PGA Tour: FedEx St. Jude Championship will come down to these 4 holes

The FedEx Cup Playoffs have arrived.

The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings head to Memphis this week for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first of three playoff events on the PGA Tour.

Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Collin Morikawa highlight a stacked field, which will compete for a $20 million purse. The top 50 finishers from this week then qualify for next week’s BMW Championship in Denver, and they will also gain entry into all eight Signature Events next season—no doubt that a lot is on the line.

But this course seemingly produces drama every year. Look no further than the last two years, which have ended with thrilling playoff finishes. Will Zalatoris defeated Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff in 2022, and then Lucas Glover bested Patrick Cantlay on the first extra hole a year ago.

Water comes into play on 11 holes, but these four will play a significant factor in deciding the first playoff event:

Hole 11 – Par 3, 162 Yards

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour

Two years ago, Will Zalatoris and Sepp Straka arrived at the 11th tee all square. They had just completed two playoff holes, making par on the par-4 18th twice.

They hit their tee shots, and both missed short and right, finding the water.

Zalatoris then struck his third shot onto the green and made a bogey-four. Straka, meanwhile, put it in the pond again, thus giving Zalatoris the victory.

The 2022 playoff perfectly describes this hole. Like the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, water completely surrounds this green. Three bunkers also reside on the island, two of which sit on the right side while the other is long and left.

The green is rather interesting too. It slopes from back to front, but a bowl on the left-hand side of the green and a nub on the right side makes it rather undulating.

Although it is a short iron for most players, this tricky par-3 will flummox plenty.

Hole 12 – Par 4, 406 Yards

Photo by Stan Badz/PGA Tour via Getty Images

Immediately after the island green at the 11th, more water presents itself at the dogleg right par-4 12th.

By today’s standards, the 12th is a short hole, but plenty of trouble looms. A year ago, the scoring average on this hole was 4.06, the fourth toughest on the course.

The fairway snakes from left to right as players must carry the lake to find the short grass off the tee.

Should their drives drift too far left, two deep bunkers will catch any pulled tee shots.

For their approach shots, the field will have no room for error. The lake sits to the right of the putting surface, while a stream will catch any shot that goes long.

Two sand traps guard the left side of the green, and nobody will want to find those. Should they do, players will face a tricky bunker shot while staring directly at the water—something any player feels uncomfortable doing.

The green slopes off those two bunkers, running from left to right and sloping towards the lake. The back of the green runs off towards the creek.

Hole 14 – Par 3, 205 Yards

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour

Regarded as one of the most challenging par-3s on the PGA Tour, the 14th hole at TPC Southwind is a true beast. It was the second toughest hole at the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

A lake sits to the front and right of the green, so any pushed tee shot will find the water, potentially ruining somebody’s round. Any mishit will find the penalty area too.

A bunker sits to the back left of the green, which is an absolute no-go. If players find themselves there, they will have to face the water and land a soft bunker shot, or else their shots will roll, roll, and roll, eventually settling in the bottom of the lake.

Indeed, this is one of the tricker greens on the course. Everything slopes from the bunker towards the water, while also sloping from left to right.

Hole 18 – Par 4, 453 Yards

Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Nothing but trouble lurks all down the left side of the par-4 18th. Just ask Patrick Cantlay, whose pulled tee shot a year ago sealed his fate.

The finishing hole is a severe dogleg left, almost a 90-degree angle, with water extending the entire length of the fairway.

On the corner of the dogleg, to the right of the short grass, three bunkers will snatch any tee shot that is pushed. The first trap sits 294 yards off the tee, while the second one is roughly 315 yards from the tee box.

The third bunker lies about 340 yards off the teeing ground and typically does not come into play unless you are Rory McIlroy.

Should players manage to find the fairway, however, they still need to avoid the left side for their approach shots. The penalty area runs the length of the hole, all the way up to the green.

Two sand traps protect the putting surface, with one sitting long of the green while the other is situated short and right.

The green itself is rather undulated, sloping severely from right to left toward the lake.

Without a doubt, the 18th hole at TPC Southwind is one of the best closing holes on the PGA Tour, and will likely produce fireworks yet again in 2024.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.