FedEx St. Jude Championship
Course: TPC Southwind (7,288 yards, par 70)
Purse: $20,000,000
Winner: $3,600,000 and 2,000 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
2025 marks the fourth consecutive year that the opening leg of the FedExCup Playoffs will be held at TPC Southwind. The Memphis course had previously been a regular Tour stop hosting the FedEx St. Jude Classic from 1989-2018 and then the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational from 2019-21. Since FedEx is such a huge sponsor of the PGA Tour, it made a lot of sense that they get to host one of the three playoff events in their backyard. You can expect to see a playoff event in Memphis for years to come.
Prior to moving to TPC Southwind, the opening leg of the FedExCup Playoffs had been one of the few PGA Tour events that regularly rotated around each year. Up until 2022, this event was always held at a Northeast venue, and was really one of the few PGA Tour events that was played in that part of the country. Aside from three of the majors at the RBC Canadian Open, the BMW Championship is now one of the few events that continues to move around each year and has done a good job reaching different regions of the country. Next week it will be played at Caves Valley in Maryland.
69 golfers are in the field for this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship among the 70 players that qualified via FedExCup points. Rory McIlroy is electing to skip this event, but should return to action at next week's BMW Championship. McIlroy sits comfortably in second in the FedExCup Standings and is guaranteed to return to East Lake again for the TOUR Championship.
There's actually a legit question as to why more top ranked players in the FedExCup standings didn't elect to skip this week. With the removal of the starting strokes format starting at this year at the TOUR Championship, No. 30 in the standings has the exact same chance to claim the season-long FedExCup trophy as No. 1. Scottie Scheffler could go out and win both this week and at the BMW Championship, basically double up second place in FedExCup points, and then have an off-week at the TOUR Championship and it's going to show that he finished like 13th in the FedExCup in 2025. It's certainly far better for TV to have it all come down to the final event with everyone having a fair chance to win the TOUR Championship, but you also then have to call in to question the legitimacy of selling the FedExCup as a season-long competition when it really just comes down to did you win East Lake.
Alright getting off my soapbox now. This was something agreed upon by the Player Advisory Council, so clearly this is something they all wanted. Scheffler is also on the council for 2025. Nonetheless, it's certainly going to create quite a bit of drama in a couple weeks time for the FedExCup finale.
As for this week in Memphis, Hideki Matsuyama will go in as the defending champion. It's been a bit of a challenging season for the 33-year-old. He won the opening event of the season in Kapalua, but since then has not finished in the top-10 in any event. Sepp Straka, Russell Henley and Justin Thomas complete the Top 5 in the FedExCup standings after the regular season along with Scheffler and McIlroy. Thomas is a former winner at TPC Southwind (2020) and Straka fell in a playoff here to Will Zalatoris in 2022.
Most of the focus won't be on the top dogs this week. Instead everyone will be keyed into the battle for the Top 50 that get to continue onto the BMW Championship, and maybe even more importantly, lock up a spot in all the signature events in 2026. Min Woo Lee holds the No. 50 spot coming into the week with J.T. Poston, Kurt Kitayama and Bud Cauley not far behind. As I mentioned previously, the points are quadrupled from a regular PGA Tour event for the first two legs of the playoffs. That means that event guys like Cam Davis and Matti Schmid who just barely qualified for the playoffs can easily advance to the following leg with a strong finish in Memphis.
There will be no cut for any of the three playoff events. That means that players can have an off first couple days, and still make up a lot of ground with a strong weekend. Guys in the low-40s in the standings could fall out of the projected top 50 after the first two rounds, but if they lock in on Saturday and Sunday they can jump back to the good side of things. This is definitely one week where you need to watch all the way through, as every shot will count. Just ask Tom Kim who was in great position to make the top 50 last year and then had a terrible back-nine on Sunday to fall to No. 51. He then missed about half of the signature events in 2025 and finished the FedExCup season at No. 94. Now he will need a solid showing in the fall to stay inside the Top 100 and keep full playing status on the PGA Tour for 2026. That's just how quick things can turn.
The weather is just about as miserable as you would expect for Memphis in early August. Day-time temperatures will reach the mid-90s each of the four tournament rounds. There also won't be much wind to try to provide some slight reprieve from the head index. The only good news is that it doesn't appear like we will get much, if any, precipitation this week. That will make the golf course play pretty firm and it could create a challenge for these players, even without much wind.
Recent Champions
2024 - Hideki Matsuyama (-17) at TPC Southwind
2023 - Lucas Glover (-15) at TPC Southwind
2022 - Will Zalatoris (-15) at TPC Southwind
2021 - Tony Finau (-20) at Liberty National
2020 - Dustin Johnson (-30) at TPC Boston
2019 - Patrick Reed (-16) at Liberty National
2018 - Bryson DeChambeau (-18) at Ridgewood CC
2017 - Dustin Johnson (-13) at Glen Oaks
2016 - Patrick Reed (-9) at Bethpage Black
2015 - Jason Day (-19) at Plainfield CC
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- Proximity 125-150 Yards/150-175 Yards
Champion's Profile
TPC Southwind underwent a renovation since last year's tournament and all 18 green complexes were completely rebuilt for the first time since 1988. The greens were also resurfaced for the first time since 2004. The Bermuda grass around the greens has also been replaced with Zeon Zoysia, which will make chipping slightly easier. The changes were brought about after feedback from the players in recent years. The holes from tee to green will look much the same as it has in the past. Typically with new greens it takes a year or two for them to fully settle in, so they should be pretty firm for the top players in the world this week. That said, Memphis has also gotten a ton of rain this summer, which has made the challenge of getting these new greens ready for tournament conditions quite the job.
