69 Pros Enter Southwind Chaos

👋 {{readername | Hey, golf fans}},

We return to a new set of tournaments with high stakes, with the FedEx St. Jude Championship teeing off today. Only the top 50 after this week will head to the next playoff event, but that won’t be easy with TPC Southwind standing as a formidable enemy. We will also cover the latest developments from the DP World Tour on LIV golfers, Rory’s take on his return this week, Miles Russell’s defeat, and more.

Let’s get swinging…

TPC Southwind in Memphis can perhaps be best described as organized chaos. You might go from tree to tree. Or you might make a 13 on a par-3 hole. Yes, it happened to Si Woo Kim. Watch as Kim hit not one, not two, not even three but five shots into the water before finding the land on the 11th attempt. Even then, the ball landed just on the edge of the green. You can never be quite sure what’ll happen next. That’s why it’s going to be fun watching the pros.

Field:

Course: Water comes into play on 11 holes on this Ron Prichard-designed course. Since 2004, the 7,288-yard layout has undergone several renovations, including the rebuilding of its greens in the last two years. In the last 10 events, the average winning score is -15.

Storylines:

The FedEx St. Jude Championship is starting today, but can you tell which golfer won this tournament back-to-back? 87% of our readers failed to answer correctly.

Awaiting disaster: Months after the DP World Tour told selected LIV players, including Jon Rahm, they’d paid their fines for conflicting-event play, whispers say those fines may be reimposed after this season. A Gabby Herzig report says that would nearly guarantee no conditional releases and no free pass to compete without paying again. Was Rahm correct to say the tour is extorting players?

Big Reason: Why is Rory McIlroy teeing it up at the St. Jude Championship after skipping it last year? Weeks after downplaying the first two playoff events, as you can see here, Rory now says it will keep him sharp. He also framed it as a test of where his game stands, an opportunity to tee off in the playoffs, and a sign of loyalty to the Tour. And take a look at his range session—he is already all in.

Another disappointment: Ryder Cowan beat Miles Russell in the U.S. Amateur’s first round. And he did so with just two balls. He used his one fresh ball for the first 10 holes, then switched to a second, more worn ball to close out the teen sensation. Check out his par save on the 17th here—we promise it is the most beautiful shot you will see today. For Russell, however, this is his third defeat in a row.

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Last Poll Result: 42.49% of you said Scottie Scheffler will be the next billionaire after Tiger Woods. 32.35% and 18.82% of you voted for Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, respectively.

Oh, you might want to sit down for this one. An unnamed man hit his tee shot, and it landed inside a trash can. Yes, you read it right, inside a trash can. The ball dropped down into the can through a small opening—check it out here; even you’d wonder how it made it there.

This incident might remind you of the absurd situation Akshay Bhatia found himself in. His tee shot, a spectacular one at that, landed in the middle of the fairway before dropping inside a drain through a hole on the cover. Watch the bizarre moment here.

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