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FedEx St. Jude Classic 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2

By Luke Norris

Apr 27, 2017; Avondale, LA, USA; Rickie Fowler (right) and Daniel Berger (left) set to tee off from the 10th hole during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament at TPC Louisiana. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2017; Avondale, LA, USA; Rickie Fowler (right) and Daniel Berger (left) set to tee off from the 10th hole during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament at TPC Louisiana. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /
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St. Jude Classic
Aug 21, 2015; Greensboro, NC, USA; Davis Love III (left) shakes hands with Ernie Els after their second round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Charl Schwartzel

Round 1: 1st tee, 7:50 a.m.

Round 2: 10th tee, 12:50 p.m.

This may seem like another trip down memory lane but there’s still a little fight left in the two older gentlemen of this group. Okay, maybe not a ton but it will still be fun to watch 47-year-old Ernie Els and 53-year old Davis Love III tee it up on Thursday morning.

Els is in the final year of his five-year major exemption from winning the 2012 Open Championship so we already know he’ll be at Erin Hills next week for one more run at a third U.S. Open title but we’ll get a little preview this week at TPC Southwind. The former world No. 2, who now sits at No. 381 in the OWGR, has missed six cuts and withdrawn from another in his last 10 outings and his best finish in that stretch was a tie for 35th at the Byron Nelson. Els has typically skipped the St. Jude Classic but did make an appearance a year ago. He missed the cut but did not play poorly, shooting 70-72 to finish at 2-over.

As for Davis Love III, he hasn’t fully committed to the Champions Tour just yet. With 21 PGA TOUR wins to his credit, his last coming not even two years ago as a 51-year-old at the Wyndham Championship, he’s played in a handful of TOUR events but hasn’t fared very well, making just one cut at the Shell Houston Open and missing the last three weekends. But that doesn’t mean he can’t give it one more go.

While the nostalgia factor is there with Els and Love, there actually is a real threat to win in this group in world No. 21 Charl Schwartzel. After finishing third at The Masters, Schwartzel missed the cut at THE PLAYERS and withdrew from the Byron Nelson but came back with a T-35 in a very strong field at the Memorial. Like many players, he tends to usually skip this event — he last played here in 2010 and missed the cut — but is looking to sharpen his game ahead of Erin Hills.

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