Tag: TPC Southwind

Tom Kim apologizes for bludgeoning green at FedEx St. Jude Championship

He concedes it wasn’t his finest moment, not by a long shot.

Tom Kim concedes it wasn’t his finest moment, not by a long shot.

The 22-year-old South Korean and three-time winner on the PGA Tour missed a 5-foot birdie putt at the 12th hole on Sunday at TPC Southwind in the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. That’s no sin but what he did next — slamming the ground in frustration with his putter and leaving a sizable dent in the putting surface — is an unforgivable offense in the world of golf. It was childish behavior from a player who knows better and disrespectful to the remaining competitors who still had to play the hole and potentially putt through the ugly mark he made. To make matters worse, Kim didn’t bother to repair the damage to the green, reportedly leaving his caddie, Paul Tesori, to clean up after him.

Kim’s antics were captured on video and the backlash came fast and furious with multiple posts on social media going viral. Outraged golf fans — some comparing his behavior to past outbursts by Sergio Garcia — voiced their disappointment at the popular Kim, who was the breakout star of the 2022 Presidents Cup. With his reputation being sullied, Kim issued an apology on Monday night to his Instagram stories seeking to clear up the matter and explaining he wasn’t aware of the incident.

“Hi everyone. It’s been brought to my attention about my frustration shown yesterday on the 12th green,” he wrote. “I will never lie to my peers and fans because I have to much respect and gratitude towards them, I wasn’t aware that I had made that big of a damage on the green cause if I did I would’ve never just left without repairing it, but I was clearly wrong and will take full responsibility of my actions and will be better going forward. Thank you and I apologize again and thank you for your support throughout a tough year.”

Kim’s year ended on a sour note. Not only did he miss the birdie putt at No. 12 but he finished with three sixes on his card, playing the closing stretch in 5 over and dropping from No. 46 to No. 51 in the FedEx Cup and being eliminated from the playoffs and failing to secure his status for all the Signature events in 2025.

Kim’s tough year includes his temper tantrum at No. 12 and failure to repair damage to a green but at least he had the self-awareness to own up to his actions and promise to do better. Lesson hopefully learned.

Why did a PGA Tour referee stop FedEx St. Jude Championship winner Hideki Matsuyama about possible rules violation?

Did Matsuyama violate Rule 8-1 during the final round?

Did Hideki Matsuyama violate Rule 8-1 during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday? The PGA Tour determined that a violation wasn’t committed by the eventual champion, but the moment is worth closer investigating.

On the 12th hole, PGA Tour Chief Rules Referee Gary Young spoke to  Matsuyama.

Rule 8-1 from the Rules of Golf addresses ‘Players Actions That Improve Conditions Affecting the Stroke,’ and in this particular circumstance there was some concern whether Matsuyama had improved his line by tapping down his pitch mark after his second shot at the seventh hole at TPC Southwind had rolled back into a collection area. Matsuyama clearly walked up to the green and tapped down his pitch mark before playing his third shot on to the green.

“Rule 8-1 is very specific about what a player can do as it pertains to the line of play,” Young explained in a post-round interview with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. “It came to our attention that Hideki may have done something on his line of play.”

Young approached the Japanese star and addressed the situation with Matsuyama and his interpreter, Robert Turner. Matsuyama had just made a birdie to reach 19 under and owned a seemingly commanding five-stroke lead.

“The video showed that Hideki walked forward and stepped down with irregularity at a what turned out to be a pitch mark. At that point, it was a question of whether it was on his line of play. A couple of video angles showed that it was close, close enough to have to have that conversation with him and unfortunately we had to have that conversation mid-round with him, which is never comforting when you have to go out and talk with that player,” Young said. “But it could affect his strategy playing for the rest of the round if he is going to get a two-stroke penalty. So, I simply had to ask him the question, Hideki, on that hole, and he did recall the situation that he had walked forward. I asked him what exactly did he do and why did he do it, he just said it was something that he normally does when he has a pitch mark and he felt it was nowhere near his line of play and that was why he stepped it down.

“Following the conversation with him, I felt very comfortable that he felt it was well off his line of play and then we did get supporting video evidence from a different camera angle which clearly showed where he plays his shot and where the pitch mark was. It was a good 3 feet away. Now, some people may say, well, that’s pretty close. For that short of a shot and one of the best players in the world that is a pretty tight area you’re talking about, so, the committee felt very, very comfortable with the decision.”

Lewis pressed Young if there was any additional discussion thereafter whether a rules violation had occurred and Young answered, “In my mind, when we had that conversation, I felt a comfort level that he was well off his line of play.”

