He may not be playing the U.S. Open next week, but Phil Mickelson is still in the field this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic as he looks for his first win in nearly four years. Here’s a look at a few of the marquee, early-round groupings at TPC Southwind (all times ET):
8:40 a.m. Thursday, 1:40 p.m. Friday: Billy Horschel, Kevin Chappell, Cody Gribble
Gribble hails from Texas and won for the first time earlier this season, and he’ll be joined for the first two rounds by players who notched recent wins in the Lone Star State. Horschel topped Jason Day in a playoff three weeks ago at the AT&T Byron Nelson, while Chappell ended a lengthy victory drought at the Valero Texas Open in April.
8:50 a.m. Thursday, 1:50 p.m. Friday: Rickie Fowler, Daniel Berger, Adam Scott
Berger won this event in his debut appearance last year, and he’ll play alongside two men who are each making their second career trips to Memphis. Fowler was a runner-up last week at the Memorial and finished T-13 at TPC Southwind back in 2014, while Scott hasn’t played this event since a T-7 finish back in 2007.
1:40 p.m. Thursday, 8:40 a.m. Friday: Russell Henley, Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk
Henley got back in the winner’s circle earlier this year at the Shell Houston Open, and he’ll play the first 36 holes alongside Furyk whose Ryder Cup team he hopes to make next fall. Furyk is playing Memphis for the first time since a T-24 finish in 1994, while McDowell will round out the trio on the heels of four top-30 finishes in his last five starts overall.
1:50 p.m. Thursday, 8:50 a.m. Friday: Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Hudson Swafford
Mickelson will be one of the main draws this week at TPC Southwind as he makes his fourth straight start and seventh overall. Koepka has feasted on this course in recent years, with a T-2 finish last year and a T-3 result in 2015, while Swafford notched his maiden victory earlier this year in Palm Springs and hopes to end a run of three straight missed cuts.
Source: Internet
