St. Jude Classic

The tournament debuted 66 years ago in May 1958 as the Memphis Open and was played annually at Colonial Country Club in Memphis through 1971, then at the club's new home in Cordova through 1988. The late Vernon Bell, a Memphis restaurateur, co-founded the tournament and served as the tournament's general chairman for 22 years.^[7] He is also the father of the late Chris Bell.^[8]

In 1969, entertainer Danny Thomas (1912–1991) agreed to lend his name to the tournament in exchange for his St. Jude Children's Research Hospital becoming the tournament's charity. Accordingly, the tournament changed its name the next year to the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic.

In 1977, President Gerald Ford, who had left office in January, made a hole-in-one during the tournament's celebrity pro-am while playing with Thomas and Ben Crenshaw.^[9][10] Two days later, Al Geiberger shot a PGA Tour record 59 (−13) in the second round with eleven birdies and an eagle.^[11][12] He needed a rally on Sunday to win by three strokes at 273 (–15).^[13]

Since partnering with the tournament, more than $66 million has been raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.^[14]

In 1986, Memphis-based courier Federal Express became the title sponsor. For the first three years of their sponsorship, FedEx increased the purse one dollar for each package they shipped on the Friday of the tournament.^[15][16][17] The purses went from $500,000 to $605,912 in 1986, from $600,000 to $724,043 in 1987, and from $750,000 to $953,842 in 1988.

The Stanford Financial Group took over as the tournament's title sponsor in 2007, and it was renamed Stanford St. Jude Championship. In 2009, the tournament changed its name to St. Jude Classic,^[18] following accusations that the Stanford Financial Group was a Ponzi scheme. FedEx returned as title sponsor in 2011, and has remained though the standard tournament era, the WGC version (2019–2021), and Playoffs era (since 2022).^[19]

The event's final edition at Colonial Country Club in Cordova was 36 years ago in 1988. It moved to its present location at TPC Southwind in Memphis in 1989.

The purse in 2018 was $6.6 million, with a winner's share of $1.188 million.

• 1958: Billy Maxwell wins the first Memphis Open. He beats Cary Middlecoff by one shot.^[20]
• 1961: Local favorite Cary Middlecoff beats Gardner Dickinson and Mike Souchak by five shots.^[21]
• 1965: Jack Nicklaus, who played in Memphis very infrequently, beats Johnny Pott on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.^[22]
• 1966: Bert Yancey wins by five shots over Gene Littler but only after nearly missing his Sunday tee time. A last moment phone call from his caddy kept Yancey from being disqualified.^[23]
• 1967: Dave Hill goes wire-to-wire for his first Memphis win. He defeats Johnny Pott by two shots.^[24]
• 1970: Dave Hill becomes the first Memphis winner to successfully defend his title. He defeats Homero Blancas, Frank Beard, and Bob Charles by one shot.^[25]
• 1971: Lee Trevino wins in Memphis for the first time. He defeats Jerry Heard, Hale Irwin, Lee Elder and Randy Wolff by four shots.^[26]
• 1973: Dave Hill earns his 4th and final Memphis win. He beats Allen Miller and Lee Trevino by one shot.^[27]
• 1977: Al Geiberger shoots a second round 59 (the first 59 in a PGA Tour event), then holds on to win the tournament by three shots over Gary Player and Jerry McGee.^[28]
• 1980: Lee Trevino triumphs in Memphis for the third and final time. He beats Tom Purtzer by one shot.^[29]
• 1981: After making a birdie on the 72nd hole to win by two shots over Tom Kite and Bruce Lietzke, Jerry Pate leaps into the lake adjoining the 18th green.^[30]
• 1986: Mike Hulbert birdies the 72nd hole for his first ever PGA Tour win. He wins by one shot over his roommate for the week, Joey Sindelar.^[31]
• 1987: Mike McGee becomes one of just eight PGA Tour players with an 18-putt round. Despite the feat, McGee missed the cut.^[32]
• 1992: Jay Haas shoots 64–64 over the last 36 holes to win by three shots over Dan Forsman and Robert Gamez.^[33]
• 1994: PGA Tour rookie Dicky Pride beats Gene Sauers and Hal Sutton in a playoff with a birdie on the first hole.
• 1996: John Cook shoots a PGA Tour record 189 for 54 holes on his way to a seven shot win over John Adams.^[34]
• 1997: Greg Norman birdies the final three holes to beat Dudley Hart by one shot.^[35]
• 2000: Notah Begay III beats Bob May and Chris DiMarco by one shot.^[36] It is his first win after being convicted of drunken driving in March of the same year and having to spend seven days in jail.
• 2003: David Toms shoots a final round 64 to get his first of back-to-back Memphis titles. He beats Nick Price by three shots.^[37]
• 2005: Justin Leonard ties the record for the highest final round score by a Memphis winner, a 73, on his way to a one-shot victory over David Toms.^[38]
• 2010: Lee Westwood defeats Robert Karlsson and Robert Garrigus in a sudden-death playoff after Garrigus comes to the 72nd hole with a three-shot lead before finishing with a triple bogey.^[39]
• 2011: After 13 years and 355 starts, Harrison Frazar won his first PGA Tour event after beating Robert Karlsson in a playoff. Frazar was playing on a medical extension after hip surgery and was actually considering retirement before his win. Karlsson lost in a playoff for the second consecutive season.
• 2017: Daniel Berger becomes the first golfer since David Toms to win back-to-back.

