The top 125 golfers in the FedExCup standings will travel to Tennessee for the FedEx St. Jude Championship which is the opening playoff event of the PGA Tour\u2019s season-long points competition. Nestled in the rolling countryside just southeast of Memphis sits TPC Southwind, which is hosting a playoff event for the first time. It is a course that is infamous for its \u201cwater balls\u201d and one that historically rewards the best ball-strikers in the world. In the past six events played at this course, winners have included some of the best ball-strikers in the world, including Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Abraham Ancer, and Daniel Berger (twice).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only the top 70 in the FedExCup standings after this week will advance to the BMW Championship. This is also the last tournament this season with a cut. Even with a smaller field, the top 65 and ties will advance to the weekend. Since this course has hosted a PGA Tour event every year since 1989, we have plenty of course history and data to rely on this week. With $15 million in prize money on the line, the top players are motivated not to treat this week as a warm-up for the following two rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, an entire host of prominent names will not be in Memphis this week. Players like Koepka, Johnson, Ancer, and Bryson DeChambeau are suspended from playing in PGA events after joining the rival LIV Golf tour. Three players, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones, are seeking a temporary restraining order to allow them to play this week. With a court date set for Tuesday, if they are allowed to play after current Tour players have come out strongly against the notion, there could be some major drama throughout the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n