PGA Odds: Most of the world’s top golfers are taking this week off to prepare for next week’s U.S. Open but six of the world’s top 25 are in the field for this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic including Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson. Johnson is a slight favorite to win with Mickelson the second choice. Here is a look at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and PGA predictions.
U.S. Open Prep
The FedEx St. Jude Classic is the last event before next week’s U.S. Open. Most of the world’s top golfers are skipping this event but some will be in the field because they need to improve their games. Johnson is the favorite which makes sense considering he won this event in 2012 and was 10th last year. Mickelson needs the work based on how he has played recently and it appears that Matt Kuchar is going to be a last minute addition to the field. He badly needs this tournament as he didn’t even make the cut at Colonial last week.
Tough Course
The TPC Southwind in Memphis was the third hardest par 70 on the PGA Tour a year ago. The fairways are not that wide and the greens are small. The winds could be a major problem this weekend so the scores might be even higher than normal. Rain could also be an issue in Memphis this week which will make the course unpredictable.
Top Contenders
Johnson has six top 15 finishes this year and he is a logical choice considering he won this event in 2012. Mickelson is a big name but he has not played well for most of this season. Westwood is another big name but he rarely wins. Kuchar would be a good choice if he figures out what went wrong last week. He is the only golfer in the field in the top ten in the current world golf rankings.
PGA Predictions
I will take Johnson at odds of 14-1 and for my longshot I will go with John Senden who is listed with PGA odds of about 30-1.
