The PGA Tour heads for TPC Southwind this week and the FedEx St Jude Classic. Daniel Berger is seeking a third straight victory in this tournament.
FedEx St Jude Classic Preview, TV Times
The PGA Tour is in Memphis, Tennessee this week for the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Daniel Berger is targeting three wins in a row around TPC Southwind as players complete their final preparations for next week’s U.S. Open.
It’s always a tough call for the top players to decide whether competition or a rest is preferable the week ahead of one of the game’s most significant competitions, but many choose to play at TPC Southwind pre U.S. Open because of the nature of the test it poses.
Dustin Johnson and defending U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka will tee it up, so too will Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson.
The course at Southwind is tight and testing where both fairways and greens are notoriously tricky to find. It consistently ranks as one of the toughest courses visited by the PGA Tour. As such, it makes ideal training ground for the year’s second Major.
The FedEx St Jude Classic is played at TPC Southwind
It’s a Ron Prichard design and he received help from Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green. Loren Roberts was in charge of a 2004 upgrade to the track.
This tournament began life as the Memphis Invitational in 1945 and since then, it has witnessed some notable winners including Tommy Bolt, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Tom Kite, Fred Couples, Greg Norman and Nick Price.
Last season, Daniel Berger picked up his second PGA Tour title at the venue where he secured his first the year before. He fired a closing 66 to end the week a stroke clear of Charl Schwartzel and Whee Kim.
The weather looks like being warm and humid with thunderstorms threatening over the weekend.
Venue: TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee
Date: Jun 7-10
Course stats: par 70, 7,244 yards
Purse: $6,600,000
Defending champion: Daniel Berger (-10)
How to watch the FedEx St Jude Classic
TV Coverage:
Wednesday 6 – Sky Sports Golf from 8pm (On the range)
Thursday 7 – Sky Sports Golf from 9pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 10pm. Featured Groups on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm
Friday 8 – Sky Sports Golf from 9pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.30pm. Featured Groups on red button from 5pm
Saturday 9 – Sky Sports Golf from 6pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 9.15pm
Sunday 10 – Sky Sports Golf from 6pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 9.10pm
Not a Sky Sports customer and want to watch the FedEx St Jude Classic?
Why not buy a Now TV pass? For £7.99 you can get a day pass if you wish to watch one of the rounds or, for just £12.99, you can get a week pass to see the whole tournament.
Buy a Now TV Sky Sports Day Pass for £7.99
Buy a Now TV Sky Sports Week Pass for £12.99
Players to watch:
Phil Mickelson is on good form
Phil Mickelson – The veteran is playing great golf this season and this is a course he enjoys. He’s twice tied 2nd and once tied 3rd in his last five starts at TPC Southwind.
Billy Horschel – He’s a player who always tends to perform well on this course. His last four starts here have all resulted in top-10 finishes.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat – The talented Thai golfer is on a good run right now. He was tied 5th in the BMW PGA Championship and then tied 13th last week in the Memorial. Look for him to continue in the same vein this time out.
Key Hole: 16th. At 530 yards it’s a reachable par-5. The approach shot must be played uphill to a small, well-bunkered green. Realistically, anything worse than birdie here will feel like a dropped shot.
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