The final event before the US Open sees the PGA Tour make its regular trip to Memphis for the FedEx St Jude Classic at TPC Southwind.
A par 70 measuring 7,224 yards, the course usually plays quite tough thanks to small greens and water being in play on 10 holes, with 13 under par the best winning score in the last five years.
That was the total posted by 2016 winner Daniel Berger, who is back to defend his title, while Rickie Fowler heads the St Jude Classic betting market at 8/1 following his tie for second in the Memorial Tournament last week.
Brooks Koepka is second favourite after finishing third and second in Memphis in the last two years, but although the big-hitting American is in my thoughts for the US Open, odds of 12/1 are too short.
Instead, our first St Jude Classic selection at the top of the market goes to former world number one Adam Scott, who can be backed at 14/1 to claim his first win of the season.
Scott’s sole appearance at TPC Southwind came in 2007, when he led by three shots with a round to go before fading to seventh, but top-10 finishes in the Masters and Players Championship show that the Australian tends to perform better on tougher courses.
The presence of next week’s US Open on the horizon can mean some players will not be fully focused in Memphis, but that cannot be said of our second choice, Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson announced last week that, barring unforeseen circumstances, he would miss the event he needs to win to complete the career grand slam in order to attend his daughter’s high school graduation.
That leaves the five-time major winner free to concentrate on the task at hand at TPC Southwind, where his form figures since 2013 read 2-11-3-2. Although the lack of a victory since the 2013 Open remains a concern, those figures mean Mickelson cannot be ignored at 16/1.
There is another US Open link to our next choice, with Harris English coming through one of the 36-hole sectional qualifiers on Monday to book his place at Erin Hills.
English won his first PGA Tour title in Memphis in 2013 and bounced back from four missed cuts in a row to finish in a tie for 29th on his most recent start before Monday’s success. English can be backed at 66/1.
And finally, Scott Piercy needs a good finish to move into the top 60 in the world rankings and qualify for the US Open, so he can be backed at 50/1 in the St Jude Classic outright market or 5/1 for the top 10 which would seal his place.
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