Lewis also asked why it took several holes for Matsuyama to be informed of the potential rules violation. “It took some time for the message to come to me that this potential violation had occurred. Then it took time to look for any video evidence. Next it was circulated to all of the members of the rules committee and Young also consulted with the USGA to make sure they had their support,” he said. “It felt really bad to possibly have affected him but that’s the rough part of our job.”

Matsuyama’s round went off the rails as he played Nos. 12-16 in 4 over and lost the lead temporarily to Viktor Hovland before righting the ship and making birdies on the final two holes to win by two strokes over Hovland and Xander Schauffele.

“It was really a non-issue,” Matsuyama said after the round. “They just wanted to check and make sure that the rules were kept, which they were. And it really did not affect me the rest of the day. If I was worried that I had done something wrong, that would have rattled me. But it was really a non-issue, so it was fine.”

2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player at TPC Southwind

Having already become a $50-million man earlier this season, Matsuyama didn’t waste time eclipsing $55 million.

Having already become a $50-million man earlier this season, Hideki Matsuyama didn’t waste much time eclipsing $55 million in career earnings.

The Japanese star is walking away from Memphis with $3.6 million for shooting 17-under 263 at TPC Southwind and winning the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship out of the $20 million purse for the first of three playoff events.

The top of the leaderboard was stacked with big names with Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland sharing second place and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finishing alone in fourth. Sam Burns and Nick Dunlap tied for fifth.

Here’s a look at how much each of the players in the 70-man field with no cut earned this week.

Pos. Player Score Earnings
1 Hideki Matsuyama -17 $3,600,000
T2 Xander Schauffele -15 $1,760,000
T2 Viktor Hovland -15 $1,760,000
4 Scottie Scheffler -14 $960,000
T5 Sam Burns -13 $760,000
T5 Nick Dunlap -13 $760,000
T7 Wyndham Clark -12 $645,000
T7 Robert MacIntyre -12 $645,000
9 Denny McCarthy -11 $580,000
T10 Billy Horschel -10 $520,000
T10 Seamus Power -10 $520,000
T12 Maverick McNealy -9 $405,000
T12 Patrick Cantlay -9 $405,000
T12 Akshay Bhatia -9 $405,000
T12 Will Zalatoris -9 $405,000
T16 Aaron Rai -8 $330,000
T16 Tony Finau -8 $330,000
T18 Eric Cole -7 $270,000
T18 Austin Eckroat -7 $270,000
T18 Adam Scott -7 $270,000
T18 Matt Fitzpatrick -7 $270,000
T22 Min Woo Lee -6 $175,500
T22 Collin Morikawa -6 $175,500
T22 Taylor Pendrith -6 $175,500
T22 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -6 $175,500
T22 Brendon Todd -6 $175,500
T22 Jason Day -6 $175,500
T22 Tommy Fleetwood -6 $175,500
T22 Justin Rose -6 $175,500
T30 Russell Henley -5 $130,000
T30 Justin Thomas -5 $130,000
T30 Alex Noren -5 $130,000
T33 Max Greyserman -4 $103,428
T33 Davis Thompson -4 $103,428
T33 Patrick Rodgers -4 $103,428
T33 Emiliano Grillo -4 $103,428
T33 Byeong Hun An -4 $103,428
T33 J.T. Poston -4 $103,428
T33 Erik van Rooyen -4 $103,428
T40 Cam Davis -3 $76,000
T40 Ludvig Åberg -3 $76,000
T40 Sungjae Im -3 $76,000
T40 Stephan Jaeger -3 $76,000
T40 Jhonattan Vegas -3 $76,000
T40 Victor Perez -3 $76,000
T46 Thomas Detry -2 $56,700
T46 Tom Hoge -2 $56,700
T46 Matthieu Pavon -2 $56,700
T46 Sahith Theegala -2 $56,700
T50 Si Woo Kim -1 $47,250
T50 Brian Harman -1 $47,250
T50 Adam Hadwin -1 $47,250
T50 Corey Conners -1 $47,250
T50 Tom Kim -1 $47,250
T50 Shane Lowry -1 $47,250
T50 Ben Griffin -1 $47,250
T50 Chris Kirk -1 $47,250
58 Mackenzie Hughes E $44,800
T59 Keegan Bradley 1 $44,200
T59 Peter Malnati 1 $44,200
T61 Cameron Young 2 $43,000
T61 Mark Hubbard 2 $43,000
T61 Sepp Straka 2 $43,000
T61 Harris English 2 $43,000
65 Nick Taylor 3 $42,000
66 Taylor Moore 4 $41,600
67 Jake Knapp 6 $41,200
T68 Jordan Spieth 9 $40,600
T68 Rory McIlroy 9 $40,600
70 Max Homa 11 $40,000

 

Hideki Matsuyama recovers from blowing big lead to win FedEx St. Jude Championship

“I knew I still had two holes left, and that was just what I was thinking: Two more holes. I’ve got to make one birdie.”

