Memorial weekend next year will be a little different on the PGA Tour, especially in Memphis, Tennessee. The tournament moving to June 4-10 which is the week before the U.S. Open which will hopefully attract even more of the top players in the game looking to fine tune their games. Stanford Private Wealth Management will now assume the role of title sponsor increasing the purse to $6 million making it one of the largest on the tour. Next year should also be a good celebration as it will mark the 50th anniversary of the tournament.

We'll get to 2007 soon enough so let's get to this years tournament.

Last Year

David Toms fell just two strokes short of defending his title and one stroke short of a playoff with Justin Leonard. With his win last year Justin secured his first wire to wire win, his second of 2005 and the 10th in his PGA Tour career. Justin barely squeaked it out though starting the day with an eight stroke lead over Heath Slocum and finished with a 3 over par 73. No player has ever squandered an eight shot lead on the PGA Tour before but a win is a win and that's all that counts in the record books. His final round gaff had the backing of three solid rounds before it though shooting 18 birdies with only one bogey. Toms on the other hand showed just as much panache shooting a 63 in the final round to even get himself into contention.

The Course

The TPC at Southwind had recently undergone renovation in 2004 redesigning the course and a swanky new clubhouse. The 7,244 yard par-70 course itself is beautiful with many elevation changes, water and doglegs all requiring players with accuracy and guts. The 11th hole is a fun one, mimicking the famous 17th at the TPC Sawgrass. It is a small island green reachable with a sort iron and has a small pot bunker guarding the front of the green. Starting with the 15th hole the final finishing holes are all good driving holes with narrow fairways and greens. Good placement is a must to finish well in this tournament, just ask Justin Leonard.

Who's Hot

Who would have guessed that the hottest name on tour right now would be Tim "Lumpy" Herron? His win last week was his fourth on the PGA Tour and ended a 204 event win drought. Going into Memphis, Tim has never missed a cut here and has seven top-25 finishes here. Not much else to say with a streak like that going, good luck Tim.

Here's another name from past, remember the 2000 champion? Give you one hint, he went to college and played on his college team? Oh how quickly we forget, Notah Begay is in the field this week as an alternate but should still make it into the field receiving the final sponsor's exemption. Not that I'd place him as an early on favorite but it's a fun name from the past.

Who's Not

Sadly I have to place David Toms in this category, finishing tied for 30th at last weeks Colonial and tied for 47th in New Orleans. David Toms has really enjoyed his last four years here winning the event back to back in 2003 and 2004, finishing second last year and fourth in 2002. Justin had a great start in 2006 winning the Sony Open and several top finishes but has practically fallen off the tour after missing the cut at The Players Championship, Masters and Shell Houston Open. I've said it before and I still hope that David will pull himself out of this funk and finish the great start he got off to this year.

TV and Radio Times

This year's purse is $5.2 million with $936,000 going to the winner. The FedEx St. Jude Classic will be held at the TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN. from May 22 - May 26, 2006 and can be seen on USA and CBS plus heard on XM Radio on at the following times:

Thu, 5/25 4pm-6pm   ET  USA

Fri, 5/26 4pm-6pm   ET  USA

Sat, 5/27 3pm-6pm   ET  CBS

Sun, 5/28 3pm-6pm   ET  CBS

Thu, 5/25 12pm-8pm  ET  XM 146

Fri, 5/26 12pm-8pm  ET  XM 146

Sat, 5/27 12pm-8pm  ET  XM 146

Sun, 5/28 12pm-8pm  ET  XM 146

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

David Toms finished in a tie for third last week at Colonial. That was his best finish since winning the Match Play Championship in February. This week, Toms will be playing a tournament that he has owned the last couple years. He will tee it up at the FedEx St. Jude Classic as the two-time defending champion and will look to be the first guy to win the tournament three straight years. He didn't just win it last year, he dominated it! He finished up at -16 and six shots ahead of the next guy in line. There is no doubt Toms will be the favorite once again in Memphis, but there are a few other guys who will have their sights on the victory as well.

