Joohyung (a.k.a. Tom) Kim became the second-youngest winner (20 years, 1 month) born outside of the United States to win on the PGA Tour last week at the Wyndham Championship. Kim shot a final-round 61 (27 on the front nine) to win the Wyndham by five strokes over Sungjae Im (one of our tips) and John Huh. Perhaps the most remarkable of many feats accomplished by Kim (40-1 in the market last week) in his victory: He began Thursday's first round with a quadruple-bogey 8, then proceeded to shoot 24-under over the course of the next 71 holes.
This week begins the three-week FedEx Cup playoffs in Memphis, the home of FedEx, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which moves from a WGC event to a playoff event as it replaces The Northern Trust.
Rory McIlroy (11-1) is the tournament favorite this week. His best finish in Memphis was a T4 at the WGC event in 2019. Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith finished T5 at last year's WGC event held here and he shares a 16-1 price tag with Masters champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Justin Thomas has a victory here in the 2020 WGC event and is priced at 18-1 along with Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
At 22-1 are U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished 4th and 6th on this course in 2019 and 2020; Jon Rahm, 7th here in 2019; and Tony Finau, who won the first FedEx Cup event last year (The Northern Trust). Will Zalatoris (28-1) was T8 on his debut in Memphis last year. Cameron Young makes his FedEx Cup playoff debut, tagged at 30-1 along with Jordan Spieth. Sam Burns lost in a playoff here last year and shares a 33-1 price with Collin Morikawa. Hideki Matsuyama also lost in that playoff last year and is priced at 50-1.
The Event
The FedEx St. Jude Championship marks the first of three events for the FedEx Cup playoffs, with 125 players qualifying (121 will compete as of Tuesday). Tommy Fleetwood is out due to the passing of his mother. Daniel Berger, a two-time winner on this course, and Lanto Griffin are out due to back injuries. Nate Lashley withdrew on Monday with a toe injury.
Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford, all of whom have defected for LIV Golf, asked for a temporary restraining order to play in the playoffs. A hearing in California was scheduled for Tuesday. %%offer%%
Gooch sits 20th in the standings, Jones is 65th and Swafford 67th.
Here are the current FedEx Cup standings, with FedEx Cup points, pending the hearing for the three LIV defectors:
1. Scottie Scheffler, 3,556
2. Cameron Smith, 2,335
3. Sam Burns, 2,275
4. Xander Schauffele, 2,153
5. Patrick Cantlay, 2,108
6. Rory McIlroy, 2,104
7. Tony Finau, 1,912
8. Justin Thomas, 1,783
9. Cameron Young, 1,774
10. Sungjae Im, 1,733
11. Hideki Matsuyama, 1,697
12. Will Zalatoris, 1,680
13. Max Homa, 1,625
14. Matt Fitzpatrick, 1,596
15. Jordan Spieth, 1,574
16. Jon Rahm, 1,449
17. Tom Hoge, 1,424
18. Billy Horschel, 1,403
19. Viktor Hovland, 1,314
20. Joaquín Niemann, 1,228
21. J.T. Poston, 1,146
22. Collin Morikawa, 1,089
23. Davis Riley, 1,045
24. Seamus Power, 990
25. J.J. Spaun, 985
26. Cameron Tringale, 957
27. Aaron Wise, 952
28. Shane Lowry, 942
29. Luke List, 938
30. Corey Conners, 936
31. Maverick McNealy, 936
32. Russell Henley, 934
33. Keegan Bradley, 925
34. Tom Kim, 917
35. Sepp Straka, 909
36. Kevin Kisner, 906
37. Keith Mitchell, 888
38. Mito Pereira, 888
39. Sahith Theegala, 886
40. K.H. Lee, 853
41. Scott Stallings, 852
42. Denny McCarthy, 842
43. Kurt Kitayama, 839
44. Lucas Herbert, 796
45. Sebastián Muñoz, 795
46. Mackenzie Hughes, 783
47. Tommy Fleetwood, 766
48. Si Woo Kim, 751
49. Tyrrell Hatton, 749
50. Adam Hadwin, 721
51. Chez Reavie, 715
52. Chris Kirk, 707
53. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 698
54. Matt Kuchar, 696
55. Brian Harman, 694
56. Emiliano Grillo, 691
57. Brendan Steele, 689
58. Harold Varner III, 682
59. Alex Norén, 681
60. Taylor Pendrith, 663
61. Alex Smalley, 658
62. Marc Leishman, 656
63. Anirban Lahiri, 642
64. Troy Merritt, 639
65. Taylor Moore, 623
66. Cameron Davis, 614
67. John Huh, 612
68. Brendon Todd, 592
69. Lanto Griffin, 592
70. Trey Mullinax, 590
71. Brandon Wu, 586
72. Matthew NeSmith, 576
73. Gary Woodland, 573
74. Beau Hossler, 572
75. Chad Ramey, 568
76. Adam Long, 564
77. Adam Scott, 551
78. Daniel Berger, 529
79. Wyndham Clark, 527
80. Joel Dahmen, 524
81. Patrick Rodgers, 517
82. Russell Knox, 514
83. Kevin Streelman, 509
84. Mark Hubbard, 508
85. David Lipsky, 505
86. Peter Malnati, 501
87. Andrew Putnam, 498
88. Aaron Rai, 491
89. Danny Lee, 490
90. Adam Svensson, 483
91. Stephan Jäeger, 480
92. C.T. Pan , 473
93. Adam Schenk, 461
94. Justin Rose, 458
95. Hayden Buckley, 456
96. Vincent Whaley, 438
97. Jhonattan Vegas, 428
98. Nate Lashley, 427
99. Lee Hodges, 424
100. Martin Laird, 421
101. Sam Ryder, 412
102. Scott Piercy, 410
103. Michael Thompson, 406
104. Callum Tarren, 405
105. Max McGreevy, 404
106. Chesson Hadley, 404
107. Dylan Frittelli, 401
108. James Hahn, 400
109. Greyson Sigg, 397
110. Ryan Palmer, 391
111. Nick Watney, 387
112. Robert Streb, 385
113. Jason Day, 385
114. Doug Ghim, 385
115. Stewart Cink, 376
116. Kevin Tway, 361
117. Ryan Brehm, 359
118. Tyler Duncan, 355
119. Matthias Schwab, 353
120. Patton Kizzire, 351
121. Lucas Glover, 349
122. Webb Simpson, 346
123. Nick Taylor, 333
124. Kramer Hickok, 328
125. Rickie Fowler, 324
The Top 70 players in the standings after this week will move on to next week's BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, then the Top 30 after that event will move on to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
The Course
TPC Southwind was built in 1988 and designed by Ron Prichard, in consultation with tour professionals Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green. It is regarded as one of the more difficult TPC courses. Over the past three events held here, TPC Southwind played to an 18-hole average of 0.63 strokes under par, which puts it near the middle for tour difficulty.
TPC Southwind was first renovated in 2004 to modernize the course and make it more challenging. Eleven new tee boxes were added along with 125 trees and 15 new bunkers. Three of the water hazards were enlarged. More changes came in 2020. This time, most of the upgrades were related to adding, resizing and re-edging numerous bunkers (75 total on the course, which is about the tour average). A few holes were lengthened.
The layout plays as a Par 70 of 7,243 yards. The Zoysiagrass fairways (similar to East Lake) are some of the narrowest on tour (29 yards wide on average, ninth narrowest). The Bermuda rough measures 2.5 inches. The Champion Bermudagrass greens are straightforward and average speed (12 stimpmeter) but are some of the smallest (fourth smallest on Tour) at just 4,300 square feet on average. The course has 12 dogleg holes.
With 11 holes having the danger of water, TPC Southwind produces the most water penalties on tour by far. TPC Southwind’s 5,989 balls in the water since 2003 top even TPC Sawgrass (4,809).
Aside from the narrow fairways, small greens and multitude of water hazards, the layout could be even more challenging this year due to a very warm July with double-digit days over 100 degrees. Memphis is typically hot and humid in the summer but has also lacked precipitation, so expect firmer and faster conditions than normal.
TPC Southwind is the only Prichard design on the PGA Tour, although he has worked on several restorations of Donald Ross designs, most notably Aronimink Golf Club, which hosted the 2018 BMW Championship. So there are now direct design correlations, but some similarities exist at TPC Sawgrass (lot of water holes), East Lake (Zoysia fairways), Country Club of Jackson (Zoysia), PGA National (similar length and par), Innisbrook and Concession.
Recent Winners at TPC Southwind
2021: Abraham Ancer (-16/264); 40-1*
2020: Justin Thomas (-13/267); 12-1
2019: Brooks Koepka (-16/264); 11-1
2018: Dustin Johnson (-19/261); 7-1
2017: Daniel Berger (-10/270); 28-1
2016: Daniel Berger (-13/267); 33-1
2015: Fabián Gómez (-13/267); 400-1
2014: Ben Crane (-10/270); 175-1
2013: Harris English (-12/268); 66-1
2012: Dustin Johnson (-9/271); 20-1
2011: Harrison Frazar (-13/267); 275-1**
2010: Lee Westwood (-10/270); 12-1***
Playoff win over Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama*
Playoff win over Robert Karlsson**
Playoff win over Robert Garrigus and Robert Karlsson***
Statistical Analysis
Strokes Gained: Ball Striking (Last 36 Rounds)
Strokes Gained: Approach will get the bulk of the attention considering elite ball strikers have won frequently here. However, Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee should not be ignored. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking combines both.
1. Tony Finau 66.1
2. Brendan Steele 62.8
3. Rory McIlroy 59.3
4. Jon Rahm 56.4
5. Will Zalatoris 55.9
6. Justin Thomas 50.8
7. Cameron Young 50.4
8. Corey Conners 50.2
9. Mito Pereira 47.7
10. Xander Schauffele 47.2
11. Shane Lowry 46
12. Aaron Wise 44.7
13. Scottie Scheffler 43.5
14. Viktor Hovland 43.3
15. Luke List 43.2
16. Max Homa 41.9
17. Joaquin Niemann 41.8
18. Collin Morikawa 40.7
Strokes Gained: Approach (Last 36 Rounds)
Over the last five events at TPC Southwind, the winners and their approach ranks are as follows: 2021, Ancer (5th); 2020, Thomas (2nd); 2019, Koepka (11th); 2018: Johnson (2nd), 2017, Berger (12th). Furthermore, the top-5 on last year's leaderboard all gained at least four strokes on approach.
1. Russell Henley 36.8
2. Shane Lowry 34.9
3. Tony Finau 34.1
4. Cameron Smith 32.7
5. Will Zalatoris 31
6. Xander Schauffele 30.9
7. Scott Stallings 30.1
8. Brendan Steele 29.4
9. Viktor Hovland 28.8
10. Rory McIlroy 28.8
11. Sam Burns 28.7
12. Justin Thomas 28.4
13. Scottie Scheffler 27.6
14. Hideki Matsuyama 26.7
15. Cam Davis 25.7
16. Collin Morikawa 25.6
17. Aaron Wise 25.5
18. Corey Conners 25.3
19. Max Homa 25.3
20. Harold Varner III 25
Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (Last 36 Rounds)
Over the last five events at TPC Southwind, the winners and their Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee ranks are as follows: 2021, Ancer (16th); 2020, Thomas (16th); 2019, Koepka (5th); 2018, Johnson (4th); 2017, Berger (2nd).
1. Jon Rahm 40.6
2. Cameron Young 38.5
3. Brendan Steele 33.4
4. Tony Finau 32
5. Rory McIlroy 30.4
6. Joaquin Niemann 25.7
7. Corey Conners 24.9
8. Will Zalatoris 24.8
9. Mito Pereira 24.8
10. Keith Mitchell 23.7
11. Anirban Lahiri 22.7
12. Justin Thomas 22.4
13. Taylor Pendrith 22.1
14. Matt Fitzpatrick 21.9
15. Luke List 21.2
16. Hayden Buckley 20.8
17. Sungjae Im 20
Total Driving (2021-2022 PGA Tour Season)
Total Driving is a composite ranking of Driving Distance plus Driving Accuracy.
1. Jon Rahm 60 (4%plussign% 56)
2. Emiliano Grillo 91 (60%plussign% 31)
3. Sungjae Im 100 (70%plussign% 30)
4. Keith Mitchell 102 (20%plussign% 82)
5. Viktor Hovland 103 (37%plussign% 66)
6. Shane Lowry 107 (50%plussign% 57)
7. Xander Schauffele 107 (36%plussign% 71)
8. Corey Conners 109 (81%plussign% 28)
9. Davis Riley 115 (45%plussign% 70)
10. Cameron Young 116 (8%plussign% 108)
11. Rory McIlroy 118 (2%plussign% 116)
12. Hayden Buckley 119 (104%plussign% 15)
13. Collin Morikawa 121 (81%plussign% 40)
14. Scottie Scheffler 124 (19%plussign% 105)
15. Martin Laird 125 (114%plussign% 11)
16. Brendan Steele 126 (41%plussign% 85)
17. Russell Henley 127 (108%plussign% 19)
Good Drives Gained (Last 36 Rounds)
When wayward drives find the rough, GIR% drops from 74% from the fairway to just 41%. Good Drives are drives where the player either hits the fairway off the tee or the player misses the fairway but still hits the green or fringe in regulation. Good Drives Gained percentage is about 15% lower at TPC Southwind versus the tour average.
1. Mito Pereira 44.8
2. Martin Laird 42.6
3. Brendan Steele 41.2
4. Xander Schauffele 41.1
5. Adam Long 37.7
6. Shane Lowry 35.8
7. Matt Fitzpatrick 35.6
8. Tony Finau 34.8
9. Doug Ghim 32
10. Brendon Todd 30.6
11. Corey Conners 29.2
12. Taylor Pendrith 27.6
13. Aaron Rai 27.4
14. J.J. Spaun 27.3
15. David Lipsky 27.2
16. Lucas Glover 26.8
17. Chez Reavie 26.2
18. Billy Horschel 26.1
Strokes Gained: Par 4s 450-500 Yards (Last 36 Rounds)
Eight of the 12 Par 4s measure over 445 yards.
1. Rory McIlroy 33
2. Tony Finau 25.2
3. Shane Lowry 25.1
4. Jon Rahm 22.3
5. Sebastian Munoz 22.2
6. Aaron Wise 20.2
7. Gary Woodland 18.6
8. Max Homa 18.2
9. Aaron Rai 18
10. Denny McCarthy 17.7
11. Sam Burns 17.5
12. Troy Merritt 17.1
13. Will Zalatoris 17
14. Emiliano Grillo 16.9
15. Cameron Young 16.7
16. Brian Harman 16.4
17. Seamus Power 16.4
18. Hayden Buckley 16.3
19. Scottie Scheffler 16
Opportunities Gained (Last 36 Rounds)
Opportunities Gained measures birdie opportunities from inside of 15 feet from the green or fringe plus greens/fringes under regulation. With the greens being just 4,300 square feet on average, some good shots will not hold the greens, so players will have some putts from on or just off the fringe.
1. Justin Thomas 48.7
2. Xander Schauffele 45.2
3. Mito Pereira 41.8
4. Cameron Young 40.6
5. Rory McIlroy 39.6
6. Viktor Hovland 38.3
7. Will Zalatoris 37.3
8. Hideki Matsuyama 34.5
9. Collin Morikawa 34.4
10. Cameron Smith 33.4
11. Russell Henley 32.7
12. Tom Hoge 30.2
13. Aaron Wise 29.3
14. Tony Finau 29.2
15. John Huh 28.4
Scrambling Gained (Last 36 Rounds)
Over the last four events at TPC Southwind, the winners and their Scrambling ranks are as follows: 2021, Ancer (1st); 2020, Thomas (6th); 2019, Koepka (1st); 2018, Johnson (4th).
1. Denny McCarthy 23.3
2. Matt Kuchar 21.3
3. Tony Finau 19.5
4. Matt Fitzpatrick 19.4
5. J.T. Poston 16.9
6. Keith Mitchell 15.5
7. Billy Horschel 15.4
8. Andrew Putnam 14.4
9. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 13.7
10. Jordan Spieth 13.5
11. Callum Tarren 13
12. Max Homa 12.7
13. Cameron Young 12.2
14. Harold Varner III 12.1
15. Seamus Power 12
16. Marc Leishman 11.2
17. Lucas Herbert 11.2
18. Brendon Todd 11.1
19. Adam Long 10.3
Selections
Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1 BetMGM)
Since winning his first major at the U.S. Open in June, Fitzpatrick has finished 6th at the Scottish Open and 21st at the British Open. He comes in with three weeks off, like many of the top players, and has two good finishes on this course with a 4th in 2019 and a 6th in 2020. Fitzpatrick ranks fourth in this field for Scrambling Gained and seventh for Good Drives Gained, and his added distance off the tee should at least make him a contender on a course where he has had some success.
Will Zalatoris (25-1 Caesars Sportsbook)
Zalatoris parted ways with caddie and self-described best friend Ryan Goble after Friday's round last week at the Wyndham. Joel Stock will take over the bag this week. Stock, who most recently worked with Cameron Tringale, won the 2014 FedEx St. Jude Classic with longtime friend Ben Crane. Zalatoris is one of the few top-end players who has played since the British Open (20th three weeks ago and 21st last week). Zalatoris finished 8th here last year on his debut despite not being fully healthy after withdrawing from the British Open three weeks earlier.
Collin Morikawa (34-1 Circa Sports)
Two-thirds of the approach shots will come from 125-200 yards at TPC Southwind (tour average is 56%), and despite a disappointing 2022, Morikawa is the best in the world from that range. Morikawa won the WGC-Workday at Concession last year. Concession, like Southwind, has Bermudagrass greens with water all over the layout. Despite a winless season so far, Morikawa has raised his game for the bigger events, finishing 2nd at the Genesis Invitational, 5th at the Masters and 5th at the U.S. Open, his last event in the United States, .
Sungjae Im (35-1 DraftKings)
Im was on our card last week and led after 54 holes, but then fellow South Korean Tom Kim happened. Im has back-to-back T2 finishes, having gained an average of 8.5 strokes for ball striking in Detroit and at the Wyndham. His hot putter cooled on Sunday but could return here.
Viktor Hovland (41-1 Circa Sports)
Hovland was one of the hottest players in the world to start 2022 with a victory in Dubai and a T2 at the Arnold Palmer, an event he probably should have won. He went about four months without a top-10 until the British Open, where he was in the final pairing on Sunday before a 74 dropped him to a T4 finish. The showing at St. Andrews could be the springboard that he needs.
Tyrrell Hatton (63-1 Circa Sports)
Hatton finished 11th at the British Open and followed it up with an impressive performance at the Wyndham, finishing 8th. He gained 5.3 strokes on approach, which was good for sixth in the field. He ended the week with a 64 on Sunday and that momentum should carry over.
Mito Pereira (130-1 DraftKings)
Pereira certainly does not come in with good form after missing four straight cuts. After his tee shot on the 72nd hole at the PGA Championship got wet while he had the lead, he showed some resiliency with a 7th at Colonial and a 13th at Memorial. Despite that heartbreaking drive at the PGA, he leads this field for Good Drives Gained and is third for Opportunities Gained.
ISPS Handa World Invitational
Callum Shinkwin earned his second career DP World Tour title with a four-shot victory at the Cazoo Open in Wales and bagged a 22-1 win for this column. Shinkwin carded a closing 70 to finish 12-under-par at Celtic Manor, where he has now finished 1st, 4th and 8th in his last three visits. Connor Syme made a late Sunday surge to finish 8-under-par and give this column a 1-2 finish. Julien Guerrier, Andy Sullivan, David Dixon, Renato Paratore and Lucas Bjerregaard shared 3rd at 5-under.
While Shinkwin takes this week off, Syme (20-1) is back in action at the ISPS Handa World International at Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland. Jordan Smith, who has finished 3rd and 7th on this course the last two years, tops the market at 10-1. John Catlin (15-1) won the Irish Open on this course two years ago and was 7th in this event last year. Ewen Ferguson finished 7th on this course in the Challenge Tour's Northern Ireland Open in 2018 and is priced at 20-1 along with Syme and Johannes Veerman. Richard Bland (25-1) has been playing predominantly with LIV Golf but returns to the DP World Tour this week. Defending event champion Daniel Gavins is 66-1.
The Event
The ISPS Handa World International is in its third year as a co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour, the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA. Unlike the Scandinavian Mixed event in June, this event has two separate tournaments for the men and women. This setup was first held on the Challenge Tour in 2019 with Englishman Jack Senior winning the men's tournament and Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow winning the women's side. In 2021, the event was upgraded to the DP World Tour with Gavins and Pajaree Anannarukarn emerging victorious.
The cut rules are slightly different this week, with the regular Friday cut falling at 60 players and ties for both the men and the women. A further cut will come on Saturday to 35 players and ties in each group.
On Thursday and Friday, players will play one round at Galgorm Castle and one at Massereene Golf Club, which sits just a few miles south. Galgorm will host both rounds over the weekend.
The Courses
Located in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and listed as a Par 70 of 7,151 yards, Galgorm Castle features just two Par 5s — both on the back nine — and two short Par 4s within the first four holes. Greens are in excellent shape and annually overseeded with Creeping Bentgrass to help keep them smooth and true.
Massereene is a shorter track at around 6,600 yards and offers better scoring opportunities over the first two days.
Statistical Analysis
Driving Accuracy (2022 DP World Tour)
Daniel Gavins and John Catlin, the last two winners at Galgorm Castle, ranked eighth and sixth for Driving Accuracy during their winning weeks.
1. Ashley Chesters 74.34%
2. David Drysdale 64.85%
3. John Catlin 64.75%
4. Richard McEvoy 63.62%
5. Dale Whitnell 63.07%
6. Ewen Ferguson 62.88%
7. Santiago Tarrio 61.90%
8. Oliver Farr 61.78%
9. Jordan Smith 61.44%
10. Dave Coupland 61.36%
11. James Morrison 60.78%
12. David Horsey 60.31%
Scrambling (2022 DP World Tour)
Gavins ranked first in the field and Catlin second during their winning weeks.
1. Jordan Smith 63.40%
2. David Horsey 62.30%
3. Oliver Farr 62.28%
4. Richard Bland 62.16%
5. James Morrison 61.80%
6. Rikard Karlberg 61.63%
7. Marcus Kinhult 61.39%
8. Zach Murray 60.87%
9. Dale Whitnell 60.58%
10. John Catlin 60.00%
11. David Drysdale 59.60%
12. Ashley Chesters 59.23%
Selections
Santiago Tarrio (25-1 DraftKings)
Spaniard Tarrio was a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour last year to earn his DP World Tour card this year. He has made six of his last nine cuts, including a T21 at the Belfry (British Masters), a T3 at the Scandinavian Mixed, a T16 at Mount Juliet (Irish Open) and a T11 at Hillside (Cazoo Classic). He finished 7th (2020) and 15th (2021) on this course the last two years.
David Law (28-1 DraftKings)
Law was 3rd two weeks ago in the Hero Open at Fairmont St. Andrews and 4th last month in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet. He finished 8th (2015) and 12th (2017) on this course in Challenge Tour events. Last year, he was 15th here and led the field for Driving Accuracy.
Dale Whitnell (40-1 BetMGM)
Whitnell finished 11th here last year with ranks of second for Driving Accuracy and sixth for Scrambling. He ranks fifth for Driving Accuracy and 9th for Scrambling in this week's field. Whitnell was the first-round leader last week at Celtic Manor.
Ashley Chesters (55-1 DraftKings)
Chesters was 15th here last year. He ranks No. 1 on the DP World Tour for Driving Accuracy.
Oliver Farr (60-1 DraftKings)
Farr was 10th two weeks ago at Fairmont St. Andrews and 11th here last year. He ranks eighth in this week's field for Driving Accuracy and third for Scrambling.
David Drysdale (200-1 BetMGM)
At 47, Drysdale is on the back nine of his career. He has missed nine of 19 cuts this year and has only made one in the last three-plus months. Nevertheless, ranking second in this field for Driving Accuracy and 11th for Scrambling fits the profile of a player that should fare well on this course.
