The revamped TPC at Southwind is normally one of the tougher courses on tour but that did not seem to be the case for the morning tee times of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. With unusually clear skies and extremely calm winds, Justin Leonard entered the clubhouse early with a five-stroke lead. As the weather conditions changed in the afternoon, so did the scores. The wind started to pick up, averaging around 12 miles per hour, but that wasn’t enough to stop Kirk Triplett (64) and Davis Love III (65).
TPC at Southwind has received a facelift since last year’s St. Jude Classic. The course was lengthened 141 yards, a total of 7,244 yards. The par-4 5th hole now plays as a 485-yard par 5 and every green has successfully made the transition from bentgrass to Bermuda grass.
Justin Leonard seemed to like the new grass. “There is not a lot of grain. I broke as many tees fixing ball marks as I did on the tee box,” he said. “You can put a good read on the ball, you can putt well.”
Leonard birdied six of his first nine holes, including the first three holes. He finished with eight birdies overall and no bogeys. He drove and putted the ball well today, hitting 11 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens, and 26 total putts.
Justin Leonard found his groove early after sticking his approach with a 9-iron less than 3 feet from the hole leaving him with an easy birdie. He continued zeroing in on the flag stick with his short irons throughout the day. When he couldn’t make a close approach, his putter was there to save the day. For example, on the par-4 7th he made a 47 foot putt for birdie and later made the turn with a blistering front nine score of 29.
David Toms is the two time defending champion of the FedEx St. Jude Classic having won the tournament the last year and the year before. If he can achieve victory this week, he will be the first player since Tiger Woods to win the same event three consecutive times. Toms started his round on the back nine at the same time as Justin Leonard. He made the turn at three under par but struggled on the front nine, which usually plays easier than the back, making two costly bogeys finishing with a 68 (-2).
As with many PGA Tour events, the debate of driving distance versus driving accuracy is being fought. It seems as if distance is winning the statistical debate due to the fact that three of the top five longest drivers of the first round are postioned better than those in the accuracy category. Stay tuned this week to see not only who will win the tournament, but to see which driving statistic wins also.
Other notables were the lesser known Jason Bohn, who birdied his final hole ending with a strong score of 65, and Tom Pernice Jr. with a 66. 2001 FedEx St. Jude Classic champion Bob Estes as well as Hank Kuehne, were in a large group at three under par.
FedEx St. Jude Classic First Round Leaderboard Position Player To Par Total Score 1 - Justin Leonard -8 62 2 - Kirk Triplett -6 64 T3 - Davis Love III -5 65 T3 - Jason Bohn -5 65 T5 - Matt Gogel -4 66 T5 - Tom Pernice, Jr. -4 66 T7 - Olin Browne -3 67 T7 - Paul Goydos -3 67 T7 - Bob Estes -3 67 T7 - Hank Kuehne -3 67 T7 - Hunter Haas -3 67 T7 - Scott Gutschewski -3 67 T7 - Will MacKenzie -3 67 T7 - Phillip Price -3 67 T7 - Carl Pettersson -3 67 T7 - Roland Thatcher -3 67 T7 - Lucas Glover -3 67
Photo Credits: © Steve Grayson/PGA TOUR/WireImage
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