FedEx St Jude Classic Tournament Notes

Dates: June 4 – June 10, 2012

Where: TPC Southwind, Memphis, TN

Par/Yards: 35-35—70/7,239 yards

Field: 156 2011 champion: Harrison Frazar

Purse: $6,600,000/$1,008,000 (winner)

FedExCup: 500 points to the winner

Format: 72-hole stroke play

Website: stjudeclassic.com

Facebook: FedEx St. Jude Classic

Twitter: @fesjcmemphis

A look at the 2011 FedEx St. Jude Classic

Harrison Frazar, a 14-year PGA TOUR veteran, carded a final-round 3-under 67 to force a playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Classic with third-round leader Robert Karlsson (68) at 13-under and won the sudden death playoff with a par-4 on the third-playoff hole, No. 12.

It marked the second consecutive year the FedEx St. Jude Classic was decided in a playoff and the 14th time in the event’s 54-year history.

Frazar collected his first-career victory in his 355th start on TOUR and evened his playoff record to 1-1.

Playing the 72nd hole with a one-shot lead, Frazar’s approach shot found the water left of the green, but managed to salvage bogey and force the playoff with Karlsson. Frazar and Justin Leonard (2005) are the only two winners of the FedEx St. Jude Classic to bogey No. 18 in the final round since the event moved to TPC Southwind in 1989.

Karlsson finished runner-up in a playoff for the second consecutive year at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Lee Westwood won a three-way playoff with Karlsson and Robert Garrigus in 2010.

More on Harrison Frazar and the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Entering the 2012 FedEx St. Jude Classic, Harrison Frazar’s 354 starts ranked sixth among active players still in search of their first PGA TOUR victory. He trailed only Skip Kendall (410), Brett Quigley (396), Marco Dawson (386), Jay Williamson (373) and Marco Dawson (364). None of those five players have won since last year’s FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Prior to his victory in 2011, Frazar had finished runner-up on the PGA TOUR on four different occasions, most recently at the 2004 Michelin Championship at Las Vegas. He fell in a playoff to Ernie Els at the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Frazar becomes just the sixth player in the 54-year history of the FedEx St. Jude Classic to make the event their first PGA TOUR victory. Prior to Frazar, the last player to do so was Dicky Pride in 1994.

Frazar’s 71 is the first over par opening round by an eventual FedEx St. Jude Classic champion since Woody Austin in 2007.

In seven previous appearances at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, Frazar had made just two cuts with his best result a T14 in 2009.

FedExCup and the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Home to FedEx’s Global headquarters, the FedEx St. Jude Classic plays a key role in determining the winner of the season-long FedEx Cup points race.

Harrison Frazar’s victory at the 2011 FedEx St. Jude Classic came with 500 FedEx Cup points and helped him finish 77th in the final standings, the best finish of his career. He advanced to the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup for just the second time since the FedExCup was introduced in 2007.

The FedEx St. Jude Classic begins the final 11-week stretch of the PGA TOUR Regular Season (of 33 weeks) towards the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Together, Anything’s Possible and the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Youth Programs, Inc. was established in 1958 and chartered in 1960 as a non-profit organization to run a professional golf tournament in Memphis, Tenn., and raise funds for youth-oriented charities.

In 1970, YPI chose St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as its sole beneficiary. Since that date, St. Jude has realized more than $25 million as a direct result of its affiliation with the tournament and the PGA TOUR. YPI is the governing body of the FedEx St. Jude Classic and, by contract with the PGA TOUR, serves as host organization of the Memphis TOUR stop. T

he FedEx St. Jude Classic honors America’s heroes by providing free tickets to Naval Support Activity Mid-South personnel for distribution on the base to the military.

An enjoyable and inspirational feature of the Championship Pro-Am at the FedEx St. Jude Classic since 2007 will continue this year with the honorary youth caddie program known as Little Loopers. For the first time since the activity began in 2007, the popular meet-and-greet opportunity for pros and kids will have a corporate partner and a new name – Little Loopers Presented by Chili’s Grill & Bar. Patients from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and members of The First Tee of Memphis youth golf association will caddie for the PGA TOUR pros on the Par-3 No. 11 during the pro-am, June 6.