Through the years ball-striking has always been at a premium around TPC Southwind. Much like Sedgefield Country Club last week, accuracy takes precedent off the tee. It's not a long course and players are given the option of dialing it back from driver on a lot of holes to give themselves a good angle to attack the greens. With the dry conditions and new greens this week, iron play should be a big separator. Those who are able to control distances and strike their ball pure will be in the best position to have a lot of good looks for birdies.
The greens will have some different contours as well, so it likely will put some players who have come to this course for years in a similar spot to many players teeing it up for the first time at TPC Southwind. Unfamiliar greens usually only further extenuates the importance of ball-striking. This course also features plenty of water hazards that can quickly derail a good round. Back when it hosted full-field events, it was up there with the likes of TPC Sawgrass for courses on the PGA Tour with most balls in the water on average. Players able to put the ball in the fairway and hit quality approaches consistently will be the one's to key in on this week in DFS.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Xander Schauffele ($11,600)
Schauffele hasn't minced words that this has been the toughest season of his career to this point, but it feels like he is extremely close and I have a feeling we might see the old Schauffele show up for the playoffs. He comes into the week off back-to-back top-10s and is going to TPC Southwind where he has a pair of top-6 finishes, including a T2 last year. Schauffele's ball striking has been extremely strong the last few months and that will play very nicely at this venue.
Matt Fitzpatrick ($11,200)
Aside from Scheffler, Fitzpatrick is probably the hottest player in the world right now. His T8 at the Wyndham Championship last week was his fourth straight top-8 result. The Englishman has gained strokes off the tee in six straight, on approach in five straight and around the green in five straight. TPC Southwind has quietly been one of his best courses on Tour scoring three top-6 finishes in six career starts. This is an excellent spot for his first PGA Tour win since 2023.
Russell Henley ($10,800)
Henley has taken things easy during the summer, but every time he shows up he plays well. Henley has played just four events since the PGA Championship, but has finished top-10 in all of them, two of which were majors and the other two were signature events. The 36-year-old is one of the most accurate hitters on Tour and has been one of the top iron players for the last several years. The short game and putting has also come along for the ride of late. Henley has a pair of top-seven finishes in his career at TPC Southwind.
The Middle Tier
Sepp Straka ($9,900)
Straka has been a little up and down of late, but this is a course where he skillset should shine through. The Austrian is very accurate off the tee and has been one of the best iron players on Tour this season ranking fourth in SG: Approach, eighth in GIR percentage and 23rd in proximity. Straka has also shown the ability to pop on the greens on several occasions this season. The two-time winner in 2025 fell in a playoff back in 2022 at TPC Southwind.
Harris English ($9,400)
This price stood out to me as one that is just too low. English is coming off a runner-up finish at The Open, which was his third top-5 in his last seven starts. He has finished outside the top 30 just three times over his past 12 starts. English has a great history at TPC Southwind, as he won his first PGA Tour event there back in 2013 and has added two top-10s since. The iron play has been arguably the best of his career of late, and we know he always drives and putts well.
J.J. Spaun ($8,800)
Spaun led through 54 holes at TPC Southwind back in 2022 before blowing up in the final round. This is a course that fits his skillset well. Spaun ranks 26th in total driving, eighth in SG: Approach and 33rd in proximity. He also finds himself at 53rd in SG: Putting on Tour. The U.S. Open champ has scored five top-25s over his last eight starts and should have an excellent chance to find himself in the mix this week.
The Long Shots
Chris Gotterup ($8,600)
Considering the heater he is on, Gotterup brings tremendous value in the $8K range. He has gone Win-3rd-T10 over his last three starts, and has racked up 11 top-30s over his last 12 starts. Gotterup continues to dominate off the tee, and now all the other parts of his game have started to come around. The 26-year-old ranks top-10 on Tour in bogey avoidance, par-3 scoring and par-4 scoring. Gotterup is firmly in the Ryder Cup discussion and a good showing in Memphis could lock up a pick.
Nick Taylor ($8,200)
Taylor missed the cut at The Open, but prior to that had racked up seven top-25s in eight starts. His ball-striking should play very nicely at TPC Southwind. Taylor ranks 24th in driving accuracy, 12th in SG: Approach and 22nd in GIR percentage. He's also top-60 in both scrambling and SG: Putting this season. This course hasn't been great to the Canadian over the years, but it's mostly been due to the putter. These redone greens should help mitigate the loss in that department.
Chris Kirk ($7,700)
Kirk has been the hottest player in the $7K range and I expect him to keep things rolling in Memphis. He's coming off a T5 finish at the Wyndham, which was his fourth top-15 in his last six starts. Kirk has always been a pretty consistent ball-striker. He has gained strokes on approach in 9 of his last 11 starts, and ranks seventh this season in proximity from 125-150, a typically important range at TPC Southwind. Kirk owns a pair of top-20s in six starts at this course, including a T6 in 2018.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
With this being such an elite field, there's plenty of strong options to find down the board. That certainly gives us plenty of different ways to construct lineups this week, and also makes taking Scheffler, who is $1,800 more than the second priced golfer, very doable. One guy who jumped out near the top of the board was Aaron Rai at $11,000. Only five golfers in this field are ahead of him. Not saying he couldn't have a good week, but he also only has two top-10s all season. We need at minimum a top-10 if we are paying up for that price.
I didn't mention him above, but one player to watch this week is Daniel Berger ($8,600). He has a fantastic record at TPC Southwind with two wins and four top-5 finishes in five career starts. The problem is that he hasn't finished better than T30 in his last seven starts after a very strong start to the year. Something has to give. Cameron Young ($10,100) is probably also worth a mention after his breakthrough win last week. We see it every year a couple guys get really hot this part of the schedule and just keep it rolling through the playoffs. Young would like to do what Glover did a couple years ago and follow up his win at Wyndham with another W in Memphis.
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