FedEx St. Jude Championship Winners and History
The FedEx St. Jude Championship is the first event in the PGA TOUR’s season ending playoff.
It was previously known as The Northern Trust, The Barclays, The Buick Classic, and the Westchester Classic under different sponsor names.
The field is limited to the top 125 players on the FedEx points list through the PGA TOUR’s regular season. The Top 70 players at the end of the FedEx St. Jude go on to play in the following week’s BMW Championship. See a list of BMW Championship Winners at the link.
The tournament dates to a pro-am at Apawamis Club in New York. The pro-am morphed into the Thunderbird Classic, which ran at Upper Montclair Country Club and Westchester Country Club. Under various names, the tournament was played at Westchester Country Club until 2007. In spite of the rotating sponsor titles, it was generally known as the Westchester Classic.
Beginning in 2007, the old “Westchester Classic” became part of the PGA TOUR’s playoff structure. It rotated among several clubs, including Liberty National, Bethpage, TPC Boston and Ridgewood.
In 2022, the tournament was moved to TPC Southwinds in Memphis. FedEx headquarters is in Memphis, as is St. Jude’s Hospital, the charity which benefits from the tournament.
St. Jude is the name of a children’s hospital located in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital was founded in 1962 by popular nightclub entertainer and television star Danny Thomas.
Thomas was born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz in Deerfield, Michigan. His parents were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon. Deerfield is a small town 33 miles southeast of Ann Arbor.
St. Jude’s founding founding was the result of a vow Thomas had made as a young actor—that if he found success he would open a hospital dedicated to Saint Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes. It is a moving story:
More than 70 years ago, Danny Thomas, then a struggling young entertainer with a baby on the way, visited a Detroit church and was so moved during the Mass, he placed his last $7 in the collection box. When he realized what he’d done, Danny Thomas prayed for a way to pay the looming hospital bills. The next day, he was offered a small part that would pay 10 times the amount he’d given to the church. Danny Thomas had experienced the power of prayer.
Two years later, Danny Thomas had achieved moderate acting success in Detroit, but he was struggling to take his career to the next level. Once again, he turned to the church. Praying to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes, Danny Thomas asked the saint to “help me find my way in life, and I will build you a shrine.”
His career took a turn for the better, and soon he moved his family to Chicago to pursue career offers. A few years later, at another turning point in his life, Danny Thomas visited a church and remembered his pledge to St. Jude. Again he prayed to St. Jude and repeated his pledge to build a shrine to the saint if he would show him the way.
In the years that followed, Danny Thomas’ career flourished through films and television, and he became an internationally known entertainer. He remembered his pledge to build a shrine to St. Jude.
The list of Westchester Classic / FedEx St. Jude Championship winners is a who’s who of golf history, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Johnny Miller, Julius Boros, Curtis Strange, Hale Irwin, Ernie Els, Pádraig Harrington and more.
A list of FedEx St. Jude Championship winners follows
| Year | Player | Score | To par | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx St Jude | ||||
| 2023 | Lucas Glover | 265 | -15 | Playoff |
| 2022 | Will Zalatoris | 265 | -15 | Playoff |
| The Northern Trust | ||||
| 2021 | Tony Finau | 264 | -20 | Playoff |
| 2020 | Dustin Johnson (3) | 254 | -30 | 11 strokes |
| 2019 | Patrick Reed (2) | 268 | -16 | 1 stroke |
| 2018 | Bryson DeChambeau | 266 | -18 | 4 Strokes |
| 2017 | Dustin Johnson | 267 | -13 | Playoff |
| The Barclays | ||||
| 2016 | Patrick Reed | 275 | -9 | 1 stroke |
| 2015 | Jason Day | 261 | -19 | 6 strokes |
| 2014 | Hunter Mahan | 270 | -14 | 2 strokes |
| 2013 | Adam Scott | 273 | -11 | 1 stroke |
| 2012 | Nick Watney | 274 | -10 | 3 strokes |
| 2011 | Dustin Johnson | 194 (54 holes) | -19 | 2 strokes |
| 2010 | Matt Kuchar | 272 | -12 | Playoff |
| 2009 | Heath Slocum | 275 | -9 | 1 stroke |
| 2008 | Vijay Singh (4) | 276 | -8 | Playoff |
| 2007 | Steve Stricker | 268 | -16 | 2 strokes |
| Barclays Classic | ||||
| 2006 | Vijay Singh (3) | 274 | -10 | 2 strokes |
| 2005 | Pádraig Harrington | 274 | -10 | 1 stroke |
| Buick Classic | ||||
| 2004 | Sergio García (2) | 272 | -12 | Playoff |
| 2003 | Jonathan Kaye | 271 | -13 | Playoff |
| 2002 | Chris Smith | 272 | -12 | 2 strokes |
| 2001 | Sergio García | 268 | -16 | 3 strokes |
| 2000 | Dennis Paulson | 276 | -8 | Playoff |
| 1999 | Duffy Waldorf | 276 | -8 | Playoff |
| 1998 | J. P. Hayes | 201 (54 holes) | -12 | Playoff |
| 1997 | Ernie Els (2) | 268 | -16 | 2 strokes |
| 1996 | Ernie Els | 271 | -13 | 8 strokes |
| 1995 | Vijay Singh (2) | 278 | -6 | Playoff |
| 1994 | Lee Janzen | 268 | -16 | 3 strokes |
| 1993 | Vijay Singh | 280 | -4 | Playoff |
| 1992 | David Frost | 268 | -16 | 8 strokes |
| 1991 | Billy Andrade | 273 | -11 | 2 strokes |
| 1990 | Hale Irwin | 269 | -15 | 2 strokes |
| Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | ||||
| 1989 | Wayne Grady | 277 | -7 | Playoff |
| 1988 | Seve Ballesteros (2) | 276 | -8 | Playoff |
| 1987 | J. C. Snead | 276 | -8 | Playoff |
| 1986 | Bob Tway | 272 | -12 | 1 stroke |
| 1985 | Roger Maltbie | 275 | -9 | Playoff |
| 1984 | Scott Simpson | 269 | -15 | 5 strokes |
| 1983 | Seve Ballesteros | 276 | -8 | 2 strokes |
| 1982 | Bob Gilder | 261 | -19 | 5 strokes |
| 1981 | Raymond Floyd | 275 | -9 | 1 stroke |
| 1980 | Curtis Strange | 273 | -11 | 2 strokes |
| 1979 | Jack Renner | 277 | -7 | 1 stroke |
| American Express Westchester Classic | ||||
| 1978 | Lee Elder | 274 | -10 | 1 stroke |
| 1977 | Andy North | 272 | -12 | 2 strokes |
| 1976 | David Graham | 272 | -12 | 3 strokes |
| Westchester Classic | ||||
| 1975 | Gene Littler | 271 | -17 | Playoff |
| 1974 | Johnny Miller | 269 | -19 | 2 strokes |
| 1973 | Bobby Nichols | 272 | -16 | Playoff |
| 1972 | Jack Nicklaus (2) | 270 | -18 | 3 strokes |
| 1971 | Arnold Palmer | 270 | -18 | 5 strokes |
| 1970 | Bruce Crampton | 273 | -15 | 1 stroke |
| 1969 | Frank Beard | 275 | -13 | 1 stroke |
| 1968 | Julius Boros | 272 | -16 | 1 stroke |
| 1967 | Jack Nicklaus | 272 | -16 | 1 stroke |
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