PGA TOUR players will again visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on Tuesday, June 5 at 1:00 p.m. CT.

Augmenting the efforts of The First Tee Campaign for 10 Million Young People, The First Tee will be hosting an auction on eBay in partnership with the PGA TOUR, running Tuesday, June 5, through Friday, June 15 (1pm EST – 1pm EST). The auction will feature 25-30 high-end golf related packages, experiences and memorabilia.

A glance at the field

The field features 73 PGA TOUR winners with a combined 232 TOUR victories, including Davis Love III (20), David Duval (13), David Toms (13) and Justin Leonard (13).

There are 14 major championship winners in the field with a combined 18 victories. In addition there are seven past winners of THE PLAYERS Championship.

Eight past champions of the FedEx St. Jude Classic: Woody Austin (2007), Bob Estes (2001), Harrison Frazar (2011), Brian Gay (2009), Justin Leonard (2005), Jeff Maggert (2006), Dicky Pride (1994) and David Toms (2003, 2004).

Twenty PGA TOUR rookies are in the field. Just six players in the 54-year history of the FedEx St. Jude Classic, most recently Harrison Frazar in 2011, have made the event their first victory on the PGA TOUR.

There are four players players in the field with 10 or more career PGA TOUR victories: Davis Love III (20), David Duval (13), David Toms (13) and Justin Leonard (12).

Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III is making his 10th start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and first since 2008. In his nine previous appearances his best result came in 2005 when he finished T4.

In the 54-year history of the FedEx St. Jude Classic, only four International players (five victories) have won the FedEx St. Jude Classic. They are: Gary Player (1974), Nick Price (1993, 1998), Greg Norman (1997) and Lee Westwood (2010).

Both in their 20s, Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa and Dustin Johnson of the United States will both make their debut at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Defending U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland returns to the FedEx St. Jude Classic after a one-year absence. He finished T29 in 2010.

Miscellaneous FedEx St. Jude Classic Notes

No player has won a PGA TOUR event and gone on to win the U.S. Open the following week. A total of eight players have won a PGA TOUR event and gone on to win a major championship the following week, most recently Tiger Woods in 2007.

Robert Karlsson posted four rounds in the 60s for the second-consecutive year in 2011 en route to falling to Harrison Frazar in a playoff. In eight rounds at TPC Southwind, Karlsson is a combined 23-under-par with his highest score a 69 in the final round in 2010.

Robert Karlsson joined Gene Littler and Hal Sutton as the only players to compete in two playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Like Karlsson, Littler went 0-2 in 1960 and 1962 while Sutton went 1-1, winning a playoff over David Ogrin in 1985 and falling to Dicky Pride in 1994.

Of the players in the field for the FedEx St. Jude Classic with a minimum of eight rounds at TPC Southwind, Robert Karlsson has the lowest stroke average at 67.12 (8 rounds). Following Karlsson are Robert Allenby at 68.76 (30 Rounds), Bob Estes at 69.29 (82 Rounds) and Zach Johnson at 69.25 (12 Rounds).

Winner of the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2003 and 2004, David Toms saw his streak of consecutive cuts made at TPC Southwind come to an end at 15 in 2011, missing the cut after rounds of 75-70. His 75 in the opening round since a 75 in the third round in 2000. His 15 consecutive cuts made from 1995 to 2010 are a tournament record.

Since changing to a par-70 in 2007, TPC Southwind has proven to be one of the most challenging venues on the PGA TOUR. TPC Southwind ranked as the ninth hardest course on the 2011 PGA TOUR, playing to a stroke average of 70.987.

The 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to victory nine times (23 years) since the FedEx St. Jude Classic moved to TPC Southwind in 1989, most recently Brian Gay in 2007.