FedEx St Jude Championship 2026 preview picks analysis

It is inconceivable to me that world number one Scottie Scheffler is going to finish the PGA Tour season without adding to the American express title he won earlier in the year. But he is fast running out of time.

He competes in the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, Memphis this week the first of the three playoff events that bring down the curtain on another incredible season. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings are eligible to compete and he will surely start the week as favourite once again.

It is all too easy to write off Scheffler’s season as a disappointment but a closer look tells a very different story.

He has made 17 starts, memorably missing one cut, at the Scottish Open. When he won the American Express in his first outing of 2026 we all thought: "Here we go again."

But he has not won since. However, his consistency has been quite remarkable. He has finished second five times, third twice, had 11 top fives and has finished in the top 25 16 times. He leads the money list with $16.9m and it should surprise nobody that he also comfortably heads the FedEx Cup standings.

Scottie Scheffler

(Image Credit: Rolex/Thomas Lovelock)

And don’t let anybody tell you he doesn’t care. He drew widespread criticism during the opening round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village after his tee shot on the 16th hole found the water. The American world number one was visibly frustrated, with hot microphones picking up Scheffler giving his long-time caddie Ted Scott an earful as he made his way to the drop zone.

Australian Min-Woo Lee has defended Scheffler, saying: "First of all, I think that was a tough moment. I know he's not like that all the time. It was just a really tough day at Memorial, on the toughest golf course outside of the majors. So blow-ups happen, and it just looked bad.

"I don't think social media and the audience know, 'Is this how he treats his caddie?’ I think a lot of players do that, and it's just unlucky that the microphone was right there taking it all in.

"As an audience, you'd like that, you'd want to listen to all that, but as a player and colleague, I wouldn't want a mic that close to me, just because stuff like that can happen. He's one of the best players in the world and he's saying, 'How can the wind be there and not there?'

"I think caddies are very, very strong-skinned, and they've gone through a lot. Sometimes we give them slack and they just have to brush it off. Sometimes they want to yell back at us, but it's a tough situation. I'm sure a lot of my caddies have wanted to shout back at me."

Cameron Young is enjoying a wonderful season, having won the Players Championship, and believes he can still catch and overtake Scheffler. He said: "To catch Scottie I'd have to kind of go nuts, but that's the goal. If I can put together three really good weeks of golf, there's always a chance. That's the goal. And really to accomplish it, it's just step by step."

Twelve months ago, there was more disappointment for England’s Tommy Fleetwood as he once again came up short. But his fellow countryman, Justin Rose, claimed his 12th victory in dramatic fashion at TPC Southwind.

The Englishman had lost on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Rory McIlroy at The Masters, but this time he held his nerve to take it to a third sudden-death hole with US Open champion JJ Spaun.

Both hit par on their first go at the 18th hole and birdied their second, before Spaun failed to follow suit after Rose claimed another birdie.

It gave Rose his 12th PGA Tour title while Fleetwood's wait for his first win continued after he had gone into the final round of his 162nd event on the US circuit with a one-stroke lead. Fleetwood bogeyed the penultimate hole to relinquish a share of the lead and finish one adrift of Rose and Spaun.

The 34-year-old bogeyed his first hole of the day and had to settle for par on the next 10, but it looked as though he could finally claim his maiden PGA win as he produced a run of three birdies in four holes from the 12th.

"I'm getting close, that's the good side of it," said Fleetwood. "On the back nine, I managed to get myself ahead, played some really good golf, putted really well.

"Justin and JJ have done great there and I just didn't do enough. I'm obviously disappointed. I was right in there with a chance, and it's hard."

He would, of course, go on to break his duck by winning the Tour Championship. He has failed to add to that success on the PGA Tour this year but, like Scheffler, has demonstrated an incredible level of consistency. In 16 starts his only missed cut came at the US PGA. He was tied fourth at The Open and tied 11th at the US Open and has enjoyed four top fives, seven top 10s and 12 top 25s.

The top 50 will move on to next week’s BMW Championship.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2015 by Jason Day, in 2016 and 2019 by Patrick Reed, in 2017 and 2020 by Dustin Johnson, in 2018 by Bryson DeChambeau, in 2021 by Tony Finau, in 2022 by Will Zalatoris, in 2023 by Lucas Glover, in 2024 by Hideki Matsuyama and last year by Justin Rose.

The Course:

TPC Southward was redesigned by Ron Prichard. It is a par 70 measuring 7,244 yards. It features undulating fairways and a heap of water hazards that have to be avoided.

Form Guide:

It is difficult to look beyond Scottie Scheffler, who is enjoying another incredible season, but Cameron Young may be the man to watch.

Prize Money:

Total prize money is $20m, with the winner collecting $3.6m and 2,000 FedEx Cup points.

How to Watch:

Thursday, August 13, Sky Sports Golf, 7pm; Friday, August 14, Sky Sports Golf, 5pm; Saturday, August 15, Sky Sports Golf, 4pm; Sunday, August 16, Sky Sports Golf, 4pm.