TPC Southwind Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

This week’s PGA Tour site, TPC Southwind, is the surprising answer to this golf trivia question

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 16:16:48 +0000

An aerial view of the 11th green at TPC Southwind. Ben Jared

The PGA Tour playoffs begin this week, with the 70 golfers who qualified off the regular-season points list competing in the FedEx St Jude Championship. As the top-ranked players head to TPC Southwind just outside of Memphis, a few words of warning for them: First, be prepared for triple-digit heat. Second, be prepared to be overwhelmed by barbecue options. Third, be prepared to lose a lot of golf balls.

Indeed, the Ron Prichard design holds a distinction that might surprise a fair amount of golf fans. Since 2003, tour pros have hit more balls into the water at TPC Southwind than any other golf course played on the PGA Tour.

According to the tour, in the past two decades players have dunked 6,166 balls into the water hazards at Southwind.

OK, so maybe it’s not that surprising considering water comes into play on 10 holes. Still, that 6,166 number outpaces by more than 1,000 balls the course that’s No. 2 on the list — and far more commonly known for its water hazards — the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. The home of the Players Championship, according to the tour, registered 5,089 water balls.

Coming in third at 5,022 is Memorial Tournament host Muirfield Village with 5,022. Fourth is the Golf Club of Houston, site of the Houston Open from 2006 to 2020, with 4,020. And fifth was TPC Scottdale, where the WM Phoenix Open is played, with 3,806.

Perhaps there should be an asterisk attached to this bit of trivia. A handful of courses on the PGA Tour have more recently topped the annual list of most water balls, but they haven’t been playing host to their events for 20 years. With 27 water hazards on the course, TPC Twin Cities, site of the 3M Open, had 317 balls find the water in 2021, tops on tour that year, and 303 in 2022.

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LIV Golf fallout? Theft? Solving the mystery of Dustin Johnson’s missing FedEX Cup plaque at TPC Southwind

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 05:23:03 +0000

By Shane Ryan
The scene: Dustin Johnson, leading the 2018 FedEx St Jude Classic on the 18th at TPC Southwind on Sunday, stood over his ball about 170 yards from the hole. The moment would be more dramatic if the tournament was close, but in fact Johnson had a four-shot cushion, and by this point the event was effectively over. Still, he had one last piece of magic up his sleeve — a final dramatic act, even in the absence of real competitive drama:

Not long after that eagle 2 on the par-4 finishing hole, a plaque was put in place to commemorate the walk-off shot. Not on the tee, or in the clubhouse, but on the course itself, in the exact square of grass where Johnson hit his 9-iron.

“From this spot,” it read, “Dustin Johnson holed a 9-iron to win the FedEx St. Jude Classic and return to #1 in the World. June 10, 2018.”

Judging by the date of the Facebook post below, it was installed sometime between the end of the tournament in June and the following September.

However, when they play the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs here at TPC Southwind this week, players and fans searching for the marker will be out of luck. The plaque is no longer in the rough along the 18th hole.

So what happened? Was it stolen? Where did the plaque go, and why was it taken away? The easy impulse is to chalk it up to the PGA Tour removing the memento after DJ’s move to LIV Golf and his subsequent resignation from the tour. His name has been scrubbed from the career money list, so making sure it’s not permanently etched into the ground at a playoff venue would seem a reasonable extension, no? Plus, you don’t necessarily want to celebrate the heroics of a guy who now plays for your sworn rival, particularly during the playoffs.

In fact, PGA Tour representatives said it wasn’t their call — and weren’t even aware that the plaque was gone. They facilitated inquiries to the club to get to the bottom of the vanishing plaque, and after a day and a half of unreturned calls from the superintendent’s office, Burt Baine, the general manager at TPC Southwind, came through with the story. According to Baine, it’s not as exciting as it may have seemed at first glance.

Turns out, there was course construction scheduled in the autumn of 2019, at which point the plaque was removed in order to accommodate the machines. New bunkers were placed alongside the fairway, and one of the bunkers happened to go in the exact spot where Johnson hit his shot. The plaque was actually replaced following construction anyway, but was no longer in the correct spot. That state of affairs continued for two-and-a-half years, until spring 2022, when Baine said they finally decided to remove the plaque permanently due to its inaccuracy. Baine couldn’t give me the exact date of the removal, but thought it happened sometime in May — and insisted that it had nothing to do with Johnson’s move to LIV golf, which became official May 31.

Today, Baine said, the plaque is stored in a maintenance building somewhere on the course — “I don’t think we’d have thrown it out” —but now that there’s a bunker in the spot where Johnson hit his 9-iron, we shouldn’t expect to see it ever again. And though the decision was apparently not influenced by LIV Golf, one suspects that deep down, the tour won’t be terribly upset to see this particular piece of history buried in a shed, safely out of public view.

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It’s a must-watch reunion between Phil Mickelson and his former caddie at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 07:56:41 +0000

Ross Kinnaird
Jim “Bones” Mackay (left) and Phil Mickelson won 42 PGA Tour events as a team.

