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WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational: Power ranking the top 10 at TPC Southwind

By Mike Randleman

MEMPHIS, TN - JUNE 08: Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 8, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - JUNE 08: Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 8, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational Brooks Koepka
MEMPHIS, TN – JUNE 08: Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 8, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Memphis gets World Golf Championship status for the first time as 64 players descend on TPC Southwind for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Portrush, Northern Ireland. Memphis, Tennessee. Cool, rainy links golf. Hot, sunny parkland golf. There aren’t too many resemblances between last week’s British Open venue and this week’s site of the inaugural WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

TPC Southwind has hosted the FedEx St. Jude Classic since 1989 and now replaces the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone CC.

The former FedEx St. Jude was situated the week before the U.S. Open and generally attracted weaker fields, so this is a welcome change for local galleries.

For the top-end players, many have never shown up for Memphis or haven’t since the start of their careers, so use course history with some caution.

It’s also a tough week to predict as it’s hard to know where players’ motivation levels are at. The major season is now over and it’s been a breakneck stretch of golf since March. With a guaranteed paycheck at an event like this, how many will go full throttle?

It’s not time to throw in the towel as we’ve still got the playoffs in August, but I bet a lot of guys will wish they were resting.

Looking at the course, TPC Southwind is a par 70 measuring 7,244 yards with Bermuda greens. It’s no slouch, typically ranking in the top third of toughest courses on the PGA Tour. Winning score tends to be low double digits under par.

The course is pretty cookie cutter and notably has a lot of water hazards. The rough isn’t too menacing, but off-line shots are likely to find water or sand.

Strokes gained approach and strokes gained putting are two key stats to watch this week. The greens are pretty small and undulating, but scrambling isn’t too challenging at TPC Southwind.

This is a no-cut event with 64 players.

It looks to be a hot, dry week in Memphis so expect firm and fast conditions.

Let’s see who will hoist the trophy at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

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