Hideki Matsuyama blew a big lead but he recovered to birdie the final two holes and edge Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele by two strokes and win the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

“No lead is safe and I knew someone was going to make a run,” said Matsuyama of falling a stroke back. “I felt today’s victory slipping away…I knew I had to birdie and somehow I was able to get it on the green and (make the putt). It made 18 a lot easier to play.”

The 32-year-old Japanese star had his wallet stolen earlier in the week and didn’t have his coach or caddie, who had their passports lifted in the theft, at his disposal but it didn’t bother his game.

“Maybe because of that, I won this week,” he mused.

Or it may have been because he changed putters and had his best putting week of the season, closing in even-par 70 at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Sunday and a 72-hole total of 17-under 263. Matsuyama typically travels with as many as six different putters and before the tournament began he tinkered with them on the practice green.

“I felt like I needed a change of pace, kind of a refresh with my putter,” he explained.

Matsuyama, who won the bronze medal two weeks ago, built a five-stroke lead, the largest 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour this season, but still took three putters to the practice green on Sunday morning. He elected to stick with the Scotty Cameron putter that had treated him so well since he stuck it in the bag on Thursday.

“I’ve had the putter for a while, and I thought, well, it might be a good week to debut that putter,” said Matsuyama, who gained 8.2 strokes on the greens against the field.

Wearing a splash of his Sunday yellow and white, he opened with seven straight pars before he buried a 39-foot birdie putt at No. 8 and a 19-foot birdie putt at No. 11. On another typically hot and humid day, it looked as if Matsuyama wouldn’t need to break a sweat walking the difficult closing stretch in Memphis at a course where he lost in a playoff three years ago. Matsuyama played his first 65 holes in 19 under and then the next five in 4 over, finding the water off the tee at the par-3 14th for a bogey and a double bogey at the 15th that cost him the lead to Hovland.

“I knew I still had two holes left, and that was just what I was thinking: Two more holes. I’ve got to make one birdie,” Matsuyama said.

Matsuyama then sank a 26-foot uphill birdie putt at 17 to regain the lead and hit a beauty at 18 to 6 feet to seal his second win of the season, 10th career Tour title and improve to third in the FedEx Cup.

Schauffele trailed Matsuyama by nine strokes to start the day but birdied four of the first six holes and shot a bogey-free 7-under 63.

“It was a head-down day,” said Schauffele, who lipped out a birdie chip at 18. “You’re so far back.”

It’s been a disappointing year for Hovland, who had recorded just one top-10 finish this season. He needed to jump into the top 50 this week to advance to the BMW Championship otherwise he would’ve been the first player not to defend his title at the BMW. He made a bogey at 17 and missed a 9-foot birdie putt in his bid to win the third straight FedEx Cup playoff event dating to last year. Still, he vaulted to No. 16 in the FedEx Cup season-long standing  and will have a chance to defend his title at the Tour Championship in two weeks.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who remains in the lead in the FedEx Cup, drained a 41-foot birdie putt at 18 to shoot 66 and finish fourth.

“I put up a good fight this week,”Scheffler said. “I tried to make my way up the leaderboard, but I just wasn’t able to do it.”

The top 50 finishers in the FedEx Cup season-long points race advanced to the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado. Eric Cole and Nick Dunlap joined Hovland as the three players who moved into the top 50 while Tom Kim, Mackenzie Hughes and Jake Knapp were the three players to drop out. Of the 50 players who advanced to the BMW Championship, 19 were not in the top 50 of the final 2023 FedEx Cup standings (38 percent).

After the Olympics, Matsuyama stopped in London for one day and enjoyed a celebratory meal with his caddie Shota Hayato, and coach, Mikihito Kuromiya. Matsuyama had already paid the bill when a robber swiped his wallet and also nabbed the passports and visas of his caddie. The members of Matsuyama’s team had no choice but to return to Japan and request expedited travel documents instead of going to Memphis for the first leg of the playoffs.

“Luckily I only lost my wallet,” said Matsuyama, who talked to his coach every day and used the regular caddie of fellow Japanese tour pro Ryo Hisatsune. “I’ve forgotten it completely. It’s not even an issue now.”

Nothing would stop Matsuyama from finally winning a FedEx Cup playoff event.