Kenny Perry, who is coming off one of the most dominating performances in recent memory, is also set to tee it up Thursday. Perry completely ran away from the field last week at Colonial, winning by an amazing seven strokes! He tied his own tournament record of -19 and has the look of a champion heading into the summer months on the PGA Tour. Perry's win at Colonial last week also vaulted him up to number nine in the world rankings. This makes him the highest ranked golfer playing in Memphis this week.

Another golfer that has had a great deal of success at the TPC at Southwind is Bob Estes. He only has two top-20 finishes so far in 2005, but he can definitely turn that around this week. He won the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2001 and finished in second last year behind David Toms. He also had a tie for third in 2003. Bob Estes definitely brings his top game to this tournament.

Other notables that are playing this week include Davis Love III, 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, Nick Price, and Players Champion Fred Funk. Also, the ever-popular John Daly will be unleashing his power on the TPC at Southwind. He will have his fair share of fan support as always. Daly's best career finish in this tournament was a tie for fifth in 2000. Price is coming off his best finish in over a year, finishing in a tie for sixth at the Byron Nelson Championship two weeks ago. Price has also won this tournament twice, once in 1993 and the other time in 1998.

Speaking of media attention, Kip Henley will certainly get his fair share of that this week in Memphis. Henley was the winner of The Golf Channel's Big Break II, and he is coming off his first Nationwide Tour appearance. He teed it up last week in the Henrico County Open, and he played admirably for his first big tournament. He missed the cut by two strokes, however, and will be trying his hand on the PGA Tour this time around. He went through the qualifying for this tournament on his own, so he definitely earned his spot. It will be very interesting to see how he reacts to being on the same course as the best golfers in the world.

The TPC at Southwind is the course for the FedEx St. Jude Classic and has been for many years now. It has made its share of headlines as well this week, as the course has gone through many changes since last year. In the past, par was 71 for this tournament. The par this year has been dropped down one and is now 70. The course is also longer, now measuring 7,244 yards. The fifth hole was a par 5 in the past, but it will be a 485-yard par 4 this time around. This will change the strategy on this hole greatly. Also, a few of the greens and fairways have been changed up a bit to make things more challenging.

The finishing hole is a par-4 that measures 453 yards off the tee. There is water that will come into play on the first two shots, so the drive will need to be accurate. There will also be some fairway bunkers to contend with off the tee. The hole then doglegs back to the left at a pretty sharp angle, and the green is surrounded by spectator mounds. The green is pretty small as well, which makes the drive that much more crucial. This isn't one of the scariest finishing holes on tour, but it will do its job to test the nerves of players who have a shot to win the tournament when Sunday comes around.

For my pick this week, I am going with last week's winner Kenny Perry. I have learned over the past couple years that Kenny Perry can get hot and go low in bunches. He can pull of a couple straight wins in a row, and I think the conditions this week will favor his game. When Perry is hot, he looks like he is as good as anyone in the world. He is straight and long off the tee, and his iron shots were absolutely awesome last week in Fort Worth. I look for him to continue his roll in Memphis and walk out with the FedEx St. Jude Classic title. For my "sleeper" pick, I'm going with the runner-up from two weeks ago Sean O'Hair. His story is remarkable, but his golf game seems to be even better. I think he will continue to gain confidence on the course and go really low this week.

The weather for the FedEx St. Jude Classic is usually very hot. The forecast calls for cooler temperatures this week, and that will be music to the player's ears. It is supposed to be partly cloudy all four days with a small chance of thunderstorms on each day as well. The highs should be in the low 80s. The purse for this tournament is a little smaller than it has been in recent weeks. The overall purse is still $4.9 million, and the winner will take home a cool $882,000. Be sure to watch the FedEx St. Jude Classic this week on USA and CBS at the following times:

Thu    4-6pm ET    USA
Fri    4-6pm ET    USA
Sat    3-6pm ET    CBS
Sun    3-6pm ET    CBS

Trackback URI | Comments RSS