GOLF
Why has the start of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship third round been delayed?
A week after weather-related chaos at the Wyndham Championship, the PGA Tour have been forced into more changes at TPC Southwind.
World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler is well placed after two rounds of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee as he chases a seventh win of the season on the PGA Tour. However, he, like everyone else, will have to wait to get his third round underway, with tee times pushed back on Saturday.
When will round three of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship start?
Normally in the third round of a PGA Tour event, the field goes out in reverse order in relation to their position on the leaderboard (i.e. last goes out first, first goes out last). That is only partly true for round three at TPC Southwind, with the weather forecast forcing tournament organisers to rethink their plans.
With possible thunderstorms predicted on Saturday morning in Memphis, evasive action has been taken, with tee times pushed back to 9:45 a.m. CDT / 10:45 a.m. ET in the hope of avoiding the worst of the weather.
Why is there a two-tee start and three-balls?
On top of that, the decision has been made to start the third round from two tees (1 and 10) and to send the 70-player field out in groups of three, rather than two.
After last week’s weather-related chaos at the Wyndham Championship, which saw some players finish their second round and play rounds three and four on Sunday, it appears as if no chances are being taken this weekend.
Condensed Saturday schedule at TPC Southwind
As a result of the changes, Denny McCarthy, Hideki Matsuyama, Sam Burns, the top three after two rounds, will head out last from the first tee, from where the top 35 players (half the field) will start their rounds. The leaders get underway at 11:46 a.m. CDT / 12:46 a.m. ET, only two hours after the first group has teed off.
You can see the full list of tee times for the third round here.
The players who are currently in the bottom half of the leaderboard will begin at the 10th and, unusually, will not go out in reverse order (i.e. first goes out first last goes out last).
Therefore, Jake Knapp and Max Homa, second last and last respectively after their opening rounds, will tee off at the same time as the leaders on the opposite half of the course.