Daily Fantasy Golf Course Primer: St. Jude Classic
With just one week left before the U.S. Open, we were gifted with a three-man playoff at the Memorial this past weekend, and we have the St. Jude Classic on tap this week at TPC Southwind.
Here's what we need to know about the course this week.
Course and Tournament Info
TPC Southwind is a 7,244-yard par 70 with Bermudagrass greens and Zoysia fairways. The course generally plays tough, though the field is also generally a weak one. In fact, TPC Southwind hasn't played under par since 2003, coinciding with a redesign in 2004.
Year | Difficulty Rank | Course | Par | Yards | Avg Score | Avg O/U Par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 15 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,244 | 70.630 | 0.630 |
2016 | 10 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,244 | 70.930 | 0.930 |
2015 | 9 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 70.933 | 0.933 |
2014 | 12 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 70.718 | 0.718 |
2013 | 14 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 70.760 | 0.760 |
2012 | 10 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 71.240 | 1.240 |
2011 | 9 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 70.987 | 0.987 |
2010 | 11 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 70.815 | 0.815 |
2009 | 20 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 70.291 | 0.291 |
2008 | 4 | TPC Southwind | 70 | 7,239 | 72.534 | 2.534 |
A weak field is the case again this week, as just 4 of the world's top 20 are in the field, and only 13 of the U.S. Open entrants are here this week.
Key Stats
These stats stand out as the most important at TPC Southwind.
Key Stats for the St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind |
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Strokes Gained: Approach |
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee |
Par 4 Scoring |
Proximity from 150-200 Yards |
Via FantasyGolfMetrics, those making the top 25 here since 2003 earned, on average, 0.39 strokes gained: approach. Those missing the cut lost 0.75. Per datagolf.ca, strokes gained: approach matters significantly more at TPC Southwind than on other courses on the PGA Tour. To a lesser degree, so has strokes gained: off the tee.
The par 70 lends itself to three par 3s, but par 3 scoring can be pretty flukey. Instead, we'll look to par 4 scoring and proximity from 150 to 200 yards (generally broken up from 150 to 175 and from 175 to 200 yards). Three of the four par 3s fall in this range anyway.
Course History Studs
Daniel Berger has repeated as champion here the past two seasons, his only tries at TPC Southwind.
Per datagolf.ca, Phil Mickelson leads the tour with +2.55 adjusted strokes gained per round at TPC Southwind over his 20 rounds here since 2010. That's resulted in a 2nd in 2013, 11th in 2014, 3rd in 2015, 2nd in 2016, and 9th in 2017. That's some elite consistency from Lefty.
Dustin Johnson will get one final tuneup before Shinnecock Hills. DJ has averaged +2.16 adjusted strokes gained in his 16 rounds here (win in 2012, 10th in 2013, 24th in 2014, withdrawal in 2015, and 5th in 2016).
Brooks Koepka, last year's U.S. Open winner, will try to rekindle his form. At TPC Southwind, he's third in adjusted strokes gained per round (+1.98) and has finished 19th, 3rd, 2nd, and 37th since 2014.
Fabian Gomez won here three years ago, missed the cut in 2016, and bounced back with an 18th in 2017.
Harris English's finishes here in the past five years include a win back in 2013, a missed cut, a 45th, a 26th, and a 10th.
Chez Reavie has played here every other year since 2011: missed cut, 27th, 12th, 4th (last season). He's earned +1.35 adjusted strokes gaiend per round.
You can see more recent form via SmartGolfBets and adjusted strokes gained via datagolf.