Power Rankings: FedEx St. Jude Championship

The 17th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs launches this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee.

TPC Southwind is a familiar host in the backyard of the title sponsor for the three-event series, but there are a couple of not-so-insignificant modifications to the format this year. For that detail and other information concerning the opener, continue reading beneath the projected contenders.

Wyndham Clark, Jason Day, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Tyrrell Hatton will be among the notables reviewed in Golfbet Insider. Also, please note below that a special Power Rankings for the FedExCup Playoffs will publish on Tuesday.

When the FedExCup Playoffs was introduced in 2007, 144 golfers qualified, four tournaments contributed and the field didn’t whittle to 70 until the third leg. This year’s version of three tournaments opens with a record-low 70 qualifiers. Also, for the first time, there is no cut in the first phase, so everyone who made it to Memphis is guaranteed four rounds on the stock par 70.

TPC Southwind is in its second year as host of the FedEx St. Jude. In the three years prior, it was the backdrop for a World Golf Championships event, which, as was customary in that series, didn’t feature a cut, either. From 1989-2018, it was the annual stop of the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which was a traditional competition with a full field and 36-hole cut. So, although things have changed on the landscape of competition, TPC Southwind has been there for all of it.

The curiosity in its transition as host of a WGC to a Playoffs event with a cut was where overall scoring would land. True to the test, it hit the bull’s-eye at 69.157. Bermuda greens average just 4,300 square feet, so it takes the putter out of the hands who rely on it more. With surfaces running up to 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter and the longest of the bermuda rough allowed to scale to three inches, which is up half-an-inch since last year, the premium remains on ball-striking. Salvaging par isn’t challenging relative to other courses, so guys who pile up the scoring opportunities will have a sharper edge than usual.

Receptive targets will benefit the precise even more. Rain is all but guaranteed early and often until it breaks for Sunday’s finale … maybe. Warm and humid air will be blown around on Thursday, but whatever comfort it provides – physically, not with respect to its impact on ball flight – diminishes by the weekend.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Power Rankings (FedEx St. Jude)

TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (FedExCup Playoffs); Sleepers (FedEx St. Jude)

WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider

SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Qualifiers, Reshuffle

* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.