Lee Westwood eager to defend his title at FedExCup St. Jude Classic on PGA Tour
PGA Tour greats will gather for yet another showdown at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at the scenic TPC Southwind in Memphis. Scheduled from June 6-12, the tournament will prove to be the launching pad for the budding golfers who have already qualified for
the upcoming US Open. The veteran top ranking players from across the world will also flex their muscles before making their move in the second major of the year at Congressional.
Former world number one, Lee Westwood will be leading the star studded field which also includes the likes of Y.E Yang, Geoff Ogilvy, Zach Johnson, John Daly, Ben Curtis, Sergio Garcia, Ryuji Imada, Padraig Harrington, and Retief Goosen. The tournament is
sponsored by the shipping giant FedEx which is based just a stone’s throw from the venue.
FedEx, a few weeks ago, extended the sponsorship for the event for another three years till 2014. The company has been the official sponsor of the tournament since 1986 and boosts a strong relationship with the tour and course organizers. In 2006, PGA moved
to incorporate the FedExCup on its tour calendar and the event is organized under the same banner since then.
"FedEx is happy to continue our long relationship with the FedEx St. Jude Classic and, more importantly, our support of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," said T. Michael Glenn, executive vice president of Market Development at FedEx. "Our involvement
with this tournament allows thousands of Memphis-based FedEx employees to play a direct role in the support of St. Jude."
Major chunk of the earnings from the tournament goes to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the hospital has received some $25 million since 1970. The financial help to the hospital has provided the necessary medical aid and has delivered valuable
service to the residents of Memphis.
FESJC General Chairman Jack Sammons said upon the sponsorship extension ceremony held in May, "Today's announcement is also wonderful news for the children of St. Jude and golf fans in this region."
TPC Southwind was selected as the venue for the cup in 1989 and the event is held in continuation on the same course. The par-70, 7,244 yards course was initially designed by Ron Pritchard in 1987 and is ranked 11 out of 52 for difficulty on the PGA statistics.
After the 2004, St. Jude Classic, the course was subjected to extensive renovation where many of the greens and fairways were relocated and narrowed down. The bentgrass on the course was replaced with the Champion Bermuda grass and 11 new tees and 15 new bunkers
were added to the yardage.
Defending champion Westwood would be eager to retain the title which saw his year’s long winless drought coming to an end. Westwood overtook Swede Robert Karlsson on the Playoff hole to post his second victory on the PGA Tour since 1998.
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