The WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational brings another stellar field to TPC Southwind for the last event before the PGA Championship.<\/b>
\n(CBS Miami) \u2014 The WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational slides back a month on the revised PGA Tour schedule. The new temporary spot \u2014 July 30 through August 2 \u2014 puts it a week before this season\u2019s first major. Despite scheduling, this year\u2019s event is sure to be a far cry from the typical warm-up event.
For one thing, it\u2019s a World Golf Championship tournament, which puts it a step above the standard Tour stop. The purse ($10.5 million) is bigger, and more FedExCup points (550) are on the line. And while not quite on par with a major, it will certainly feel like one this year.
The upcoming FedEx St. Jude boasts the top eight players in the world and 45 of the top 50. That includes recent number one Jon Rahm. \u201cThe guy is just supremely talented,\u201d says CBS Sports golf analyst Trevor Immelman.\u201d And the consistency that he\u2019s showed\u2026 He\u2019s played at 85 PGA Tour events since he\u2019s been a pro; 37 of those he\u2019s been in the top 10, with a number of wins. So, the consistency that he continues to compete with, in the biggest tournaments against the strongest fields, really is impressive.\u201d
The player he replaced, Rory McIlroy, is also back in action after missing the 3M Open. \u201cSince the return to golf, his play hasn\u2019t quite been up to the standards that we\u2019re used to from him,\u201d Immelman points out. \u201cThe interesting thing with McIlroy is it generally just takes something small with him, and then he catches fire and he gets on a run. And he\u2019ll go on a run for two or three months and rattle off three, four, five wins quite quickly. And so he normally just needs a little bit of a spark to get going.\u201d
This would be the time to do it, with the PGA Championship in a week and the FedExCup Tournaments shortly after.
Defending champion Brooks Koepka, who has dropped from the top spot to number six over the course of a strange 2020, will also be looking to turn things around. \u201cHe\u2019s been struggling with a left knee injury,\u201d notes Immelman. \u201cHe had thought that he would be able to get that sorted during the break. But, as he\u2019s come back and started playing week after week again, it has been bugging him. And whether that\u2019s the reason or not, we\u2019re not 100% sure. But he just hasn\u2019t been able to get any of that momentum that we were used to from him, and has been missing a few cuts, just not quite getting things going.\u201d
Recent Tour winners in the field also include Collin Morikawa, who edged out Justin Thomas at the Workday Charity Open, and Bryson DeChambeau, winner of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Dustin Johnson, who won the Travelers Championship but withdrew from the 3M Open with a bad back, also returns.
Tiger Woods will take another week off. In his post-layoff return two weeks ago, he tied for 40th at the Memorial, a pedestrian performance on a course where he dominated earlier in his career. Woods will likely show up for the PGA Championship next week.
The on-course excitement of a Tiger siting at TPC Southwind would have been muted regardless. Spectators will be barred from attending once again this week, as the PGA Tour aims to continue its COVID season. The Tour has been largely successful so far. Testing and social distancing are taken seriously. Compromised players are removed from competition; seven players had to skip the Travelers in late June. While the occasional COVID case was always likely, an outbreak like the one affecting the Miami Marlins has so far been avoided.
This week\u2019s top-notch field will take on TPC Southwind, among the harder courses on the Tour. The track has been part of the circuit since 1989. Up through 2018, it hosted the FedEx St. Jude Classic, and the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational since. The scenic par-70 course measures 7,238 yards and favors ball-strikers who can shape shots with precision. \u201cTwo par-5s and both are reachable,\u201d notes Immelman. \u201cBut there is a number of long par-4s on this golf course, and generally a pretty high premium on hitting the fairway off the tee. So it is quite a challenging golf course for these players.\u201d
In addition to challenging fairways, the greens are firm, unless the weather brings rain. (Thunderstorms are likely Thursday and Friday, and rain is possible Saturday.) Water hazards affect play on more than half of the holes. And when the wind picks up, which is often, the difficulty is compounded that much more. \u201cAll in all, this has always been one of my favorite golf courses on the PGA Tour,\u201d says Immelman.
The 11th hole may be the course\u2019s most recognizable. The 155-yard par-3 is similar to TPC Sawgrass\u2019s iconic island green on 17. The green is surrounded by a pond, with a small bunker guarding the front edge. The wind can hold up a lofty shot and drop it in the water. Longer shots might find one of the two backside bunkers.
Here are the favorites for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational:
Rahm took over the world\u2019s top ranking after his win at the Memorial. His best post-layoff finish prior to that was a tie for 27th at the Workday Charity Open. He fired a first-round 62 last year at TPC Southwind, one stroke off the course record, en route to a seventh-place finish.
McIlroy, the world\u2019s previous number-one player, was just deposed by Rahm. He\u2019s struggled a bit since golf\u2019s return, though has also occasionally seemed on the cusp of pulling things together. A tie for 11th at the Travelers is his best finish since the break. He placed fourth in the event last year.
Before missing the cut at the Memorial, DeChambeau had a streak of four top-10 finishes since golf\u2019s return. That included a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He\u2019s ranked seventh in the world and playing some of the best golf on Tour. While his limited history at TPC Southwind is underwhelming, that was a different player. According to Immelman, \u201cwhen you watch this guy hit a tee shot in person, it is amazing how far he hits the ball, and how accurate he is for how far he hits the ball. This golf course is also going to suit that.\u201d
Thomas has also impressed over the last month and a half. Ranked third in the world, he\u2019s missed one cut in five events since the return and came up just short at the Workday Charity Open. Thomas finished 12th at this event last year. \u201cHe\u2019s got to be one of the guys to watch this week,\u201d says Immelman.
Watch the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Saturday, August 1,2:00 \u2013 6:00 p.m. EST and Sunday, August 2,3:00 \u2013 7:00 p.m. EST on CBS.<\/p>\n