Tag: TPC Southwind

Photos: 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind

Here are some of the best photos from the week in Memphis.

This first event of the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, is here.

After a long, grueling season for the game’s best players, it all comes down to this.

The field this week is made up of the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings. At next week’s BMW Championship outside Chicago, only 50 players will remain. Then, a week later in Atlanta, the top 30 players will fight for the FedEx Cup at East Lake.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite to win at +650. Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are +900.

Here are some of the best photos from the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler test new putters at FedEx St. Jude Championship

Both players are looking for a spark on the greens.

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This season, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler ranks 135th in Stokes Gained: Putting. Rory McIlroy is 84th.

Despite the struggles with the flat-stick, both players have won twice in the 2022-23 campaign: Scheffler at the Players and WM Phoenix Open, McIlroy at the CJ Cup and Scottish Open.

But those win totals could be even higher with decent showings on the greens. Scheffler finished T-5 or better in seven straight events from the AT&T Byron Nelson to Scottish Open. McIlroy is currently on a run of seven straight finishes of T-9 or better.

If either player got it going on the greens, they could be looking at four or five wins this season.

As the two best players in the world arrived at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the playoffs, they were spotted practicing with different putters.

“The guys at Taylor Made have done a lot of work for me with the putter,” Scheffler told the media Wednesday. “I’ve always liked the visual of that Spider putter, but I really just did not like the feel. That’s something we discussed, kind of the feel and — I’ve always struggled with putters that have a lot of weight in the back side of it, and this one is a bit different than a lot of the Spiders that they’ve made, and the weight is more in the front so it has the feel of a blade putter that I like but it also has a lot of that visual on the top where it’s easier for me to line up. It feels like at times this year I’ve hit a lot of good putts that have gone right up to the edge and not gone in.”

As for McIlroy, he played his practice round Tuesday with a Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5.

“Honestly, I just wanted a different look, just wanted to freshen it up,” McIlroy said. “I’ve got my Spider with me this week if that putter isn’t doing what I want it to do over the first couple days. I may go back. I just wanted to freshen it up.

“Honestly, it was zero testing process. It was go into the garage and see what I had and just pull a couple out and go have a few putts. That was it.”

The Northern Irishman put an old Scotty in the bag in March at the WGC Dell Match Play but went back to his TaylorMade Spider X shortly thereafter.

Scheffler made a change recently at the U.S. Open, putting a wider-bodied Scotty Cameron in the bag.

McIlroy, Scheffler and Jon Rahm headline the tee sheet and will play together for the first two rounds in Memphis. The trio tees off Thursday at 10:26 a.m. ET.

Report: Jay Monahan’s Tuesday meeting with PGA Tour players sparsely attended

Rickie Fowler told the Associated Press: “There really wasn’t that many guys in the meeting.”

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Two major champions from this season voiced support for PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan ahead of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Masters winner Jon Rahm and British Open Champion Golfer of the Year Brian Harman were both asked about Monahan during their pre-tournament news conferences Tuesday.

“I think Jay is a very qualified leader for our organizations,” Harman said.

“I think he should have the opportunity right now to finish this off the way he did,” Rahm said. “I think we’re quickly forgetting how well he managed a lot of things. He did an amazing job in COVID and kept a lot of people employed.”

Tuesday night at TPC Southwind, however, only about 25 PGA Tour pros showed up to a meeting with Monahan, according to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press.

Rickie Fowler was one of them, according to the report. He told AP:

There’s still a whole lot that no one really knows, and we don’t know. It’s just continuing to trust that leadership and everyone is doing what’s best for all of us and the tour moving forward. Some of that was talked about in calls before this. There really wasn’t that many guys in the meeting, or less than I thought there would have been.

Monahan sent a memo to the Tour membership about a week ago in which he offered some updates on the PGA Tour, including news about the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Tom Hoge was also in attendance during Tuesday afternoon’s meeting in Memphis, which he said went about 90 minutes, but indicated there were still no definitive answers to many questions.

“It was good just to have Jay there in front of us, see him again and see that he’s doing well,” he said. “Who knows what the path is going forward? I’ll guess we’ll just wait and see.”

