The first of the final three events to the 2022-23 PGA Tour season begin this week with the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The playoffs begin at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. for the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings made the cut to play this week. After this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, the top 50 make next week’s BMW Championship before the top 30 make the Tour Championship.
| Tournament | Dates |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Aug. 10-13 |
| BMW Championship | Aug. 17-20 |
| Tour Championship | Aug. 24-27 |
Some of the PGA Tour’s best players are on hand as look to go after the coveted FedEx Cup in a few weeks.
There are even some stars who did not make the top 70, which a change within the last year. Prior to this season, it had been the top 125 that made the first leg of the playoffs.
Justin Thomas was one stroke shy of making this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship field, but his ball lipped out for birdie on the 72nd hole, finishing the season in 71st place. In addition, Adam Scott also finished outside the top 70, making Matt Kuchar as the lone player to make the playoffs since its inaugural year in 2007. Kuchar enters this year’s playoff at No. 60.
As a result, there was more competition both at the top of leaderboard and fighting for position in the standings as the season-long race for the FedEx Cup progressed.
The top player in the FedEx Cup standings entering the playoffs is Jon Rahm, who has won four times this season, all of which came before May.
Including Rahm, three of the four 2023 major winners are present in the birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll, in Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman. Clark, who won the U.S. Open, enters as the No. 5 seed and Harman, who won the Open Championship last month, enters as the No. 6 seed.
TPC Southwind is a par-70 course, measuring 7,243 yards as the shortened field will challenged by multiple lakes, streams and ponds as water hazards. As a result, players are going to have to rely on keeping tee shots in the fairway and securing greens in regulation.
Will Zalatoris, who has been recovering from an injured back and is targeting an October return, defeated Sepp Straka on the third playoff hole last year to claim his first PGA Tour title after coming up close on multiple occasions.
Related: World Golf Rankings: A look at the top 10 entering the FedEx Cup Playoffs
What channel is the FedEx St. Jude Championship on?
The FedEx St. Jude Championship will be televised between CBS and the Golf Channel.
Television schedule for the FedEx St. Jude Championship
| Round | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
| 1 | Thursday, August 10 | 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| 2 | Friday, August 11 | 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| 3 | Saturday, August 12 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Golf Channel CBS |
| 4 | Sunday, August 13 | 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Golf Channel CBS |
Other coverage for the FedEx St. Jude Championship
In addition to CBS and the Golf Channel, the FedEx St. Jude Championship will also be broadcasted on ESPN+ and Peacock. PGA Tour Live for the marquee and feature groups can be exclusively found on ESPN+ for all four days of the tournament, in addition to the featured holes at 4, 11, 14 and 16.
The FedEx St. Jude Championship will also be on the airwaves of Sirius XM.
Thursday, August 10 (Round 1)
ESPN+: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Friday, August 11 (Round 2)
ESPN+: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, August 12 (Round 3)
ESPN+: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, August 13 (Round 4)
ESPN+: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
How much are tickets for the FedEx St. Jude Championship?
Tickets for the FedEx St. Jude Championship begin at $75 to walk the grounds and increase depending on various hospitality or club venues, including The Michelob Ultra Athletic Club and the Freight 59 Club.
In addition, The Military Ticket Program offers active, retired or reserved military members and veteran two free grounds admissions per day while two youth, ages 15 and under receive admission with a ticketed adult.
Payout for the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship
The total purse for the FedEx St. Jude Championship is set at $20 million and the winner will receive $3.6 million. In addition, the winner will receive 2,000 points towards the FedEx Cup standings. The points have been quadrupled to make the standings more interesting as the playoffs progresses.
Who are some of the top golfers in the FedEx St. Jude Championship field?
Besides Thomas and Scott, most of the PGA Tour brightest stars are present. In addition to Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy headline the event. The key thing to watch for McIlroy is his putting, but also his opportunity to defend his FedEx Cup title from last year.
Heading into this week’s event, Rahm holds a 174-point lead, which is not much with the points being quadrupled for the St. Jude Championships this week and next week’s BMW Championship.
For perspective of how wild quadrupled points are, if Ben Griffin, ranked No. 70, wins, he rises all the up to No. 3 heading into the final two events. In addition, the lowest player in the standings that can leap Rahm with a win is Sam Burns, ranking No. 19, who stands at 1,335 points.
It is a star-studded field as those who also make it to next week’s BMW Championship get rewarded by receiving entry into to next season’s signature events.
The chances to win are more than doubled this week with 70 in the field compared a full, 156-man field, which means anyone has the opportunity to win by playing well.
Related: Who is inside the top 10 all-time PGA Tour wins list?