TPC Southwind in 2013

Source:^[3]

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse ($)	Winner's share ($)
FedEx St. Jude Classic
2018	Dustin Johnson (2)	261	−19	6 strokes	Andrew Putnam	6,600,000	1,188,000
2017	Daniel Berger (2)	270	−10	1 stroke	Kim Meen-whee   Charl Schwartzel	6,400,000	1,152,000
2016	Daniel Berger	267	−13	3 strokes	Brooks Koepka   Phil Mickelson   Steve Stricker	6,200,000	1,116,000
2015	Fabián Gómez	267	−13	4 strokes	Greg Owen	6,000,000	1,080,000
2014	Ben Crane	270	–10	1 stroke	Troy Merritt	5,800,000	1,044,000
2013	Harris English	268	−12	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson   Scott Stallings	5,700,000	1,026,000
2012	Dustin Johnson	271	−9	1 stroke	John Merrick	5,600,000	1,008,000
2011	Harrison Frazar	267	−13	Playoff	Robert Karlsson	5,600,000	1,008,000
St. Jude Classic
2010	Lee Westwood	270	−10	Playoff	Robert Garrigus   Robert Karlsson	5,600,000	1,008,000
2009	Brian Gay	262	−18	5 strokes	Bryce Molder   David Toms	5,600,000	1,008,000
Stanford St. Jude Championship
2008	Justin Leonard (2)	276	−4	Playoff	Robert Allenby   Trevor Immelman	6,000,000	1,080,000
2007	Woody Austin	267	−13	5 strokes	Brian Davis	6,000,000	1,080,000
FedEx St. Jude Classic
2006	Jeff Maggert	271	−9	3 strokes	Tom Pernice Jr.	5,200,000	936,000
2005	Justin Leonard	266	−14	1 stroke	David Toms	4,900,000	882,000
2004	David Toms (2)	268	−16	6 strokes	Bob Estes	4,700,000	846,000
2003	David Toms	264	−20	3 strokes	Nick Price	4,500,000	810,000
2002	Len Mattiace	266	−18	1 stroke	Tim Petrovic	3,800,000	684,000
2001	Bob Estes	267	−17	1 stroke	Bernhard Langer	3,500,000	630,000
2000	Notah Begay III	271	−13	1 stroke	Chris DiMarco   Bob May	3,000,000	540,000
1999	Ted Tryba	265	−19	2 strokes	Tim Herron   Tom Lehman	2,500,000	450,000
1998	Nick Price (2)	268	−16	Playoff	Jeff Sluman	1,800,000	324,000
1997	Greg Norman	268	−16	1 stroke	Dudley Hart	1,500,000	270,000
1996	John Cook	258	−26	7 strokes	John Adams	1,350,000	243,000
1995	Jim Gallagher Jr.	267	−17	1 stroke	Jay Delsing   Ken Green	1,250,000	225,000
Federal Express St. Jude Classic
1994	Dicky Pride	267	−17	Playoff	Gene Sauers   Hal Sutton	1,250,000	225,000
1993	Nick Price	266	−18	3 strokes	Rick Fehr   Jeff Maggert	1,100,000	198,000
1992	Jay Haas	263	−21	3 strokes	Dan Forsman   Robert Gamez	1,100,000	198,000
1991	Fred Couples	269	−15	3 strokes	Rick Fehr	1,000,000	180,000
1990	Tom Kite	269	−15	Playoff	John Cook	1,000,000	180,000
1989	John Mahaffey	272	−12	3 strokes	Bob Gilder   Hubert Green   Bernhard Langer   Bob Tway	1,000,000	180,000
1988	Jodie Mudd	273	−15	1 stroke	Peter Jacobsen   Nick Price	953,842	171,692