2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship Thursday tee times, TV and streaming info

Everything you need to know for the first round at TPC Southwind.

The 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs are finally here as a field of the top 70 in the points standings are in Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.

The top three players in the world, No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 3 Jon Rahm, are also the top three players in the FedEx Cup points standings (Rahm No. 1, Scheffler No. 2 and McIlroy No. 3).

The three players will be grouped for the first two rounds this week.

Rahm tied for fifth here last season while the other two missed the weekend.

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. All times ET.

Tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
8:50 a.m.
Thomas Detry, Taylor Montgomery, Davis Riley
9:02 a.m.
Tom Hoge, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Young
9:14 a.m.
Patrick Rodgers, Adam Hadwin, J.T. Poston
9:26 a.m.
Sahith Theegala, Lee Hodges, Matt Fitzpatrick
9:38 a.m.
Taylor Moore, Tommy Fleetwood, Denny McCarthy
9:50 a.m.
Collin Morikawa, Kurt Kitayama, Adam Schenk
10:02 a.m.
Patrick Cantlay, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka
10:14 a.m.
Viktor Hovland, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler
10:26 a.m.
Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy
10:38 a.m.
Brandon Wu, Hayden Buckley, Hideki Matsuyama
10:50 a.m.
Stephan Jaeger, Cam Davis, Sam Ryder
11:02 a.m.
Matt NeSmith, Vincent Norrman
11:20 a.m.
Lucas Glover, Nick Hardy, Alex Smalley
11:32 a.m.
Eric Cole, Andrew Putnam, Harris English
11:44 a.m.
Ben An, Adam Svensson, Brendon Todd
11:56 a.m.
Jordan Spieth, Sungjae Im, Justin Rose
12:08 p.m.
Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Corey Conners
12:20 p.m.
Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Emiliano Grillo
12:32 p.m.
Xander Schauffele, Tyrrell Hatton, Si Woo Kim
12:44 p.m.
Tony Finau, Jason Day, Nick Taylor
12:56 p.m.
Max Homa, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman
1:08 p.m.
Keith Mitchell, Mark Hubbard, Matt Kuchar
1:20 p.m.
Sam Stevens, Aaron Rai, Beau Hossler
1:32 p.m.
J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin

How to watch

You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming. All times Eastern.

Thursday, August 10

TV

Golf Channel: 2-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 12-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 2-6 p.m.

Friday, August 11

TV

Golf Channel: 2-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 12-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 2-6 p.m.

Saturday, August 12

TV

Golf Channel: 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 1-3 p.m.

Sunday, August 13

TV

Golf Channel: 1-3 p.m.
CBS: 3-6 p.m.

Radio

SiriusXM: 1-6 p.m.

STREAM

ESPN+: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Peacock: 1-3 p.m.

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5 sleeper picks for the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship

It’s time to make a run in Memphis.

The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings have made their way to Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, this season’s first playoff event.

It’s no surprise to see world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler as the heavy betting favorite at +650. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, Nos. 3 and 1 on the points list, respectively, are next in line at +900 to win. The Spaniard tied for fifth in Memphis last season while the other two missed the cut.

There’s plenty of star power in the field this week, but that doesn’t mean someone further down the odds list can’t make a run at the title.

Here are five sleeper picks to keep an eye on at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

FedEx St. Jude: Odds, picks to win

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2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship odds, course history and picks to win

It’s time for playoff event No. 1.

Welcome to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, folks.

This week, the top 70 in the standings are in Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.

Will Zalatoris, who captured this title last year for his first win on the PGA Tour, is not in the field as he continues to work back from an injury that forced him to withdraw from the Masters earlier this season.

Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite at +650, followed by Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm at +900. While Rahm tied for fifth at TPC Southwind last season, both Scheffler and McIlroy missed the cut.

Come Sunday afternoon, the top 50 players in the standings will move on to next week’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields outside Chicago.

The winner in Memphis will receive 2,000 FedEx Cup points.

Golf course

TPC Southwind | Par 70 | 7,243 yards

2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship
Will Zalatoris kisses his trophy after winning his first PGA tournament on the last day of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn., Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022.

