What Is The PGA St. Jude Classic?

The PGA St. Jude Classic is a Professional Golfers Association tour event held annually in Memphis, Tennessee. One of the oldest tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule, the event was originally known as the Memphis Open when it was founded in 1958.

Legendary entertainer Danny Thomas became involved with the PGA St. Jude Classic in 1969, agreeing to lend his name to the event. The first Danny Thomas Memphis Classic was held in 1970, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital became the sole beneficiary of the tournament's proceeds at that time.

The PGA St. Jude Classic currently takes place at TPC Southwind, in the Memphis suburb of Germantown. Played at the PGA Tour-owned course since 1989, previous courses used were the two incarnations of the Colonial Country Club, originally in East Memphis from 1958 to 1971, and the second course located in Cordova, Tennessee, from 1972 to 1988.  Attendance annually is over 125,000.

The tournament has undergone five name changes over the years. Originally known as the Memphis Invitational Open from 1958 to 1969, it became the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic from 1970 to 1984.  After one year as the St. Jude Memphis Classic in 1985, Federal Express became the tournament's title sponsor in 1986, with the tournament became known as the Federal Express St. Jude Classic until 1994, and later as the FedEx St. Jude Classic from 1995 to 2008. The tournament went by the name St. Jude Classic in 2009.

The current course record for the PGA St. Jude Classic is 61, first set by Jay Delsing in 1993 and matched by Bob Estes in 2001. Dave Hill is the tournament's only four-time champion (1967, 1969, 1970 and 1973) while Lee Trevino is its only three-time winner (1971, 1972 and 1980).

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Golfers to Tee Off in St. Jude Classic