The PGA Tour’s season-ending play-offs get under way with the FedEx St Jude Championship and we have picked out five players to follow in Memphis.
It is the first time TPC Southwind will stage a play-off event but the course hosted a WGC event for the last three years and the St Jude Classic on the PGA Tour from 1989 to 2018.
As a par-70 with small greens protected by thick rough, it is no surprise TPC Southwind has seen major winners, and in particular US Open champions, do well in recent years.
Dustin Johnson won in 2018 and Brooks Koepka 12 months later so England’s Fitzpatrick would be in good company if he can prevail this week.
Since his major breakthrough at Brookline, Fitzpatrick finished sixth in the Scottish Open and was 21st in the Open despite professing he was not a fan of the hard, bouncy conditions at St Andrews.
The 27-year-old also led by two shots at the halfway stage on his debut in Memphis in 2019 before finishing fourth and was sixth the following year.
While many of the market leaders have not played since July’s Open Championship, Zalatoris returned to PGA Tour action after just a week off, finishing 20th in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and 21st in the Wyndham Championship.
— FedEx St. Jude Championship (@FedExChamp) August 8, 2022
The latter result came despite splitting with his long-time caddie Ryan Goble midway through the tournament, a decision Zalatoris described as the toughest he has had to make during his career.
Whether the change is what the world number 14 needed to finally claim a first PGA Tour title remains to be seen but he was eighth on his debut at TPC Southwind last year, finishing four shots outside the play-off.
Burns was part of that three-man play-off with former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and eventual winner Abraham Ancer, who sealed victory with a birdie on the second extra hole.
The 26-year-old American had won once on the PGA Tour before that week but has since claimed three more titles, including a successful title defence in the Valspar Championship.
Further down the betting is Tennessee native Mitchell, who found himself the subject of some attention during the Open Championship as his father is an R&A member and his sister studies in St Andrews.
A missed cut on the Old Course was only by a shot after he bounced back from a disappointing 76 to card a second round of 69 and Mitchell’s last round at TPC Southwind – albeit back in 2019 – was a closing 64.
Simpson’s odds reflect the fact he has not been in good form recently, a tie for 13th in the Travelers Championship followed by three missed cuts in his last four starts.
However, Simpson believes he is close to rediscovering his best, has finished 15th, 12th and second in his last three starts at TPC Southwind and can perhaps benefit from the “relief” of being named an assistant captain for the Presidents Cup last week.