“I’ve tried hard for 10 years, and it’s a great feeling of satisfaction to finally be able to have done it,” he said.

Tom Kim’s late meltdown at 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship ends his playoffs

“This year has been really tough for me personally.”

Tom Kim melted down in the heat of Memphis at the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship and it’s likely to cost him plenty. He finished bogey-double bogey-double bogey at TPC Southwind on Sunday and after starting the week at No. 43 in the FedEx Cup, he was projected at No. 51 when he signed his card. That would mean the end to his FedEx Cup Playoffs, which also means he’d fail to qualify for the PGA Tour’s signature events in 2025.

“This season has just been like this. I’ve played really good golf, and then had some tough finishes. I feel like 2024 has really kicked me in the butt,” he said. “But I’ve gotten so much better. I’ve fought really hard just to get myself many this situation. I was 90-something before we went on this run, and it looks like I’m going to miss by one. But it is what it is.”

Kim, who shot 64 on Friday to help his cause, birdied four of the first 13 holes in the final round and stood in 45th place with four holes to play. “I was actually cruising. A bogey on 16 cost me a lot,” he said.

His first bogey of the day at the par 5 sent him tumbling to 47th. Then the first of the double bogeys – at 17 – dropped him to 49th.

“Hit a good drive and then another really poor missed shot, just anywhere left is fine and missed it right,” Kim said. “I knew I needed something special on the last, and hit a good drive, and the wind switched and the wind started to pick up, and didn’t cover.”

After the water ball, he had 8 feet for bogey at 18 and knew he was going to need it but missed it to the right. Home in 38 and a round of 1-over 71.

“I hit two bad shots that really just cost me everything. Two 5-irons, that’s it. The drive on 18 (which found the water lining the left side of the hole) was a good shot, and it just stayed there and the wind picked up,” Kim said.

As he walked off 18, he stared at the water, where he rinsed his tee shot and that had helped seal his fate. Asked what he was thinking, he said, “Just this year, man. This year has been really tough for me personally. I went through a lot of changes. I played some good golf and had probably five bad rounds that cost me possibly one top 5, one top 10, and something like this. First round, second round I think I finished 5 over my last few holes. When things aren’t going your way, things aren’t going your way.”

Frustration boils over as Sam Burns snaps off driver head at 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship

The heat might have finally broken Burns.

MEMPHIS — The heat might have finally broken Sam Burns.

Despite being near the top of the leaderboard midway through the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the LSU alum took some frustrations out on his clubs after a shanked drive off the tee on No. 9 during Saturday’s third round of the opener of the 2024 FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Burns, who surged to 10 under through two rounds, was 12 under when he teed it up on the ninth hole and then slammed his driver into the turf, breaking head of the driver.

According to the USGA, “a player is not allowed to replace a damaged club, except when it is damaged during the round by an outside influence or natural forces, and/or by someone other than the player or his or her caddie.”

So that meant Burns was be stuck without the use of his driver for the remaining nine holes of his third round.

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Collin Morikawa’s wife will run a marathon, but he’s trying to make birdies for St. Jude Hospital

“We’re going to be doing as much as we can throughout these playoffs and the next couple of months to help out some great kids.”

MEMPHIS – In the heat of the FedEx Cup Playoff race, Collin Morikawa is staying true to the principles of the PGA Tour’s FedEx St. Jude Championship’s title sponsors.

Morikawa has pledged to donate $1,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for every birdie he makes throughout the three-event playoffs. During Thursday’s first round at TPC Southwind, he recorded five birdies.

FedEx St. Jude: Photos 

For Morikawa, who is part of the golf apparel company TaylorMade’s team of professionals, it’s the continuation of a commitment to St. Jude that he shares with his wife.

“My wife is going to be running the New York Marathon, and we’re going to be trying to raise as much money as we can for St. Jude, so that’s her charity beneficiary for the marathon,” Morikawa said. “I think everything that’s piling on, it’s all coming together, whether it’s FedEx and TaylorMade, St. Jude, ourselves, and my family.

“We’re going to be doing as much as we can throughout these playoffs and the next couple of months to help out some great kids.”

FedEx teamed with TaylorMade to create a custom playoff-themed golf bag that Morikawa showcased Wednesday. The bag is crafted with upcycled FedEx packaging materials and TaylorMade golf gloves. Along with his birdie pledge, Morikawa will use the bag during all three FedExCup Playoffs events.

FedEx is also matching Morikawa’s $1,000 donation to St. Jude for every birdie or better that he achieves while using the bag throughout the playoffs.