5 players who the best chance to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship trophy on Sunday
Scottie Scheffler
The key thing to watch for Scheffler is how he finds his way to the winner’s circle, not only for this week but after the Tour Championship in a few weeks after losing to McIlroy. One of the most important things for Scheffler is his putting, ranking 140th in strokes gained: putting this season. In every other strokes gained category (strokes gained: total, off the tee, approach the green and around the green) Scheffler ranks at least sixth in every category.
It shows how superbly consistency Scheffler has been this season, even without a victory since the Players Championship in March.
Jon Rahm
The positive part for Rahm entering this week was his motivating runner-up finish from the Open Championship last month. It put him in a completely opposite mood after struggling at the U.S. Open before clawing back to inside the top 10.
This season, Rahm ranks one spot behind Scheffler in strokes gained: total, while ranking third in strokes gained: off the tee and approach the green.
Rory McIlroy
It is hard not to have the top 3 players in both the FedEx Cup standings and the Official World Golf Rankings because of how well each of them played this season. McIlroy enters this week No. 3 in the standings and is coming off a win last month at the Genesis Scottish Open and T6 at the Open Championship.
It is part of stretch of seven straight top 10 finishes, keeping him in the right spot to finish the season strong and a chance to claim his second straight FedEx Cup title and fourth overall. Like Scheffler, the difference this week for McIlroy will be his putter.
Tony Finau
The 3M Open a couple weeks ago gave Finau the motivation he needed heading into the playoffs, finishing inside the top 10. Finau finished fifth in last year’s St. Jude Championship in the midst of a hot stretch 12 months ago. He shot all four rounds in the 60s before falling four strokes short of the playoff between Zalatoris and Straka.
Patrick Cantlay
If there is one player who finds a way to get hot down the stretch it is Patrick Cantlay, who has three victories in the last five FedEx Cup playoff events, which includes winning the FedEx Cup in 2021. Cantlay, who is the highest rated player in the standings without a PGA Tour victory this season, enters this week as the No. 13 seed and looking to complete his late season heroics once again.
FedEx St. Jude Championship pairings
All times ET; MG: Marquee Group, FG: Featured Group
| Round 1: 1 tee | Round 2: 10 tee | Players |
| 7:50 a.m. | 10:20 a.m. | Thomas Detry, Taylor Montgomery, Davis Riley |
| 8:02 a.m. | 10:32 a.m. | Tom Hoge, Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Young |
| 8:14 a.m. | 10:44 a.m. | Patrick Rodgers, Adam Hadwin, J.T. Poston |
| 8:26 a.m. | 10:56 a.m. | Sahith Theegala, Lee Hodges, Matt Fitzpatrick |
| 8:38 a.m. | 11:08 a.m. | Taylor Moore, Tommy Fleetwood, Denny McCarthy |
| 8:50 a.m. | 11:20 a.m. | Collin Morikawa, Kurt Kitayama, Adam Schenk |
| 9:02 a.m. (FG) | 11:32 a.m. | Patrick Cantlay, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka |
| 9:14 a.m. (FG) | 11:44 a.m. (FG) | Viktor Hovland, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler |
| 9:26 a.m. (MG) | 11:56 a.m. (MG) | Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy |
| 9:38 a.m. | 12:08 p.m. | Brandon Wu, Hayden Buckley, Hideki Matsuyama |
| 9:50 a.m. | 12:20 p.m. | Stephan Jaeger, Cam Davis, Sam Ryder |
| 10:02 a.m. | 12:32 p.m. | Matt NeSmith, Vincent Norrman |
| Round 1: 10 tee | Round 2: 1 tee | Players |
| 10:20 a.m. | 7:50 a.m. | Lucas Glover, Nick Hardy, Alex Smalley |
| 10:32 a.m. | 8:02 a.m. | Eric Cole, Andrew Putnam, Harris English |
| 10:44 a.m. | 8:14 a.m. | Byeong Hun An, Adam Svensson, Brendon Todd |
| 10:56 a.m. (FG) | 8:26 a.m. (FG) | Jordan Spieth, Sungjae Im, Justin Rose |
| 11:08 a.m. | 8:38 a.m. | Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Corey Conners |
| 11:20 a.m. | 8:50 a.m. | Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Emiliano Grillo |
| 11:32 a.m. (FG) | 9:02 a.m. (MG) | Xander Schauffele, Tyrrell Hatton, Si Woo Kim |
| 11:44 a.m. | 9:14 a.m. | Tony Finau, Jason Day, Nick Taylor |
| 11:56 a.m. (FG) | 9:26 a.m. (FG) | Max Homa, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman |
| 12:08 p.m. | 9:38 a.m. | Keith Mitchell, Mark Hubbard, Matt Kuchar |
| 12:20 p.m. | 9:50 a.m. | Sam Stevens, Aaron Rai, Beau Hossler |
| 12:32 p.m. | 10:02 a.m. | J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin |