dire position heading into Memphis.
Odds: Top 10 (Courtesy of FanDuel):
Scottie Scheffler +330
Xander Schauffele +800
Rory McIlroy +1000
Collin Morikawa +1200
Ludvig Aberg +2200
Patrick Cantlay +2500
Hideki Matsuyama +2500
Tommy Fleetwood +3000
Viktor Hovland +3000
Corey Conners +3500
Keys To Victory:
TPC Southwind features narrow, tree-lined, zoysia-grass fairways bordered by thick, Bermudagrass rough, and extremely small greens. Water comes into play on 11 of the 18 holes. Accuracy off the tee trumps distance, as playing from the fairway here is crucial. Hitting these small greens in regulation is a huge factor in trying to tame this track, and when those greens are missed, strokes pile up quickly. Accurate approach shots and the ability to get up and down from off of the green are of paramount importance this week for players.
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock
