- Dustin Johnson, United States — DJ has done just about everything but win for the ninth consecutive season on the PGA Tour and came close again last week when he finished third in the Memorial Tournament, one stroke out of the playoff in which William McGirt defeated Jon Curran. It was Johnson’s seventh top-10 result of the season, including a tie for fourth in the Masters. He will tee it up in the St. Jude Classic for the fourth time and he claimed one of his nine PGA Tour victories in 2012 at TPC Southwind. Johnson, in his second tournament after missing six weeks because of a back injury, finished with 68-67-66 to hold off John Merrick by one stroke. The following year, he tied for 10th in his title defense.
- Brooks Koepka, United States — The 26-year-old Koepka came close to his second PGA Tour victory last month when he lost to Sergio Garcia of Spain on the first hole of a playoff in the AT&T Byron Nelson. That was his fifth top-10 finish of the season, including a tie for fifth in the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, where he lost to eventual winner Jason Day 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals. Koepka, who won the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, has played well in his two appearances at TPC Southwind. He posted bookend 3-under-par 67s in 2014 and wound up in a tie for 19th, and last year he led after 36 holes at 64-67 before playing the weekend in 71-70 to tie for third, five shots behind champion Fabian Gomez of Argentina.
- Phil Mickelson, United States — Lefty plays the week before major championships almost without fail and he is in the field this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic for the sixth time. Although he does not count the tournament among his 42 PGA Tour victories, he has had success at TPC Southwind, posting a tie for second in 2013 at two strokes behind Harris English, and a tie for third last year, when a closing 65 left him four shots behind champion Fabian Gomez. He also tied for 11th in 2014. Mickelson has been a U.S. Open title shy of the career Grand Slam since he won the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, and this week will be all about getting his game sharp for the national championship next week at Oakmont.
- Harris English, United States — Winless since he captured the FedEx St. Jude Classic and the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in 2013 for his only PGA Tour victories, English has been close to breaking through again. Last year, he lost to Jason Day of Australia on the second hole of a playoff in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, and two weeks ago he was in the chase most of the way before finishing second, three shots behind Jordan Spieth in the Dean & DeLuca Invitational. He also finished third in the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this season. English won at TPC Southwind three years ago when he started fast with 64-66 and held on with 69-69 to beat Phil Mickelson and Scott Stallings by two strokes.
- Ryan Palmer, United States — Enjoying his best golf this season in recent weeks, Palmer is coming off a tie for third in the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, in which he posted four scores in the 60s and chased winner Jordan Spieth all the way to the finish before losing by three strokes. That came a few weeks after he tied for fourth in the Valero Texas Open. Palmer has won three times on the PGA Tour, but not since the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii, although his game seems to be coming around with seven results in the top 25 this season. This will be his ninth appearance in the FedEx St. Jude Classic and he tied for third in 2012, finished solo fourth the following year and tied for 10th in 2006.
- Colt Knost, United State — Knost is playing perhaps the best golf of his PGA Tour career, having tied for third in the Players Championship (his best-ever finish on the circuit) and tied for fourth the following week in the AT&T Byron Nelson last month. Those are two of his six results in the top 25 this season and he will try to keep it going this week when he plays in the FedEx St. Jude Classic for the fifth time. The 2007 U.S. Amateur champion has missed the cut twice at TPC Southwind, but he tied for 15th in 2011 after opening 66-68, and tied for 13th last year, when he shot 64 in the second round and 66 in the last. Knost won twice on what is now the Web.com Tour in 2008 to earn his PGA Tour card for the first time.
- Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland — After a two-year skid, G-Mac found his way back to the winner’s circle early this season when he beat Jason Bohn and Russell Knox of Scotland to win a playoff in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. That was the start of a run in which he finished in the top five three times in five outings, and he also tied for ninth in the Players Championship. McDowell tied for 29th in the BMW PGA Championship, flagship event of the European Tour, two weeks ago and will be making his fifth start in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He tied for seventh in his first trip to TPC Southwind in 2009, shooting 63 in the final round, but has missed the cut twice in his last three starts.
- Daniel Berger, United States — Even though he has not yet played as well as he did when he was Rookie of the Year last season on the PGA Tour, Berger has had his moments — including a tie for ninth in the Players Championship and a tie for 10th in his first Masters. He remains winless on the PGA Tour, although he nearly won as a rookie before losing to Padraig Harrington of Ireland on the second hole of a playoff in the Honda Classic. Berger’s six top-10 finishes last year made him the only rookie to reach the Tour Championship and he needs a second-half run to climb the FedEx Cup standings for a return trip. He is 50th in the standings and could start that surge when he plays at TPC Southwind for the first time this week.
- Gary Woodland, United States — A two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Woodland might finally have his game back on track, as his tie for fourth in the Memorial Tournament was his first top-10 finish in more than a year. That was his fourth result in the top 25 in five outings, with his only miss a tie for 28th in the Players Championship. Woodland will be playing in the FedEx St. Jude Classic for the third time and might have finally figured out TPC Southwind the last time he was there, when he shot 6-under-par 64 in the final round to wind up in a tie for 18th in 2013. He averages 307.7 yards off the tee, so if he can hit it straight he will be coming into most of the greens this week with wedge.
- Fabian Gomez, Argentina — Proving that his first PGA Tour victory in the FedEx St. Jude Classic last year was no fluke, Gomez backed it up in February when he won the Sony Open in Hawaii. After closing with an 8-under-par 62 that included seven consecutive birdies at one point, he beat Brandt Snedeker with a long two-putt birdie on the second playoff hole. It wasn’t close last year at TPC Southwind, where Gomez finished with a 4-under-par 66 to beat Greg Owen of England by four strokes, closing out the victory with a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Those two victories have made him a lock to qualify for Argentina’s Olympic team along with Emiliano Grillo for the Games later this summer in Rio de Janeiro.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
