|
 1. Webb Simpson, United States -- After switching to a conventional
putter a year before anchored putters will be banned, Simpson saw
the move pay off and is starting to play like the guy who captured
the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. He tied for
second in his last outing, the Wells Fargo Championship, recording
his fourth top-10 finish of the 2014-15 season. Webb is making his
fifth start in the FedEx St. Jude Classic and posted his best
result, a tie for third, last year by closing with 66-69-66 to wind
up two strokes behind winner Ben Crane. That is his only top-25
finish at TPC Southwind.
2. Billy Horschel, United States -- The reigning FedEx Cup champion
finally seems to have his game back in gear, as he has finished in
the top 20 in each of his past three tournaments, including a tie
for 13th in the Players Championship and a tie for 11th in the
Memorial Tournament last week. Horschel finished in the top 10 both
of the past two years in the FedEx St. Jude Classic, shooting the
par of 70 or better all three days to tie for sixth a year ago,
three strokes behind winner Ben Crane, and tying for 10th in 2013 by
closing with scores of 69-68-67.
3. Dustin Johnson, United States -- The 2012 FedEx St. Jude Classic
champion, Johnson ranks seventh in the FedEx Cup point standings
this season. He has been flirting with his second victory this year
lately by tying for eighth in the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he shot
62 in round three, and tying for 13th in the Memorial Tournament,
where he had another strong third round with a 65. Johnson played
the last three rounds in 68-67-66 three years ago to win by one
stroke over John Merrick. He tied for 10th in his title defense and
tied for 24th last year, when a 75 in round three knocked him out of
contention.
4. Jamie Donaldson, Wales -- The Welshman is playing this week for
the first time in the FedEx St. Jude Classic to warm up for his
third appearance in the U.S. Open next week at Chambers Bay. He
apparently wants to play his way into the second major of the year
after missing the cut last year at Pinehurst No. 2 and tying for
32nd in 2013 after being idle the week before each time. Donaldson
finished in the top 20 in each of his past three tournament,
including a tie for eighth in the Players Championship at TPC
Sawgrass and a tie for 18th in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth
outside London.
5. Phil Mickelson, United States -- Lefty almost always plays the
week before a major, and this week is no exception. He will tee it
up in the FedEx St. Jude Classic for the fifth time. Mickelson tied
for second two years ago, closing with scores of 67-65-66 to wind up
two shots behind Harris English. Last year, he opened with 67-68-67,
but a closing 72 left him in a tie for 11th. Anything similar would
give him some momentum heading into his bid to complete the career
Grand Slam next week in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Mickelson has
only two top-10 finishes this year, but he has a history of reviving
his game out of the blue.
6. Harris English, United States -- After getting off to a strong
start this year with a tie for third in the Sony Open in Hawaii and
losing in a playoff to Jason Day in the Farmers Insurance Open,
English struggled somewhat until two recent top-20 results,
including a tie for 18th last week at the Memorial Tournament.
English claimed the first of his two PGA Tour victories in the FedEx
St. Jude Classic two years ago, when he posted four scores in the
60s to beat Phil Mickelson and Scott Stalling by two strokes. Last
year in his title defense, he shot 73-68--141 at TPC Southwind and
missed the cut by one shot.
[to top of second column] |
7. Troy Merritt, United States -- Last year, Merritt posted the best
finish of his career on the PGA Tour when he opened with 66-67-66 in
the FedEx St. Jude Classic and kept the pressure on winner Ben Crane
while finishing one stroke back in solo second. He closed with a 71
in the rain-plagued tournament and might have been in a playoff if
he hadn't hit his drive into the rough on the 15th hole and missed a
15-foot putt for par. Merritt's best golf this season came when he
finished solo sixth in the Valspar Championship in March and solo
third in the RBC Heritage in April. He hopes to find the same magic
he had last year at TPC Southwind.
8. Ryan Palmer, United States -- Having won three times on the PGA
Tour, but not since the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii, Palmer is showing
this season that No. 4 might not be far off. He has four finishes in
the top 10 and eight in the top 25, including a tie for second in
the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a tie for sixth in the Valero
Texas Open and a tie for 10th last week in the Memorial Tournament.
Palmer has been close in the FedEx St. Jude Classic, too, finishing
fourth two years ago by posting scores of 67-65-67 on the last three
days and tying for third in 2012 by closing with 66-67-66.
9. Steven Bowditch, Australia -- Following his second PGA Tour
victory a week earlier in the AT&T Byron Nelson, Bowditch continued
to play well and was on the verge of another top-10 finish last week
in the Memorial Tournament. However, he seemed to run out of gas
while closing with an 8-over-par 80, and he plummeted to a tie for
48th. If that one round was only a minor bump in the road, the
Aussie might finally perform well this week in the FedEx St. June
Classic, in which he has missed the cut in three of his five
previous appearances and withdrew after opening with a 79 in 2009 at
TPC Southwind.
10. Ben Crane, United States -- Defending his title in the FedEx St.
Jude Classic might be exactly what Crane needs, because his 2014-15
season has been one to forget thus far. His best result in 15
tournaments was a tie for 29th in the limited-field Hyundai
Tournament of Champions in January. He has missed the cut six times,
including twice in his past three outings. Last year at TPC
Southwind, Crane claimed the fifth title of his PGA Tour career by
going almost wire to wire, recording scores of 63-65-69 before
closing with a 73 that did not include a birdie to eke out a
one-stroke victory over Troy Merritt with a bogey at No. 18.
-----------------------------------------------
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
