JoePa's St. Jude Classic

[joepa66]

Trying for a chicken dinner 4 weeks in a row......even though I'd prefer some Memphis ribs!


ST. JUDE CLASSIC -
Memphis, Tennessee


KENNY PERRY 22 / 1 - Keep riding the wave! Perry is without a doubt THE hottest golfer on the PGA tour this year, and if not for some coulda, shoulda, wouldas, like the ball he hit into the drink on the first playoff hole of the AT&T, he may have hoisted the victors hardware in 4 of his last 6 tournaments. Even though he's missed the cut at the St. Jude in his last four attempts and has only 1 Top10 in 9 tries (3rd in 1996), I'd like to think his recent form, his move from 11th to T6th in scoring average @ 69.84 with the win in Dublin, oHIo last week along with his hope for a Ryder Cup spot, will all carry him to a top finish or at the very least a strong showing!

BRANDT SNEDEKER 55 / 1 - My sleeper pick this week....hopefully he won't snooze on the job like my Fredrik Jacobson pick last week! Snedeker finished T3rd at The Masters this year, but his best finish since has been a T53rd at the Verizon and he missed the cuts in his last two attempts (The Players and The Memorial). It's in his home state and the Vandy Alum may draw lots of support who probably rooted him along to a T5th last year. It's a good time to break out in front of your loved ones.

DAVID TOMS 20 / 1 - He's proven himself time and time again on this track! He has 2 wins and they were in back-to-back years, 2003 & 2004, was 3rd in 2007, T10th in 2006, and was 2nd in 2005! Hmmmm, he's got 6 Top10s in 15 tries and 5 of them in the last 5 years, AND he's made the cut 12 straight times at the St. Jude! The weather is supposed to be oppressive heat along the might Mississippi, and saunas always feel good on an ailing back. Toms is an excellent ball striker when his back isn't ailing him.

I HAD BEN CRANE IN THIS SLOT BUT HE'S NOW LISTED AS "NOT IN THE FIELD"....
STEPHEN AMES 22 / 1 - Ames is an excellent ball striker and ranks 23rd in greens hit and consistently hits fairways 65% of the time. He's made 11/12 cuts this year, has 4 Top10s which is 6th on tour, and 6 TOP25s. In his last two outings he's finished 5th at The Players and 4th at the Crowne Plaza where he stumbled in the final round after I had him and Phil Mickelson 1-2 after Saturday. Ames is ranked 13th in tour scoring average at 70.08 and 9th in scoring average before the cut at 70.36. He can hang around until Sunday, but now he needs to play on Sunday and not just show up!

VIJAY SINGH 16 / 1 - How could I not pick the Big Fijian? We know the hearts of the kids from St. Judes will be behind him this week so he may be motivated if not emotional. He's only played twice in the event finishing 13th and 30th, but those two finishes statistically rank him 5th in the final field this week as far as highest average finish. Vijay has played well this year but hasn't been able to finish the deal. He's got 2 2nds......AT&T Pebble Beach and the WGC-CA, along with two other Top5s....a T5th at the WGC Accenture Matchplay, and T3rd in the Arnie Palmer Invitational. He missed the cut at The Players while working on a new swing, but has still managed to rank 1st in GIR with a 70% average, and is 10th in scoring average at 70.02, and 11th in birdie average along with 8 Top25s, and he's made 10 of 12 cuts on the year. Now that's a Big Fijian! He'll be an even bigger icon if he wins this week.