The FedEx St. Jude Championship tees off this week at TPC Southwind.
This is a look at the best first-round leader bets to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The FedEx St. Jude Championship: First Round Leader Picks
The FedEx St. Jude Championship is being played at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. TPC Southwind is a par 70 golf course and ranges 7,288 yards. The Ron Prichard-designed course is hosting the FedEx St. Jude Championship for the fifth straight year. The course was remodeled to be fully Zeon zoysia grass in 2024. It should be a challenging test, but good iron players can excel here. The defending champion is Hideki Matsuyama.
This tournament is the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs. There is a progressive cut throughout the playoffs, so all 70 players in the field will play the whole tournament, then the top 50 will advance to next week’s BMW Championship. Other than Rory McIlroy, who has given himself a “bye” to the next round, all the top players on the PGA Tour will be in this field. Players like Jordan Spieth, Min Woo Lee and Wyndham Clark are looking to remain inside the top 50 and make it to next week. Meanwhile, players like Jason Day, Daniel Berger and Sungjae Im are looking to boost their stock for the eventual Tour Championship. However, betting favorite Scottie Scheffler, as always, will be the man to beat.
Viktor Hovland FRL (+3500)
Viktor Hovland is ranked 26th in the current FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 30 will make the Tour Championship in two weeks, so Hovland needs to perform well over the next two tournaments to maintain his position inside the top 30. However, Hovland is likely thinking bigger things than that. With a win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week, he could skyrocket as high as third in the FedEx Cup standings and get in position to win some major cash. Hovland has always been a great performer in the FedEx Cup playoffs. In 2023, he won the FedEx Cup with an outright win at the BMW Championship and a fantastic performance at the Tour Championship.
In 2024, Hovland really struggled throughout the season, barely qualifying for the playoffs in 57th place. He went out and finished T2 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, skyrocketing up the standings to make the next two rounds. He went on to finish 12th in the final FedEx Cup standings. This history in the playoffs is a strong indicator that this could be a big week for Hovland. He hasn’t had the consistency that he had in 2023 this season, but he has certainly improved on his 2024 form. He won the Valspar Championship, and over the past two months, finished third at the US Open and T11 at the Scottish Open.
This is a great course fit for Hovland as well. In five trips to the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he has four top 20 finishes, including a runner-up finish last year. He is still one of the best iron players in the world, ranking second in shots gained: approach to green. If he can keep the driver straight and drain a few putts, he could easily jump out to the first-round lead and contend all weekend at this event.
Daniel Berger FRL (+4500)
Daniel Berger has returned as a real competitor on the PGA Tour this season. From 2016-2021, Berger had six top-15 finishes at majors and won four PGA Tour events. He made the 2021 Ryder Cup team, but then struggled with a back injury and ended up missing 18 months in the prime of his career trying to fix his back. In 2024, he returned to the PGA Tour but missed 11 cuts in 27 starts. However, he has found some of his old form in 2025 and is a long-shot contender to get back on the Ryder Cup team. Berger has made the cut in 15 of 19 starts this season and has nine top-25 finishes. Berger sits at 30th in the FedEx Cup standings, meaning he needs two great performances to avoid getting bumped out of the Tour Championship.
Luckily, this tournament has been the most successful of Berger’s career. He won this event in both 2016 and 2017. At the time, the event was not a part of the playoffs and was called just the St. Jude Classic. However, it was still held at TPC Southwind, so Berger will be very comfortable and confident on this course. He ranks 16th on Tour in driving accuracy and 11th in shots gained: approach to green this season. If he can execute at a high level and get a couple of putts to drop, it could feel like 2017 for Daniel Berger as he leads the field at TPC Southwind.