By Tod Leonard
It might be light and airy. It might be awkward. It might be strictly business. We know this: When Phil Mickelson and his former caddie of 25 years, Jim (Bones) Mackay, come face to face on the first tee on Sunday at TPC Southwind in Memphis, it will be fascinating theatre.

Mickelson and Mackay, who parted ways three years ago after this tournament, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, will be reunited on the golf course in a group for the first time since their breakup.

Mackay, of course, took an on-course commentating job with NBC and Golf Channel, though he has made cameo appearances of late on the bag of Matthew Fitzpatrick and now Justin Thomas, whose regular caddie,Jimmy Johnson, has been undergoing tests since becoming ill at the Memorial Tournament.

On Phil’s bag is his brother, Tim, who gave up being Jon Rahm’s agent to loop after Mackay’s departure.

At least on television, Mackay and Mickelson have crossed paths only by happenstance. Much of that might be due to Mackay working among the lead groups, of which Mickelson has not often been a part of in the last few years. The Hall of Famer has won twice since Mackay left the bag—they won 42 times and five majors together— but Mickelson has only one top-10 finish in 13 starts this season.

On the strength of a four-under-par 66 on Saturday, Mickelson moved into a tie for sixth place at seven under, five off the lead of Brandon Todd. After his second 66 of the week, Thomas is one shot ahead of Mickelson, alone in fifth.

With Mackay on his bag for two events at Muirfield Village, Fitzpatrick followed a tie for 27th in the Workday Charity Open with a solo third in the Memorial. Thomas is trying for his third win of the season.

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Watch Dustin Johnson hit a walk-off eagle to win the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 05:18:41 +0000

(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

By Ryan Herrington
There’s getting your game in shape for a major championship and then there’s what Dustin Johnson did on Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. DJ started the day at TPC Southwind tied for the lead with Andrew Putnam, only to speed away from him and the rest of the field outside of Memphis.

Standing in the fairway on the 18th hole with a four-shot edge, DJ had essentially salted the tournament away when he then hit a shot there reverberated all the way to Shinnecock Hills.

The exclamation point on the victory!@DJohnsonPGA wins the @fesjcmemphis with a walk-off eagle on 18.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/HKkthusswe

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 10, 2018

Yep, a walk-off eagle. … Poor Andrew Putnam never knew what hit him.

As if the shot wasn’t impressive enough, look again at the reaction from DJ. The nonchalant smile, following by the patented panther strut. If you didn’t know that the victory returns him to No. 1 in the World Ranking, you did with that march to the green to pick his ball out of the hole.

Not long ago, Justin Thomas hit a final-hole eagle at the WGC-Mexico Championship in March. But that was only to get into a playoff, and he eventually lost the title to Phil Mickelson.

For the record, Johnson used a 9-iron that he hit 171 yards using a TaylorMade P730 DJ prototype. Complete with his own initials on the club.

Yep, that’s a boss for you.

Watch out U.S. Open. DJ is on his way.

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The clubs Dustin Johnson used to win the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 05:11:27 +0000

MEMPHIS, TN – JUNE 08: Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the seventh tee during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 8, 2018, in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

By E. Michael Johnson
Dustin Johnson holed a 9-irons from 171 yards at the last with his TaylorMade P730 DJ Proto irons, but that was just piling on. The real damage was done during the course of the week with his driver and putter. In winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Johnson used his TaylorMade M4 driver to average 320.3 yards for the week, including an impressive 330.5 yards on Sunday.

The driver (as well as its sister M3 model) features a technology called Twist Face, where the face curves more open as it moves toward the toe and curves more closed as it moves toward the heel. Although it isn’t really detectable at address, the idea is to help off-centre hits fly straighter than they would with conventional bulge and roll. Johnson, who will sometimes use the company’s M3 model, also used the M4 when he earlier this year at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Johnson also returned to his TaylorMade Spider Tour Black putter after a brief tryout with the company’s new Spider Mini model. Johnson posted a very respectable .965 strokes gained mark for the week after reuniting with the putter.

Interestingly, Johnson went back to a Spider Tour Black with no sightline on the crown. Earlier this year he used one with a T-shaped alignment line after visiting the company’s putter lab in Carlsbad, Calif., where the Tour team built him 12 identical Spider Tour putters. Each of the putters had a different sight line and Johnson hit five putts with each (flat, 15-footers) and found the one with a T-line alignment was aimed nearly centre on every putt, prompting Johnson to put the club in the bag at the start of the new year.

Johnson’s win continues a strong run at TPC Southwind as he now has four top 10s in five starts (not counting a WD), including wins in 2012 and 2018.

