WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Recap: Winning In Memphis

With apologies to Brendon Todd, Justin Thomas was the clear front-runner for PGA Tour Player of the Year even before he won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational on Sunday. Now, he's just about locked it up.

Thomas broke free from a five-way tie on the back nine at TPC Southwind to win for the third time this season and reclaim to No. 1 spot in the world rankings heading into this week's PGA Championship. He also has a runner-up, a tie for third, a tie for fourth and a Tour-leading nine top-10s in only 14 starts. Yes, he has missed three cuts, but when he hasn't his worst finish is a tie for 18th. Yes, EIGHTEENTH.

We can go on and on about Thomas' accolades, but what's the point? Whether you think he's the best golfer in the world, he surely is the best right now, and is the co-favorite -- along with a seemingly-rejuvenated Brooks Koepka -- to win the PGA at 10-1 on golfodds.com.

Thomas held the No. 2 ranking for four weeks in May-June 2018, sandwiching Dustin Johnson. In some ways, it's surprising it has taken him this long to snatch it back. But there really are so many good players that we're likely in a continued period of musical chairs.

Some on Golf Twitter had somehow been under the impression that Todd, not Thomas, was the leading POY candidate. Maybe if he had won, but the 54-hole leader imploded on Sunday. Todd has two wins, and he is certainly a feel-good story. But he doesn't have so much as a top-10 since November and the differences between him and Thomas were on full display on Sunday. Thomas beat him by 10 strokes. Make no mistake, Todd is a wonderful player, and he climbed back inside the top-50 OWGR. But that's where the discussion ends.

Anyway, back to Thomas. With Jim "Bones" Mackay on the bag, and Phil Mickelson deliciously on the same scorecard, Thomas shot a 65 on Sunday to win by three strokes. It was far closer, of course, until Koepka rinsed his drive on 18.

Thomas led the field in strokes gained: tee to green, the hallmark of his game and great sign for him for the PGA. Breaking it down, he was 16th in SG: Off-the-Tee, second in SG: Approach and fourth in SG: Around-the-Green. He couldn't have drawn it up much better. He did rank 55th in SG: Putting, but that was almost all related to one bad day, Friday.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Today, the Backspin looks back at the WGC event, but also forward to the PGA Championship.

Brooks Koepka
The knee appeared fine, the game appeared more than fine. And that's a dangerous combination for everyone at Harding Park not named Brooks Koepka. If it weren't for one inexplicable mistake on 18, leading to a double bogey, who knows? Instead, Koepka ended in a four-way tie for second, and maybe that water ball will provide even more motivation as he goes for a three-peat at the PGA Championship. Koepka ranked third in the field in SG; Approach but also 30th in SG; Off-the-Tee, 71st in scrambling and 58th in SG; Putting. In other words, there's still a lot of room for improvement. Scrambling could be the key.

Rory McIlroy
Well, he certainly doesn't head into Harding Park on a high. He's had zero top-10s and only one top-25 in five starts since golf resumed. And now he's fallen to No. 3 in the world rankings. He tied for 47th at the WGC and basically shot himself out of the tournament on Thursday, 5-over on his first 15 holes. Still, he ranked sixth in the field in SG: Off-the-Tee, meaning the rest of his game was way off but also offering hope for the week ahead.

Tiger Woods
We should mention Woods during the week of a major even though there's nothing really new. He did get to Harding Park early and was on the course on Sunday. If he can hit the ball straight in those narrow fairways, even if not far, he has a chance.

Jon Rahm
It's understandable, even expected, that there would be a hangover, figuratively if not literally, after winning the Memorial and ascending to No. 1 in the world. Rahm surely looked out of sorts all week – until Sunday. He shot a 4-under 66. He had similarly looked off his game in the restart until a great Sunday round at the Workday – and he won the Memorial the following week. But his two-week reign as No. 1 is over, though keep in mind that Thomas was No. 1 for only four weeks before regaining the top spot on Sunday. Rahm has three top-5s in majors the past two years, including the 2018 PGA.

Bryson DeChambeau
It was another off-week for DeChambeau, though he opened and closed with 67s. He's been good enough over the past two months to make him one of the favorites to win this week. That said, DeChambeau has never had a top-10 in a major, and he's been in 14 of them.

Dustin Johnson
His back seemed fine, his game was far better than 80-80-78. Johnson was just a bit behind the leaders every day, and that added up to a tie for 12th in Memphis. Can Johnson win the PGA? Anyone as good as him surely can. But he never does.

Webb Simpson
Simpson has to be one of the handful of top favorites this week, on a course that feeds right into his strengths. He was never in the conversation at Memphis, but he just missed a top-10, and that's a pretty good sign for him at Harding Park.

Jason Day
Maybe Day discovered the Fountain of Youth in the past few weeks. Or at least a great chiropractor. Whatever, the former world No. 1 has run off three straight tournaments like he hasn't in years, tying for sixth at the WGC. He has a great, great track record at the PGA, and of course his lone major was won at Whistling Straights in 2015. He also was runner-up the following year and has three other top-10s.

