TOUR Insider: Stanford St. Jude Championship  PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent Expect scores to head north again on the TPC Southwind this week during the 50th anniversary of the PGA TOUR event in Memphis now known as the Stanford St. Jude Championship. Jeff Maggert's winning score of 9-under-par 271 marked the first time since the storied event moved to TPC Southwind in 1989 that the champion did not reach double digits under par. John Mahaffey's 12 under winning score in '89 was the previous high, and Loren Roberts, who lives near the course in suburban Germantown, Tenn., thinks that number might not be reachable again.  The TOUR Insider thinks David Toms could be this week's winner. (Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
"If someone averages 2-3-under par every day, he'll probably be your winner," says Roberts, who, nearing his 52nd birthday, still has to be considered a favorite given his vast experience at TPC Southwind and the fact that he is coming off a victory Sunday at the Boeing Championship in Destin, Fla., his first Champions Tour win of 2007. "It's really a much harder test now." What brought added complexity to the challenge of the reconfigured par-70 layout of 7,244 yards is the Champions Bermudagrass that was planted in place of bentgrass before last year's event. It made the greens firmer and faster. In addition, this year's event is two weeks later than '06; that extra two weeks of growing time will make a difference in the thickness of the Bermudagrass rough. Temperatures for much of the week are expected to soar into the 90s, but even high humidity and some thunderstorms won't take much of the fire out of it, says Roberts, who has three top-10s in a tournament he has missed just once since 1994. He adds that the course will play shorter than the advertised yardage, giving modest hitters like himself a better chance at winning. Making the task harder is a beefed up field. The slot prior to the U.S. Open has been a boon to the Memphis stop in attracting talent, particularly from abroad. Adam Scott, No. 4 in the world rankings, Retief Goosen (10), Padraig Harrington (11) and Sergio Garcia (12) each makes his tournament debut this week. No. 5 Vijay Singh returns for the first time since 1992. And U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, No. 8 in the world, also has entered despite missing the cut in his three previous visits to TPC Southwind. Worth Knowing: No. 2 and reigning PLAYERS champion Phil Mickelson, who withdrew from the Memorial Tournament with a left wrist injury, dearly wants to play this week, but said he is "50-50" as a probable starter because he doesn't want to aggravate the inflamed area with the U.S. Open the following week. Mickelson has only played the Memphis stop once, missing the cut in 2001. David Toms no doubt has a great affection for TPC Southwind, having gone fourth, first, first, second and tied for 10th in his last five appearances. He has just one round over par in that span while shooting a collective 65-under par. The defending champion, Jeff Maggert, won for the first time in more than seven years on the PGA TOUR and third time overall with his victory at the then-named FedEx St. Jude Classic. The key was putting: Maggert took just 99, one of two players all year to have fewer than 100 over 72 holes. He also led the field in driving accuracy (45 of 56). EDS Byron Nelson Championship winner Scott Verplank this week makes his 501st PGA TOUR start. He is playing in the Stanford St. Jude Championship for the first time since he tied for 18th in 1999. Jason Gore, who finished 63rd and 62nd in his first two appearances in Memphis, is back again, but now he is armed with a new ball, shoe and glove deal with Titleist that was finalized prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. Forty-four players who competed in the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley were scheduled to go through 36-hole qualifying Monday in Columbus at Scioto Country Club and Ohio State University's Scarlet Course, which next month hosts a new Nationwide Tour event. Of those 44 players, 29 are slated to compete in Memphis. There has never been a native Floridian in the winner's circle, and even with the switch to Bermudagrass greens last year, only one man from the Sunshine State finished in the top 15: Briny Baird, who tied for fifth. |
