St. Jude Championship Preview - John Daly Returns

The rest of the PGA Tour gets a much-needed break from Tiger Woods this week on the golf betting schedule, as Woods won’t be playing in the St. Jude Championship at TPC at Southwind.

The way Woods performed in last week’s Memorial that is just what the rest of this week’s field wants to hear. Woods recorded his second victory of the year last week after a blistering final round at the Memorial. Woods’ charge up the leaderboard was highlighted by a spectacular eagle on the 11th hole and birdies on 15, 17, and 18 to cap off a one-stroke victory over Jim Furyk. With Woods and Furyk not committed to this week’s tournament the top finisher from last week that is also playing in the St. Jude is Matt Kuchar, who tied for fifth.

The St. Jude will be Phil Mickelson’s first tournament back since taking a leave of absence to be with his wife, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Lefty will still likely be high on the golf odds, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be a popular selection after he took a month off to deal with the tragic circumstances. Mickelson has never won the St. Jude and hasn’t played at Southwind since missing the cut there in 2001. Also making his return this week, although under different circumstances, is John Daly. A now-lighter Daly hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since last October due to a suspension. Expect both Mickelson and Daly to return to much fanfare, but expect Mickelson to have a much better chance of being on the leaderboard on Sunday.

Last year at Southwind Justin Leonard outlasted Robert Allenby and Trevor Immelman in a playoff to secure his second career St. Jude Championship win. Leonard also won in 2005, and with four Top-10 finishes so far this season he’s a legitimate contender to add a third this week.

Along with Leonard there are six other former St. Jude winners returning to Southwind this weekend. That group includes a back-to-back winner at Southwind, David Toms, who won in 2003 and 2004. Other former winners committed to play this week include Woody Austin (2007), Jeff Maggert (2006), Bob Estes (2001), Notah Begay III (2000), and Ted Tryba (1999).