1987	Curtis Strange	275	−13	1 stroke	Russ Cochran   Mike Donald   Tom Kite   Denis Watson	724,043	130,328
1986	Mike Hulbert	280	−8	1 stroke	Joey Sindelar	605,912	109,064
St. Jude Memphis Classic
1985	Hal Sutton	279	−9	Playoff	David Ogrin	500,000	90,000
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
1984	Bob Eastwood	280	−8	2 strokes	Ralph Landrum   Mark O'Meara   Tim Simpson	500,000	90,000
1983	Larry Mize	274	−14	1 stroke	Chip Beck   Sammy Rachels   Fuzzy Zoeller	400,000	72,000
1982	Raymond Floyd	271	−17	6 strokes	Mike Holland	400,000	72,000
1981	Jerry Pate	274	−14	2 strokes	Tom Kite   Bruce Lietzke	300,000	54,000
1980	Lee Trevino (3)	272	−16	1 stroke	Tom Purtzer	300,000	54,000
1979	Gil Morgan	278	−10	Playoff	Larry Nelson	300,000	54,000
1978	Andy Bean	277	−11	Playoff	Lee Trevino	250,000	50,000
1977	Al Geiberger	273	−15	3 strokes	Jerry McGee   Gary Player	200,000	40,000
1976	Gibby Gilbert	273	−15	4 strokes	Forrest Fezler   John Lister   Gil Morgan	200,000	40,000
1975	Gene Littler	270	−18	5 strokes	John Mahaffey	175,000	35,000
1974	Gary Player	273	−15	2 strokes	Lou Graham   Hubert Green	175,000	35,000
1973	Dave Hill (4)	283	−5	1 stroke	Allen Miller   Lee Trevino	175,000	35,000
1972	Lee Trevino (2)	281	−7	4 strokes	John Mahaffey	175,000	35,000
1971	Lee Trevino	268	−12	4 strokes	Lee Elder   Jerry Heard   Hale Irwin   Randy Wolff	175,000	35,000
1970	Dave Hill (3)	267	−13	1 stroke	Frank Beard   Homero Blancas   Bob Charles	150,000	30,000
Memphis Open Invitational
1969	Dave Hill (2)	265	−15	2 strokes	Lee Elder	150,000	30,000
1968	Bob Lunn	268	−12	1 stroke	Monty Kaser	100,000	20,000
1967	Dave Hill	272	−8	2 strokes	Johnny Pott	100,000	20,000
1966	Bert Yancey	265	−15	5 strokes	Gene Littler	100,000	20,000
1965	Jack Nicklaus	271	−9	Playoff	Johnny Pott	60,000	9,000
1964	Mike Souchak	270	−10	1 stroke	Billy Casper   Tommy Jacobs	50,000	7,500
1963	Tony Lema	270	−10	Playoff	Tommy Aaron	50,000	9,000
1962	Lionel Hebert	267	−13	Playoff	Gene Littler   Gary Player	40,000	6,400
1961	Cary Middlecoff	266	−14	5 strokes	Gardner Dickinson   Mike Souchak	30,000	4,300
1960	Tommy Bolt	273	−7	Playoff	Ben Hogan   Gene Littler	30,000	4,300
Memphis Open
1959	Don Whitt	272	−8	Playoff	Al Balding   Gary Player	25,000	3,500
1958	Billy Maxwell	267	−13	1 stroke	Cary Middlecoff	20,000	2,800

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources:^{[40][41][17][16][15]}

• Official website
• History of Vernon Bell co-founding the event
• Coverage on PGA Tour's official site
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• TPC Southwind