Power Rankings: FedEx St. Jude Championship

Scaling to the PGA TOUR as a professional golfer is tough enough as a career goal, but those who qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs can add a star beside the achievement on the résumé. For the second consecutive season, only 70 are identified as such, each with a uniquely successful path for whom many it has been career-defining. And it’s not over yet.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship opens the three-tournament series, and all who have qualified are committed as of midday Monday. Following next week’s BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship that concludes on Labor Day weekend, the 18th FedExCup champion will be crowned.

TPC Southwind hosts for the third time. Continue reading below the ranking for detail on the par 70, some historical perspective as it concerns seeds, an early peek at the weather in Memphis and more.

An invaluable constant during the fortnight that serves as the gateway into the Playoffs is that there’s no guesswork concerning the host sites on either side of it. Sedgefield Country Club and TPC Southwind have been fixtures on the PGA TOUR for some time. As respective stages for the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the only golfers who might require more reps to threaten are debutants. But no matter the sport, playoffs often reward experience, and the opening of the PGA TOUR’s version is no different.

TPC Southwind remains the same stock par 70 capable of reaching 7,243 yards. Because the lushest rough flanking fairways will be about three inches and because the Bermudagrass greens average only 4,300 square feet, ball-strikers salivate. Likewise, those not known as dangerous on the greens are tossed a bone because the putting surfaces are among the easiest of all courses on TOUR. They are prepped to run 12-1/2 feet on the Stimpmeter.

This also is the second edition of the tournament without a cut. Predictably last year, the field averaged a record-low 68.636 for the week. However, and no doubt due in part to the smaller sample size, the winning score was the same as the previous year when 125 golfers qualified (although five didn’t play and three others withdrew during the tournament). Champions Will Zalatoris (2022) and Lucas Glover (2023) both posted 15-under 265 and survived a sudden-death playoff with one other.

FedExCup points are quadrupled during the first two legs of the Playoffs, but for everyone outside the top 50 and in position not to advance to the BMW Championship, a strong performance is required at TPC Southwind. Differences in total points upon arrival varies and matters, but consider that only Cam Davis and Hideki Matsuyama rose into the top 50 in the first field of 70 with no cut at year ago. Davis jumped 17 spots to 45th with a T6, while Matsuyama’s T16 lifted him 10 slots to 47th. They displaced Mackenzie Hughes (T58), who fell four spots to 51st, and Nick Hardy (T49), who tumbled two to 52nd. The best finishers among the 20 not to advance were recorded by Stephan Jaeger and Beau Hossler at T20. Jaeger gained five spots to reach 57th, while Hossler climbed eight to 58th.

This puts 2023 FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland in jeopardy. After opening as the 7-seed a year ago, he’s 57th this week, so he has work to do to become the first to win consecutive FedExCups.

The weather is of some concern in Memphis this week, but by no means will it resemble last week’s experience when the first round was washed out. This week’s challenge will be dealt by daytime temperatures that will spike in the 90s. A slight risk of rain and storms might impact the field on Friday. Winds could kick up with encroaching energy but they are not expected to be a problem otherwise.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

MONDAY: Power Rankings (FedEx St. Jude)

TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Playoffs)/”Perfect 30” primer; Sleepers

WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider

SUNDAY: Points and Payouts; 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.