2010 St. Jude Classic Predictions

Written by Jason Lowry

It was quite a final round for Justin Rose last week at the Memorial Tournament. Rose shot a 6-under 66 to win the tournament by three shots over Rickie Fowler. This week the PGA Tour heads to Memphis, Tennessee for the 2010 St. Jude Classic held at TPC Southwind. It also marks the last week of competition before the second major of the season, as the US Open is set to get underway next week. Brian Gay won this event in 2009, and will be in action this week to defend his title.

TPC Southwind has the ability to play tough, as Justin Leonard won this event with a final score of 4-under, but last year Gay lit the course up with a final total of 18-under. The scoring figures to be easy again this season, but the temperature looks like it could be extremely hot out, so those attending the tournament better bring plenty of water. To help you get going on the tournament here is a look at three guys that I feel have a great shot at coming away with a win this weekend.

Rory McIlroy: McIlroy heads into the tournament this weekend off a strong performance last week at the Memorial, as he grabbed his second top ten finish on the PGA Tour. McIlroy proved he has what it takes to win on the tour, as he grabbed his first career win at the Quail Hollow Championship just over a month ago. He is a bit of a stretch to take this weekend, as he just doesn’t have the experience at these courses yet, but when his game is on none of that matters, and I just got a really good feeling that he is going to come out and play well at this event.

Ben Crane: What a season Crane is putting together, and if you haven’t noticed how well this guy has been playing, his latest run of three straight top seven finishes should do the trick. Crane finished tied for 4th at the Players Championship, then tied for seventh at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, followed up be his latest tie for third at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. If he keeps playing this well the wins are going to start coming. With so many players taking the week off to rest up for the US Open, the field is pretty weak, and it could be just what Crane needs to take home the trophy.

David Toms: Toms will be considered by many as the favorite to win this weekend, even though he doesn’t have the best odds to win this event. Toms has really played well at this event over the years, including back to back wins in 2003 and 2004. He nearly missed out on his third title last season, as he finished second to Gay. Toms has had an up and down 2010 season, as his best finish is a tie for 13th a couple weeks back at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Still it’s hard to ignore this guys track record at this event, and I have a pretty good feeling he is going to be right there with a chance to win on Sunday.

Archived Predictions:

2009
2008

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