2022 FedEx St. Jude Betting Picks Preview

The top 125 golfers in the FedExCup standings will travel to Tennessee for the FedEx St. Jude Championship which is the opening playoff event of the PGA Tour’s season-long points competition. Nestled in the rolling countryside just southeast of Memphis sits TPC Southwind, which is hosting a playoff event for the first time. It is a course that is infamous for its “water balls” and one that historically rewards the best ball-strikers in the world. In the past six events played at this course, winners have included some of the best ball-strikers in the world, including Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Abraham Ancer, and Daniel Berger (twice).

Only the top 70 in the FedExCup standings after this week will advance to the BMW Championship. This is also the last tournament this season with a cut. Even with a smaller field, the top 65 and ties will advance to the weekend. Since this course has hosted a PGA Tour event every year since 1989, we have plenty of course history and data to rely on this week. With $15 million in prize money on the line, the top players are motivated not to treat this week as a warm-up for the following two rounds.

Of course, an entire host of prominent names will not be in Memphis this week. Players like Koepka, Johnson, Ancer, and Bryson DeChambeau are suspended from playing in PGA events after joining the rival LIV Golf tour. Three players, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones, are seeking a temporary restraining order to allow them to play this week. With a court date set for Tuesday, if they are allowed to play after current Tour players have come out strongly against the notion, there could be some major drama throughout the week.

Keys to Success

The stretch run for the conclusion of the 2021-2022 PGA Tour season is upon us. This first round of the playoffs is the last cut event of the season. With all the drama of the three LIV players attempting to get into this tournament, and today, being rejected, the fact remains that a good deal of depth for this first playoff round is missing. The bottom half of this field is definitely more watered down. That is definitely not good for the PGA Tour’s product, and I believe it makes it more difficult to find value on the betting board. That being said, I love this course. There are so many challenging aspects to it, but not in a “major course” type of way. There is a lot of water. Good shots will be rewarded. Double bogeys will happen. It is pretty much a ball-striking paradise.