“A really special bag. Really cool,” he said Wednesday. “It’s obviously very meaningful, not only how it’s built. You have recycled gloves on the side, recycled materials. Someone said there’s a part of a FedEx truck in it.”

Morikawa, fourth in the FedEx Cup Playoff standings with 2,456 points, finished Thursday’s first round at 2-under-par 68. He finished his second round Friday at 1 under, shooting a 71 with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15.

@joshua.crawford@commercialappeal.com, or via X @JCrawford5656

FedEx St. Jude Championship 2024 Saturday tee times, PGA Tour pairings and how to watch

Everything you need to know for the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Hideki Matsuyama and Denny McCarthy are the leaders after the opening two rounds of play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.

TPC Southwind is a par-70 track measuring 7,243 yards.

The purse at the FedEx St. Jude Championship is $20 million with $3.6 million going to the winner. The champion will also earn 2,000 FedEx Cup points.

FedEx St. Jude: Photos 

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. All times listed are ET.

Saturday tee times

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. You can also watch the 3M Open on Golf Channel free on Fubo. All times ET.

Saturday, Aug. 17th

Golf Channel/Peacock: 1-3 p.m

NBC: 3-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6 p.m

ESPN+: 8 a.m.-6 p.m

Sunday, Aug. 18th

Golf Channel/Peacock: 12-2 p.m

NBC: 2-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6 p.m

ESPN+: 8 a.m.-6 p.m

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Thunderstorms expected to hit Memphis on Saturday; FedEx St. Jude Championship tee times moved up

The third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship will not start on time Saturday at TPC Southwind.

MEMPHIS — The third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship will not start on time Saturday at TPC Southwind.

Thunderstorms are expected to strike the Memphis area early Saturday, PGA Tour officials announced Friday afternoon. In light of the inclement forecast, players will begin teeing off at approximately 9:45 a.m. Saturday.

Rounds one and two featured the 70-player field teeing off in pairs every 10 minutes beginning at 7:20 a.m. on the first tee. On Saturday, players (in groups of three) will tee off simultaneously on Nos. 1 and 10 from 9:45-11:45 a.m.

FedEx St. Jude: Photos 

The FedEx St. Jude Championship is no stranger to altering things based on the weather. Extreme heat and thunderstorms kept things from proceeding as planned, but it did not delay the conclusion of the tournament.

Chris Kirk held a one-stroke lead after day one of the signature event after shooting a 6-under-par Thursday. On Friday, Denny McCarthy, Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland enjoyed plenty of success, as each one shot 7-under.

How is Denny McCarthy swinging with a torn labrum at the FedEx St. Jude Championship? It isn’t easy

McCarthy is in pain. So much pain that he’s having to alter his swing.

Denny McCarthy’s early success at the FedEx St. Jude Championship doesn’t tell the full story. The PGA Tour golfer is in Memphis, and he’s now adopting the city’s gritty mentality.

McCarthy is in pain. So much pain that he’s having to alter his swing while dealing with a torn labrum in his hip.

He mostly feels the pain on the downswing. McCarthy has to alter his rotation by pushing up through the ground more than he’s used to. The injury appeared to have surfaced during his Friday round at TPC Southwind, where he shot 63 and sat alone atop the leaderboard when he finished his last hole.

“Yeah, I don’t want to divulge too much,” McCarthy said. “It’s bothering me, and I’ve been able to do enough the last few days to push through it.”

The sweltering Memphis heat sometimes gets a bad reputation for its impact at TPC Southwind, but in the case of McCarthy, it has been helpful. Loosening up the hip is an important for McCarthy to push through, and the heat has been helping him with that.

“It feels really good,” McCarthy said. “I haven’t been thinking about it too much, which is nice. Just kind of been focused on — sounds cliche, I’ve just been focused on each shot really, trying to put the same amount of importance and focus into each shot.”

McCarthy entered the FedEx St. Jude championship with +15000 odds to win the tournament. Those odds put him just outside of the top 50 projected winners. The 31-year-old is still searching for his first career PGA Tour win despite some impressive performances this season. He notably finished second at the Valero Texas Open in April and had top-7 results at the John Deere Classic and Wells Fargo Championship.

A strong start on Thursday allowed McCarthy to jump ahead and lead the field, but he’ll have to grit and grind his way to the finish line. He did just that on Friday, and he has no intentions of shutting down.

As for after the tournament, McCarthy hasn’t ruled out the idea of surgery.

“I don’t know yet,” McCarthy said. “I’m not looking that far ahead. I’m kind of just focused on trying to get better each day this week, and that’s all I’m really focused on.”

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.