Course history

Betting preview

Tournaments, dates, courses and what’s at stake in the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs

Get prepared for golf’s postseason, which starts this week in Memphis.

Hard to believe it’s already August, and that means it’s time for the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs.

The field for the first event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, is official now that final putt has dropped at the Wyndham Championship.

The defending champion at TPC Southwind, Will Zalatoris, will not be in the field as he hasn’t played since withdrawing from the Masters due to injury.

There are several other big names not there as well, including Justin Thomas (71) and Adam Scott (72), who missed the top-70 cutoff.

To get you ready for the home stretch of the PGA Tour season, we put together everything you need to know for every stop of the postseason including dates, course, defending champion and what’s on the line for everyone in the field.

Which PGA Tour course has the most golf balls in the water? It’s a staggering amount

Tour pros are very good at avoiding water, but a handful of courses can eat even their lunch.

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What’s the secret to winning this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs? Players might start by keeping their golf balls out of the water.

Sounds simple, right? PGA Tour players are immensely skilled at avoiding the double and triple bogeys that often follow any splashdowns. But TPC Southwind in Memphis is a different animal than most Tour courses, with water directly in play on 10 holes for top-quality players.

Since 2023, TPC Southwind leads all Tour courses with most balls in the water. Players have deposited 6,166 balls into the wet stuff in that period, more than a thousand more than at any other Tour course.

If lined up, that would be 287.75 yards worth of golf balls.

A golf ball weighs 45.93 grams – actually, they can’t weigh more than that, but manufacturers do try to max out their density. So altogether those wet golf balls would tip the scales at just more than 624 pounds. And you thought your carry bag was heavy with those open-in-case-of-emergency 18-packs.

Keep scrolling for the top three Tour courses of the past 20 years to see the most balls in the water.

‘It wasn’t boring, that’s for sure’: Caddie Joel Stock guides Will Zalatoris to first PGA Tour win

“Conversations with Champions presented by Sentry” is a weekly series from Golfweek and The Caddie Network.

“Conversations with Champions presented by Sentry” is a weekly series from Golfweek in collaboration with The Caddie Network, where we take you behind the scenes for a chat with the winning caddie from the most recent PGA Tour event. This week: Joel Stock, caddie for Will Zalatoris, shares some thoughts about their win at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

It took all of four rounds for Will Zalatoris and veteran caddie Joel Stock to find the winner’s circle.

The duo outlasted the field and survived a playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, last Sunday for the first—and long-awaited—PGA Tour win for Will Zalatoris.

John Rathouz from The Caddie Network caught up with winning caddie Joel Stock to break down the week that was.

“It wasn’t boring, that’s for sure,” Stock said. “It was really neat. Guys talk about the honeymoon period or whatever when they take new jobs.”

Zalatoris dispatched his former caddie after two rounds the week before at the Wyndham Championship, then had a good friend fill in for the weekend. Stock came on board just as the FedEx Cup Playoffs were starting.

“I didn’t fully know what to expect going into the week. I know Will fairly well, from being around him a lot, being paired with him a bunch. Always been impressed with how he plays, how he handles himself.

“When I got the call, I was super excited for the opportunity. And then the week, it couldn’t have gone any better.”

See the full video interview here:

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Listen: Will Zalatoris’ first win on the PGA Tour, where the golf actually mattered

No amount of money can buy the emotion and meaning we saw Sunday from Mr. Zalatoris.

Will Zalatoris has been one of the premier players on the PGA Tour for close to two years. His “Hello, world” moment came at the 2021 Masters where he finished runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama.

After several close calls, including second-place finishes at the 2022 PGA Championship and U.S. Open, he’s grabbed his first win.

The atmosphere, the emotion and the will to win on Sunday are all something that LIV Golf will never have. Simple as that.

This week on the Twilight 9 podcast, Andy Nesbitt and I discuss Zalatoris’ win, his putting and everything else from the week in Memphis.

We also preview the BMW Championship, including betting picks for the week.

Listen, subscribe and download here

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

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