What Dustin Johnson had in the bag at the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x

Driver: TaylorMade M4 (Fujikura Speeder Evolution 661X), 10.5 degrees

3-wood: TaylorMade M4, 16.5 degrees

Irons (3-PW): TaylorMade P730 DJ Proto

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52, 60 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind Hi-Toe (64 degrees)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Black

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Andrew Putnam ready for the challenge of facing off with Dustin Johnson in the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 10 Jun 2018 05:54:36 +0000

MEMPHIS, TN – JUNE 09: Andrew Putnam hits his second shot on the first hole during the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 9, 2018, in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers

On Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, Andrew Putnam will play in the final pairing for the first time in his career thanks to a second-straight six-under 64 on Saturday at TPC Southwind. His reward? He gets to face Dustin Johnson, who kept it rolling in his third round with a five-under 65, putting him in a tie at the top with Putnam at 15-under 195.

Normally, this may have prompted a canned “just treat it like any other round” response from a tour pro still finding his footing on the PGA Tour, but that wasn’t the case with Putnam. He knows this won’t be like any other final round he’s played in his professional career, even though he’s won twice on the Web.com Tour.

“It’s going to feel a little different than the typical Sunday round of golf,” said Putnam, the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes. “But I’m excited about it, I’ve earned my way here and I feel like it’s going to be a fun day. We’ll see what happens, just keep going with the game plan and see what we can do.”

The game plan has been a good one so far, especially on the greens, where Putnam has seen noticeable improvement following a post-round practice session after he shot a three-under 67 on Thursday. For the week, he ranks 23rd in strokes-gained/putting.

“I felt like I hit the ball the best my first round and just didn’t get anything to drop,” he said. “Putted a little bit afterwards, matching the line up with the speed. I grew up on poa annua and I think it’s just a little different putting from poa annua to bermuda. I love bermuda too, I putt well on it, it’s just lining up the line and the speed and the last 36 (holes) have been pretty good.”

He’s going to really love bermuda if he can hole a few more on Sunday and capture his first PGA Tour victory, and his first win as a professional since the 2017 Panama Claro Championship on the Web.com Tour.

For Johnson, it was another smooth walk to the clubhouse, as he made just one bogey and six birdies to remain atop the leaderboard. He’s been the best player tee to green this week and leads the field in birdies with 18. A win on Sunday would be the 18th of his career, and his second in this event, which he won in 2012.

Alone in third is 45-year-old Stewart Cink, who carded a six-under 64 that included a hole-in-one on the 144-yard par-3 eighth. This is Cink’s second start since a cancer scare that required him to undergo surgery to have a sizable chunk of tissue removed from the right side of his nose. He’s five back at 10-under 200.

Richy Werenski and Wesley Bryan are tied for fourth at nine-under 201, while Chez Reavie is in solo sixth at eight-under 202.

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Daniel Berger shoots 66, successfully defends title at FedEx St. Jude Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 05:50:32 +0000

MEMPHIS, TN – JUNE 11: Daniel Berger plays his shot from the seventh tee during the final round of the FedEX St. Jude Classic at the TPC Southwind on June 11, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers

Daniel Berger did not begin his round optimally Sunday at TPC Southwind. He missed the fairway on the 434-yard par-4, then his approach found high grass left of the green. He chunked a chip short of the putting surface, leaving him a nervy par chip from 25-feet away. Berger holed it and never looked back, shooting a bogey-free 66 to successfully defend his title at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Berger, 24, was not a factor through the first 36 holes, shooting rounds of 70 and 68, leaving him seven shots off the lead. But a pair of 66s over the weekend to get to 10-under overall proved to be enough, despite those chasing him with numerous chances to match or better his score.

The victory makes him the fourth back-to-back champion in the tournament’s history, joining Dave Hill, Lee Trevino and David Toms as the others to do so. He also joins those three, Nick Price, and Justin Leonard as a multiple-winner of the event. It solidifies what’s been an already strong season for Berger, with four top-10s, five top-25s, and now well over $2 million in earnings. Next week, he will tee it up in his third U.S. Open, where he’s finished in the top-40 both times.

After potentially shooting himself out of the tournament on Saturday with a four-over 74, Charl Schwartzel came back on Sunday, posting a four-under 66. It would ultimately leave him one shot short at nine-under, but the South African should be happy with where his game is at heading into Erin Hills.

Tying Schwartzel for second at nine-under was Whee Kim, who fired a three-under 67. It’s the best finish of the South Korean’s career, and comes after missing six of his last seven cuts.

Two of the best rounds of the day came from Billy Horschel and amateur Braden Thornberry. Horschel’s six-under 64 was the low of the field in the final round, and featured birdies on his final four holes. Thornberry, the 2017 Haskins Award winner and NCAA individual champion, carded a bogey-free five-under 65. They both finished at eight-under for the tournament, tying for fourth with Rafa Cabrera Bello, Kevin Chappell and Chez Reavie.

Amidst all the chatter surrounding his status in the U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson could have pulled off a victory on Sunday in Memphis. The five-time major champion had a share of the lead at nine-under on the 10th hole, but a triple-bogey seven on the par-4 12th effectively ended his bid. He finished in solo ninth at seven-under after shooting a two-under 68.

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