For the 51st consecutive year, the PGA Tour visits Memphis, as this week’s Stanford St. Jude is held at Southwind’s TPC course. Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, and defending champion Woody Austin will be among the headliners, competing for a total purse of $6 million in golf’s final tune-up before the U.S. Open. Also scheduled to compete are two-time champ David Toms, Boo Weekley, John Daly, Ernie Els, and 2007 British Open champion Padraig Harrington.
Each year, more than 100,000 golf fans flock to the longest-running annual event on the Bluff City sports calendar. From Jack Nicklaus to Lee Trevino to Greg Norman, the game’s greatest names have been crowned champion in Memphis. And from Al Geiberger’s 59 in 1977 to John Cook’s 26-under-par in 1996, Memphis continues to be the site for record-shattering scores. (Austin’s final-round 62 a year ago was the lowest Sunday score by any champ in Memphis history.)
Since 1970, the tournament’s sole beneficiary has been St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, with almost $20 million donated to date. A new twist this weekend will be Seersucker Sunday, when the new champion will be fitted for a Memphis version of the Masters’ famed Green Jacket. No barbecue stains, please. And hush, y’all.
Stanford St. Jude Championship, June 2nd-June 8th at TPC Southwind. For tickets and more information,
go to stanfordstjude.com.