Patrick Reed
Reed has been way off since the restart, and that continued in Memphis. Yes, he had a good final round at the Memorial to zoom up to a tie for 10th. But he had to putt out of his mind to get there, and those rounds don't happen often. He tied for 47th at the WGC. His short game is elite to the point he could win any time out – he was T2 at the 2017 PGA -- but the narrowness of Harding Park is not optimum for Reed this week.

Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay tied for 11th at the Travelers and for seventh at the Workday, but he needed 65s on both Sundays to climb the leaderboard. In other words, he hasn't contended since the restart, and Memphis was no different, as he tied for 35th. Harding Park would seem to be a great fit for Cantlay, but it would've been nice to see a bit more from him heading in.

Xander Schauffele
A pretty typical big tournament for Schauffele: a very quiet top-10 (T6). Like he's done in so many majors already in his young career. He has five top-6s in 11 career majors (though none at the PGA). It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he won this week.

Tyrrell Hatton
A real clunker for someone who hadn't finished outside the top-6 all year (albeit only four tournaments). There wasn't one part of his game working in Memphis and he tied for 69th. He has three top-10s in his past four PGAs, and Harding Park is a shorter track, which Hatton has to like.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth shot the first three rounds under par and then he didn't. Two doubles on Sunday, with a bogey on 18 – like a cherry on top. He tied for 30th. He's had two top-20s since the restart, one of them a top-10. Good but not great. That's really what and who Spieth is right now: good but not great. As we see many times every year on Tour, good guys can beat great guys in a given week. So does Spieth have a chance to win at Harding Park? No, he doesn't.

Rickie Fowler
Well, what a disastrous Sunday for Fowler. In line to win the biggest tournament of his career, he shot a 3-over 73 to tie for 15th. If all you saw was that Fowler had a top-15 at the WGC, you'd think it was a fairly typical week for him – sorta close but not really in the mix. Only this time he was in the mix and collapsed. Not much time to regroup for the PGA. 

Phil Mickelson
Sure it was big news that Mickelson tied for second and moved into the top-50 in the world (maybe he just needed Bones back in close proximity?). But the bigger news may have been that said he has considered taking his bombs to the Champions Tour. He said if he hadn't qualified for Memphis, he would've played the Champions Tour, to play the week before the PGA. That sounds like the dipping your toe in the Senior waters.

Daniel Berger
Is Berger ready to win a major? Will it be played at TPC Southwind? We kid, we kid. Look, Berger has been great all year, and his tie for second only entrenches him as a top-20 golfer (he's officially No. 20). But suggesting that he could win this week – and nobody actually said it – is a bit aggressive.

Matthew Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick tied for sixth – and that was with a crushing double on 17. Still, he now heads into the PGA with a tie for third at the Memorial and this T6 – with two different caddies, in fact. He's probably not ready to win a major – yes, try winning a regular PGA tournament first – but his game has never been better. He's now a career-best 18th in the world and a top-10 at the PGA would not be a shocker.

Chez Reavie
Isn't Reavie just the kind of golfer who would be a surprise if he won the PGA but wouldn't really be that much of a surprise? He's 38 years old, he stands only 5 feet 9, he doesn't even average 285 off the tee but he hits it as straight as a laser with all his clubs. Reavie tied for sixth, following back-to-back top-25s at Muirfield Village, and is now up to 36th in the world. He finished top-15 in the past two PGAs and tied for third at last year's U.S. Open.

Shane Lowry
Look who showed up right before the first major of the year – the guy who won the last major last year. Lowry had done absolutely nothing since the restart, and not a whole lot since Royal Portrush, to be honest. His tie for sixth was his first top-10 since the Open Championship, unless you want to consider a low-level Asian Tour event. Lowry's past two PGA Championship? T12 in 2018 and T8 last year. Just sayin'.

Tom Lewis
Has anyone done a bigger 180 since the restart? He had missed 4-of-5 cuts before the stoppage. In his last three starts, T12-T32, T2. He entered the week at 191st in the FedEx Cup point standings, but he zoomed all the way to 112th. Oh, and he's back inside the top-50 OWGR at No. 46. 

Jim Furyk
He won his Champions Tour debut. He doesn't get any OWGR points but he's still inside the top-100 as he heads to the PGA Championship.

Branden Grace
Really, what can you say other than he's a real mensch. In contention at the Barracuda Championship, mightily needing a great finish to qualify for the playoffs in three weeks, Grace came forward when he wasn't feeling his best. He got tested, tested positive and had to withdraw. Outside the top-150 in the FedEx Cup standings, Grace lost a lot of points at the Barracuda, is out of the PGA and may not make it back in time for the Wyndham. And then he'd be out of the playoffs. He's not gonna lose his card, but still, what a stand-up move.