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After gaining World Golf Championships status for the first time last year, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational heads back to the familiar surroundings of TPC Southwind in Memphis. The course was first used on the PGA Tour in 1989 and has been played as a par 70 since 2005. This year it’s been extended slightly but still remains modest in length at just 7,277 yards. The word ‘invitational’ in the title is a clue that we don’t have a full field of 156 heading to Tennessee and 78 – half that number – will peg it up. Those who have passed up the invite – perhaps with next week’s USPGA Championship in mind – include Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari and Thomas Pieters. Brooks Koepka took the title last year when shooting 16-under to beat Webb Simpson by three while both Jon Rahm (R1) and Rory McIlroy (R3) managed rounds of 62 on the way to finishing tied fourth and solo seventh respectively. The greens are Bermuda and wind is often a factor. With that in mind, perhaps it’s no surprise that there were a plethora of British players in the top 12 last year. One thing different this year is its place in the calendar. In 2019, the tournament was played the week after the Open Championship. Angles to consider 1/ Strokes Gained Tee To Green Seven of the last nine winners at TPC Southwind ranked 1st in this category. Koepka couldn’t add to that sequence last year but the trend still shone through. He was 6th TTG while third-placed Marc Leishman was 3rd. 2/ Par 4 Performance With 12 par 4s instead of the usual 10, it’s obvious that scoring on these holes is important. And it certainly plays out that way. In 2019, winner Koepka was 1st for Par 4 Performance and runner-up Simpson 3rd while, in 2018, the first two home – Dustin Johnson and Andrew Putnam - were ranked 1st and 2nd on the Par 4s. 3/ Form on windy sub-par 72s With Bermuda grass greens and a par of 70, form at TPC Southwind often matches up well with courses sharing the same attributes. They include venues for the Sony Open, Mayakoba, the Honda Classic and even the Open Championship. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Xander Schauffele Since golf returned, the American is 8th in the field for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green, very much in line with his season-long ranking of 10th. He’s also 5th for Par 4 Performance and is a former runner-up in the Open Championship (2018). That helps tell the story of his fine record in big events. In WGCs, he already has a win, a second and five further top 20s despite only playing them since 2017. Daniel Berger Berger, a two-time winner on this course (2016-2017) and former Honda Classic runner-up, is definitely a poster boy for the above trends. The 27-year-old from Florida is 18th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green (10th since the restart) and 8th for Par 4 Performance. Strong in the wind, he’s also full of confidence after a recent victory in the Charles Schwab Challenge. Sergio Garcia Sergio certainly knows how to win on a windy par 70 and has a fourth place to his name here. The veteran Spaniard, who was fifth at Hilton Head last month, is a superb 2nd for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green this season and a healthy 35th in Par 4 Scoring. Tips: 2-1; +2.30pts 1.5pts e.w. Xander Schauffele at 22/1 (William Hill 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7) 6th 1pt e.w. Daniel Berger at 28/1 (William Hill, Skybet 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7) 2nd 0.5pts e.w. Sergio Garcia at 60/1 (William Hill, Skybet, Betfair 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7) 35th
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