Olympic Champion Back Home After Tokyo Glory
Schauffele finally got over the line in front last week, grinding a par at the 72nd hole of the Olympics men’s competition to win the gold medal by a shot, and the Californian is 14/1 for the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational this week.
He has finished runner-up eight times since his last PGA Tour victory and has been getting extremely twitchy in contention.
The nerves were on show in Japan last week when he sliced his drive deep into bushes at the 14th hole in the final round of the Olympics, then hooked his provisional ball into trees on the left.
At that point it seemed like Schauffele had blown another chance of glory, but the marshals miraculously managed to find his original ball and he dropped only one shot, eventually claiming gold by a one-shot margin.
Maybe his Olympics triumph will settle Schauffele down when in contention for PGA Tour titles in future. He has a long trek from Tokyo to Memphis to get over first though, with plenty of jet lag in his system.
Koepka Looking to Warm Up Putter in Memphis
Brooks Koepka is fresher than the 19 players arriving from the Olympics and the former world number one will fancy his chances of building on a fantastic record at TPC Southwind.
The course hosted the St Jude Classic for many years and Koepka has form figures of 19-3-2-37-30 in that, then he raised his game when Southwind became a WGC venue in 2019.
The Floridian is a man for the big occasion – Majors and WGCs are what he lives for – and in the first WGC at Southwind he romped to a three-shot victory.
Rory McIlroy was alongside Koepka in the final group that year, but Koepka dismissed the Northern Irishman with ease. Last year, despite arriving in poor form, Koepka opened with a 62 at Southwind and went on to tie for second place.
The 11/1 about Koepka seems a solid investment this week when you consider his stellar ball-striking in his last three tournaments – fourth place in the US Open, fifth in the Travelers Championship and sixth in the Open at Royal St George’s. Big Brooks is fit and firing, and deserves favouritism.
Southwind May Propel Johnson on to Front Foot
The main danger to Koepka backers this week may turn out to be 18/1 chance Dustin Johnson, who also has a strong record at TPC Southwind.
Johnson won the St Jude Classic on his first visit to the track in 2012, then he cantered to a six-shot victory in the same event in 2018.
He has arrived for the two WGCs at the course in poor form, finishing 20th and 12th, but eighth place in the Open last month has provided some encouragement for the giant Carolinian.
Last year he followed Southwind by winning the Northern Trust, the Tour Championship and the Masters. Another late-season charge could be coming.
*All odds correct at time of writing