WGC – FedEx St. Jude Classic: Expert Picks

Tournament Information

WGC: FedEx St. Jude Classic
Date: July 25^th – 28^th
Course: TPC Southwind
Purse - $10MM ($1.7MM to winner)
FedEx points – 550 to winner(s)
2018 Winner: Justin Thomas (-15)

Course:

TPC Southwind - Established in 1988, this 7,240 yard part 70 course was designed by Ron Prichard. One of the more woodsy courses, the Memphis prize has a bucolic mixture of trees, rivers, lakes and wildlife. It is known most for its 11th hole which mimics the 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass. Accuracy means much more than power and distance at Southwind.

Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

My Starting 4

Phil Mickelson (6th selection this year) — Phil LOVES this tournament and he’s on record saying as much. He has top 15 finishes in each of the last SIX years here.

Chez Reavie (1st selection this year) — Not only does he have back to back top 10 finishes here but he’s had success in 2015 (12^th) and 2013 (27^th). Chez has had a rough last five tournaments with three missed cuts and two top three finishes. I trust in his abilities at TPC Southwind

Brooks Koepka (3rd selection this year) — Brooks plays well at St. Jude, he’s had a number of top 20 finishes over the years and I think this really hits home for him. Brooks is also #1 in FedEx ranking and OWGR.

Dustin Johnson (4th selection this year) — He won at the FedEx Tournament last year and he tends to excel during the WGC tournaments. He finished 30^th and 40^th in two this year (and won the other) and that is a marked decrease from last year where he finished in the top 10 in three of four, I trust in his emergence during these events.

My Bench 2

Billy Horschel (2nd selection this year) — Billy missed the cut at the Open Championship but in the seven tournaments prior to this missed cut he finished in the top 25 in six of those tournaments. Billy is one of a handful of players who have finished 55^th or better here in the last two years.

Adam Scott (4th selection this year) — Currently 19^th in both FedEx ranking and OWGR, Adam missed the cut at the Open Championship. That’s actually a good thing. Fresh off a missed cut here is how he did in his last three tournaments this year: 8^th, 12^th, and 2^nd. He finished 10^th here two years ago and did not participate last year. He’s 3^rd in total strokes gained.

2019 Stats

Starting 4: Avg finish 47th (35th percentile)
Bench 2: Avg finish 63rd (47th percentile)