To start the FedEx Cup Playoffs, we travel to TPC Southwind (par 70, 7,288 yards, Bermuda greens) in Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. This playoff event has been held at TPC Southwind the last four years and this par 70 has hosted a PGA TOUR event every year since 1958.
Justin Rose (-16) defeated J.J. Spaun in a playoff to win last year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. Only 69 players will be competing and there will be no cut this week. After the FedEx St. Jude Championship, only the top-70 players in the FedEx Cup standings will advance to next week’s BMW Championship. Then, only the top-30 will qualify for the TOUR Championship in two weeks.
Below, I have featured my two favorite bets for the FedEx St. Jude Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Hideki Matsuyama for a top-10 finish including ties (+205)
You gotta love Matsuyama for a top-10 finish at this +205 price. The 34-year-old has been stellar at TPC Southwind. Matsuyama won by two strokes here in 2024 and he finished runner-up in 2021. Matsuyama has tallied five straight top-20 finishes at TPC Southwind and he has eight rounds of 66 or lower at this track, including a 7-under 63 in 2021.
Matsuyama leads this field in strokes gained per round at TPC Southwind and he travels back to the par 70 playing his best golf of the season. The former Masters champion has posted three straight top-seven finishes entering this week, giving him five top-10 finishes for the season. Matsuyama just finished T-7 at the Wyndham Championship last week and he posted two straight 4-under 64s to conclude the event.
Matsuyama gained strokes across the board at Sedgefield and he has shot under par in 11 consecutive rounds. Matsuyama ranks eighth in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and he shouldn’t slow down at TPC Southwind.
Corey Conners for a top-30 finish including ties (+104)
Conners has plenty of experience at TPC Southwind, teeing it up at the course nine times and finishing inside the top-30 in four of those starts. The Canadian finished T-6 at TPC Southwind in 2023 and he fired off back-to-back 5-under 65s over the weekend in that start.
Finding the fairway often gives you an edge at TPC Southwind – three of the last five winners here have finished the event top-20 in fairways gained – and per usual, Conners’ driver has been precise this season, ranking 21st in driving accuracy. Conners also ranks top-40 in both SG APP and in proximity to the hole on 150-175-yard approach shots this season – 23.8% of the approach shots at TPC Southwind over the last five years have come from this distance.
Conners has recorded eight top-30 finishes this season and he has finished T-23 or better in four of his last six starts entering this week. Conners is coming off a T-20 finish at the Rocket Classic and he gained strokes on approach and with his putter at Detroit Golf Club. Conners ranked 10th in SG APP for the tournament and he should have no trouble cracking the top-30 at TPC Southwind in this form.
